Our hotels were all the best available, except when they weren’t available – La Mamounia being one of two five-star properties at which we stayed. When one leaves Marrakech and heads into in the High Atlas Mountains, there simply aren’t many five-star hotels on the road. In fact, one is lucky if there is any road at
all.
Which brings me to my second bowl of harira. It was in the High Atlas Mountains in the home
of Mohammed, the driver of one of our 4X4 vehicles, known in French as “quatres-quatres.”
 |
| The pool at La Mamounia |
A mountain
road blocked by a landslide called for a change of schedule, and led to an
impromptu overnight stay at the home of the brother of our driver Mohammed. His
was a kind, beautiful, and generous Berber family, as you see in the photos.
 |
| Mohammed, his wife, two children, and a nephew. |
Their home
wasn’t in a town, per se, but there was assemblage of adobe homes and
outbuildings that included a granary and an olive oil mill. We toured
everything we could, and provided a source of fascination and ample amusement
for the kids in the neighborhood. Our blond hair was the thing that attracted
their attention most.
 |
| Lachsen with his cousins. His mother is in the background. |
The meal at
Mohammed’s home was served in the main room; the floor, banquettes, and walls
were all clad with Moroccan carpets and textiles. A traditional meal was
served; we had harira, a vegetable couscous, a goat tagine, and finished with
sliced oranges – the sweetest I ever tasted till we moved to Tucson – sprinkled
with cinnamon.
 |
| Lachsen with his cousin David, who was very proud to share his name with me. |
The men of
our small group slept in the large attached stable on piles of handwoven Berber
carpets; the  goats (those that
hadn’t found their way into the tagine) were on one side of a short dividing
wall, we men on the other. We kept company with the matriarch’s treadle sewing
machine along with bolts of colorful fabrics. The women stayed in the main room
where we had eaten dinner.
 |
| The granary – or ksar in Maghrebi Arabic – near Mohammed’s home. |
My two first
harira experiences could not have been more different in terms of venue, yet
they were close to identical in quality and exquisite flavor. One made with
lamb, the other with the freshest butchered goat. How fortunate was I to be
able to taste this national soup in these settings?
 |
| Laundry day in the High Atlas Mountains. |
I haven’t had
harira since then – not even at EPCOT at DisneyWorld – till this week. It was a
perfect storm of ingredients in my kitchen. We had bought lentils last week for
a French dish, and had enough left over. We had a small chunk of lamb shoulder.
We seem always to have cans of plum tomatoes, and there were chickpeas in the
cupboard. There are always fresh herbs in our garden. It was a no-brainer.
My homemade harira was every bit as good as I recalled – deep, rich, lamb-flavored broth
contrasted with the acidic tomatoes, sweet spices, and bright leafy herbs. I served it with a Provençal rosé – Domaine La Rabiotte, a readily available and very good rosé from Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence. To read more about the pairing, check out my review on the Provence WineZine.
 |
| Moroccan tiles with carved plaster in the Koranic School in Marrakech. |
That long-ago
trip to Morocco was in January. Marrakech was sunny, warm, and dry like Tucson,
while up in the Atlas Mountains, the weather was cold like New England. The
soup worked well in both situations – perfect for summer or winter! And perfect
with rosé year-round!
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Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
March 5, 2016 at 2:29 pmDavid, this is a beautiful post. I've never heard of this soup — what I know about Morocco and its food would fit on the head of a pin — but I'm intrigued.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:10 pmJean – Moroccan cuisine is wonderful, complex, and quite addicting! I plan to post more recipes in the next year!
Provence WineZine
March 5, 2016 at 4:08 pmMy mouth is watering. This looks so good! Lisa, if you are reading this, maybe we can make some when you are up this month! (My sister-in-law Lisa lives in Morocco nearly half the year!) The wine-pairing sounds perfect!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:11 pmThis is a perfect soup for those raw March days, Susan! Have a great visit with Lisa!
Caroline @ Pinch Me, I'm Eating!
March 5, 2016 at 4:20 pmLooks delicious and I enjoyed reading about your trip! Beautiful photos!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:11 pmThanks, Caroline!
Sippity Sup
March 5, 2016 at 4:41 pmThis is an amazing account of an amazing trip. The soup is going straight onto my list of new tastes I must experience. But mostly this post leaves me with the most profound feeling of wanderlust. Fortunately I'm going to Nicaragua on Monday! I won't find harira, but I do hope for some of the adventure you describe so beautifully. GREG
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:12 pmThanks, Greg – I hope you have a wonderful trip! I am hoping you are going on a cuisine-related trip! (When is travel NOT cuisine-related?)
Andrea_TheKitchenLioness
March 5, 2016 at 7:17 pmDear David, I had never heard of this dish before your lovely post either. Another thing I have learned from your writings – amazing photography, fabulous description of your trip and lots of love that went into putting this post together.
Euch noch ein schönes und hoffentlich nicht zu kaltes Wochenende,
Andrea & Co.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:14 pmThanks, Andrea – I really appreciate your kind comment! It was a wonderful trip – and seeing these photos made me miss taking photographs using real film!
Liz (Good Things)
March 5, 2016 at 9:54 pmDavid, your photographs and the accompanying story are beautiful… and the dish, well just delicious.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:14 pmThanks, Liz – so kind!
Christina | Christina's Cucina
March 6, 2016 at 1:57 amAnother wonderful post, David!!! LOVE the old photos and your recollections of your travels ($432 RT!!!) The dish sounds fabulous, too! I have yet to travel to this part of the world, and hope to get there one day in the near future!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:15 pmWell, I guess I should have been clearer that much of a Fam Tour is paid by the promoters – in this case, the Moroccan Government – to promote tourism.
