Christinas Harira Recipes

CHRISTINA'S HARIRA

Steps:

• Place the dry garbanzo beans into a large bowl, and fill with water. In a separate bowl, cover the yellow lentils with water; allow the beans and lentils to soak overnight.
• The next day, drain the water. With your thumb and forefinger, pick up and pinch off the husk from each garbanzo bean; discard husks. Place chicken bouillon cube into a small bowl, and dissolve in 1 cup of hot water.
• Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat, and cook the onion in the oil until translucent, about 5 minutes; stir in the saffron and ginger until combined. Add the beef to the skillet, and cook until browned, about 15 minutes, stirring the meat and sprinkling it with salt and black pepper as it cooks. Mix in the chicken bouillon and prepared garbanzo beans, and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Pour in 7 more cups of water, and mix in the celery, parsley, and cilantro; simmer until the celery is tender, about 30 minutes. Mix in the soaked lentils, and cook an additional 20 minutes. Mix in the tomatoes, cover the pot, and cook until tomatoes are tender, about 20 more minutes. Stir in the orzo, and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes.
• In a bowl, whisk the flour and tomato paste together; if mixture is too stiff, add about 1/2 cup of water, a tablespoon at a time, or as desired. Stir the tomato paste mixture into the soup, and bring to a boil, stirring often. Cook until thickened and the flavors have blended, about 15 more minutes.

CHRISTINA'S TV DINNERS

Steps:

• If using a disposable baking pan, fold up several layers of heavy-duty foil to create 2-inch wide strips. Fit the strips into the baking pan to form 1 large and 2 smaller compartments.
• Spoon 1/4 cup of the Lasagna Roll-Up sauce into the large compartment of each tray. Put 2 roll-ups and 3 meatballs over the sauce in each tray. Spoon remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with Parmesan.
• Divide the frozen peas among 1 of the remaining compartments in each tray and top with a pat of butter. Put a piece of brownie dough in each of the remaining compartments. Cover the trays tightly with aluminum foil and freeze until ready to use, up to 3 months.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Let dinners stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Uncover the brownie compartment and bake dinners until heated through, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain and pat dry.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in the marinara sauce and basil and let simmer for 5 minutes.
• Spread 2 tablespoons of spinach across 1 end of a lasagna noodle, about 1-inch from the edge. Sprinkle with a little garlic salt. Spread 2 tablespoons of ricotta over the spinach. Arrange about 1/8 of the provolone over the spinach and top with 1/8 of the prosciutto. Roll up the noodle around the filling. Repeat with remaining noodles and filling.
• If making Christina's TV Dinners, proceed according to that recipe. Otherwise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread half of the sauce in a shallow baking dish and set the roll-ups on top. Spoon the remaining sauce over the roll-ups and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk egg and milk together. Tear bread into pieces, add to the egg mixture and let soak for a few minutes.
• Place beef in a medium mixing bowl. Add egg-bread mixture, salt, and pepper and mix well. Form the mixture into 12 (1-inch) meatballs.
• In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan. Roll the meatballs in the bread crumb mixture to coat evenly.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook until browned, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

CLASSIC MOROCCAN HARIRA: TOMATO, LENTIL, AND CHICKPEA SOUP

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Heat up the cooking oil in a 6-quart or larger pressure cooker. Add the meat.
• Cook for a few minutes, stirring to brown all sides.
• Add the pureed tomatoes, kosher salt, turmeric, parsley, cilantro, celery, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, onion, chickpeas, and smen (if using). Stir and add 3 cups of the water.
• Cover tightly and heat over high heat until pressure is achieved. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and release the pressure.
• Add the lentils, tomato paste mixture, and the remaining 8 cups (2 quarts) of water. If at any point there's an oily surface forming on top of the soup, simply skim it off and discard. This can happen because of the meat's fat, if left on.
• Have the rice or vermicelli at hand, if using, but don't add yet.
• Cover the pot and heat the soup over high heat until pressure is achieved. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking. If adding rice, cook the soup on pressure for 30 minutes. Release the pressure and add the rice. Cover and cook with pressure for an additional 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if desired. If using vermicelli, cook the soup on pressure for 45 minutes. Release the pressure, and add the vermicelli. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes or until the vermicelli is plump and cooked. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if desired.
• While the soup is cooking, make a soup thickener by mixing together the flour and water.
• Mix well, but if the mixture is not smooth, pass it through a sieve to remove lumps.
• Bring the soup to a full simmer. Slowly, and in a thin stream, pour in 1/4 of the flour mixture. Stir constantly and keep the soup simmering so the flour doesn't stick to the bottom or cooks up in lumps.
• Add another 1/4 of the flour thickener. You will notice the soup beginning to thicken when you've used approximately half the flour mixture. The thickness of harira is up to you.
• Simmer the thickened soup, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes to cook off the taste of the flour. Remove the soup from the heat, serve, and garnish with some chopped parsley. Enjoy.

HARIRA: MOROCCAN CHICKPEA STEW WITH CHICKEN AND LENTILS

Steps:

• Pick over the chickpeas, cover with cold water, and soak overnight at room temperature. Drain chickpeas and rinse well with cold running water. Drain and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the chicken in batches, and cook until well browned, about 4 minutes per batch. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. Add the onions and celery and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the ginger, turmeric, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Return the chicken to the pan and add the tomatoes and their juices, stirring well. Stir in the chicken stock, lentils, and chickpeas and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook at a gentle simmer for 1 hour.
• Add the rice and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and return the soup to a simmer. Cook covered for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, add the cilantro, parsley, and lemon juice and cook, uncovered for 5 minutes.
• Ladle into warmed soup bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs.

HARIRA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the meat, onion and spices with 1½ tsp salt. Leave for 5-10 mins to lightly brown the meat, stirring occasionally. Add the rest of the ingredients except the lentils, cornflour, coriander and lemon wedges. Add 1 litre of boiling water, bring to the boil, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Leave to simmer for 1 hr.
• Add the lentils to the casserole, cover with a lid and cook for a further 20 mins. When the chickpeas, meat and lentils are cooked, mix the cornflour in a small bowl with 3 tbsp water, and stir until smooth. Stir the cornflour mixture into the casserole. Simmer for 5 mins until the harira thickens and takes on a velvety texture.
• Scatter over the coriander, then serve hot with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over.

CHRISTINA'S HARIRA

Steps:

• Place the dry garbanzo beans into a large bowl, and fill with water. In a separate bowl, cover the yellow lentils with water; allow the beans and lentils to soak overnight.
• The next day, drain the water. With your thumb and forefinger, pick up and pinch off the husk from each garbanzo bean; discard husks. Place chicken bouillon cube into a small bowl, and dissolve in 1 cup of hot water.
• Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat, and cook the onion in the oil until translucent, about 5 minutes; stir in the saffron and ginger until combined. Add the beef to the skillet, and cook until browned, about 15 minutes, stirring the meat and sprinkling it with salt and black pepper as it cooks. Mix in the chicken bouillon and prepared garbanzo beans, and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Pour in 7 more cups of water, and mix in the celery, parsley, and cilantro; simmer until the celery is tender, about 30 minutes. Mix in the soaked lentils, and cook an additional 20 minutes. Mix in the tomatoes, cover the pot, and cook until tomatoes are tender, about 20 more minutes. Stir in the orzo, and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes.
• In a bowl, whisk the flour and tomato paste together; if mixture is too stiff, add about 1/2 cup of water, a tablespoon at a time, or as desired. Stir the tomato paste mixture into the soup, and bring to a boil, stirring often. Cook until thickened and the flavors have blended, about 15 more minutes.