Harira Moroccan Vegetable Soup 

By Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff, The Sephardic Spice Girls

Harira is a hearty, robust soup with a tomato base that is traditionally flavored with beef, lamb or chicken and lots of bones, but we love this very tasty vegetarian version.

Harira is filled with fall harvest vegetables, butternut squash, sweet potatoes and carrots, that provide beta carotene, as well as garbanzos and red lentils, pulses that are rich sources of protein, fiber, folate and minerals like iron and potassium, this soup is nutritionally dense and low in fat. Parsley and cilantro, onions and celery, freshly grated turmeric, cumin and black pepper round out the flavor profile and up the antioxidant factor.

Harira comes from the the Arabic word for silk which refers to the velvety smooth texture lent by a tedouira (thickener) made from flour and water. But in a nod to the trend for gluten-free food, we replaced the flour with an egg whipped with lemon juice. The red lentils soften quickly and add a pleasing creaminess to the soup.

In Morocco’s cities, Harira is a popular, inexpensive street food, widely available in restaurants and market stalls. At streetside carts, this zesty soup is served in bowls that are then dunked in a bucket of tepid water and reused (environmentally friendly, but eek!). It is also customarily eaten by the Muslims to break the fast during Ramadan. And like so many other culinary influences, this soup has been adopted by the French Moroccan Jews to break the Yom Kippur fast.

As the leaves turn orange, the days grow shorter and the air blows a little cooler, try this amazing soup.

Harira Moroccan Vegetable Soup (gluten free) 

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

2 large onions, thinly sliced

3-4 celery stalks, sliced

2 large carrots, halved and sliced

1 large sweet potato, cubed

4 cups butternut squash, cubed

1 large potato, cubed

1 tablespoon fresh grated turmeric, or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon harissa (paste) or dried red chile flakes/or harissa powder

1 bunch parsley, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

8 cups vegetable, beef, or chicken stock

1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

1 large egg

1/3 cup of lemon juice

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the sliced onions until they start turning golden. 
2. Add the turmeric, cumin, harissa or chile flakes, salt and pepper and sauté with the onions until well coated.
3. Add the celery, carrots, butternut squash, sweet potato, and potato, stir and coat with spice mixture.
4. Add cup each of the parsley and cilantro, canned tomatoes, and tomato paste. 
5. Add vegetable broth, bring to a boil. 
6. Add the lentils and canned garbanzos and simmer for an hour.
7. Whisk the egg and lemon juice. Stir into the soup.
8. Simmer the soup about 5 minutes and serve, top with cilantro and parsley.

Quick tip: If making this soup as a main course, you can add cut up pieces of thin egg noodle or a cup of rice or a cup of barley.

The Sephardic Spice Girls, Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff, have been friends since high school. The Sephardic Spice Girls project has grown from their collaboration on events for the Sephardic Educational Center in Jerusalem. Follow them on Instagram, @sephardicspicegirls. Visit sephardicspicegirls.com to see more of their Sephardic recipes with a modern twist!

This recipe was submitted by Sharsheret: The Jewish Breast and Ovarian Cancer Community, a nonprofit organization. If you or someone you love has been impacted by breast or ovarian cancer, or has elevated genetic risk, contact Sharsheret for free support and resources. For more information, visit sharsheret.org or call (866) 474-2774. Love to cook? Join Sharsheret in the Kitchen for “Zariz” with NYT Best Selling cookbook author and culinary writer Adeena Sussman and her sister, Sharon Wieder, RDN, on Sunday, October 11 at 9:30am PT when they present a cooking demo during the 2026 Sharsheret Summit. Also, learn about Sharsheret’s Pies for Prevention Thanksgiving sale, which was launched in 2008 by Adeena and Sharon in memory of their mother and grandmother. Register for this program and more at sharsheret.org/summit.