John - heneedsfood
March 6, 2016 at 10:40 amYou've brought so many memories back from when Dean and I travelled through Morocco 14 years ago. The souqs, the food, the High Atlas Mountains and sleeping through a windstorm in a berber tent in the desert.
Would love to go back one day, but in the meantime I should make this harira and dream a little more.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:16 pmYes, make harira and dream on, John! I missed out on the windstorm in a Berber tent – that must have been amazing. I really want to go back soon.
Bob & Ursula
March 6, 2016 at 3:02 pmAbsolutely! Positively!! Wonderful!!! We're heading out to find some nice lamb, and a couple of other things, and should be enjoying the results by tonight. One question, though…why canned plum tomatoes, if fresh are available? Something about the intensity of flavor?
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:17 pmSorry for the delay in my answer, Bob and Ursula – yes, you can used fresh tomatoes, but tinned plum tomatoes gibe a better broth. If I were to use fresh, i would grate them, and then probably cook them down a bit more.
Unknown
March 6, 2016 at 3:57 pmI so look forward to your posts, both for the fabulous recipes and the wonderful travelogues with exquisite photos! Thanks for sharing your trip down memory lane. I feel as if I've visited Morocco this morning and cannot wait to try this recipe!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:18 pmThanks, Peg – I really appreciate that. I hope you are well, and acting away!
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
March 6, 2016 at 6:35 pmWhat an amazing journey–from the official trip to the fascinating unexpected detour! This is what a real charmed life is about. Your soup looks wonderful; even the picture exudes flavor!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:19 pmInger – the unexpected parts of our journey always remain the most memorable, don't they? Thanks for your nice comment!
Ahu Shahrabani
March 6, 2016 at 7:31 pmWonderful post!!!! I loved reading about Mohammed – the photographs are just stunning. They should be framed.
I get harira occasionally from my deli and it's incredible. I was inspired by your post to make a 'harira-ish ' soup last night , I had about 2/3 of the ingredients. It was good but not harira…ill be trying again with all the proper ingredients again soon! Except maybe the lamb – I'm so not a lamb person. Would use chicken or veal instead!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:21 pmThanks, Ahu – I have the photos careful mounted in an album, and sadly have lost the negatives. Perhaps I should frame them!
I forget that you aren't a lamb person. Even beef would work in this soup – I know you will love it!
Gerlinde de Broekert
March 6, 2016 at 8:14 pmYour post brings back memories of my own trip to Morocco two years ago. It was such a great experience! Thank you and I will make the soup.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:21 pmGerlinde – it still remains one of my most memorable trips to date… What is it about Morocco?
Paola
March 6, 2016 at 8:51 pmWhat divine photos David, especially the ones of the people. Beautiful memories connected to food
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:22 pmThanks, Paola – I had lost these photos for a while, and was glad to find them (in a timely way) for this post.
Unknown
March 6, 2016 at 9:47 pmWonderful pictures of the people you met. And the soup looks great. Soup is something I love to make so I will try my hand at this.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:22 pmIt's a good one for a crowd, Carol!
Anonymous
March 6, 2016 at 10:38 pmYou are right, David, those people are very beautiful! What an enchanting experience.
I have read about Morocco and know that visitors think that it is a fantastic country. I have heard that it is very safe and very open minded. I hope that's true.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:24 pmCaterina – I hope to return to Morocco soon, and hope that I am able to report back that your feelings are true!
Cheri Savory Spoon
March 7, 2016 at 2:15 amHi David, I love reading your posts, always a wonderful story or a bit of history. This looks like a very special soup, one that I am going to pin for later. Beautiful pics!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:24 pmThanks, Cheri – I know you love soups and this one is healthy and hearty!
Linda G
March 7, 2016 at 7:29 amLinda G. Oh how my friends and I can relate. We stayed at La Mamounia as well, ate at rose petal covered tables in Riads down lantern led narrow streets, and shared couscous with a kind shopkeepers family. And, I scarily but safely drove us over the Atlas Mountains. Thanks so very much for bringing back those memories.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:26 pmThe rose petals on the tables… on the beds… and rosebuds (fresh daily) in the fountains… Magical. Linda – I am envious of your personal drive across the Atlas Mountains… perhaps I shall get back someday to do it myself!
Unknown
March 7, 2016 at 2:41 pmThis is an amazing post David. Wow. I haven't been to Morocco but I've been obsessed with Moroccan food for a long time. I've heard of harira but I've never eaten it before. That might have to change… by means of your recipe!
Thanks for letting us travel back in time with you via your photos. What amazing snapshots of a time passed. Love your recollections too… haha, blonde hair tends to get a lot of attention in predominantly dark-featured countries. Aaron gets the same (being blonde haired and blue eyed) in Asian countries. Funnily enough, he finally felt like he had found his 'kinsmen' when we went to Scandinavia. They thought he was a local! Anyway, great post as always my friend x
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:28 pmYou are so sweet, Laura! I think our fair hair (when I had it) and skin make us very exotic to people with darker features, especially when there is little exposure to people from the outside.
I hope you get to make and enjoy the harira – such wonderful flavors!
Cindy
March 7, 2016 at 11:28 pmLentil soups are by far the best soup I ever tasted. You are so lucky to have it prepared by local. I tasted it in the hotel and it was a bad experience after my previous experience when I eat in a village. Since then I am looking for traditional street food every time I travel.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:30 pmI very much agree with you, Cindy! Traditional street food and the food we find in villages is by far superior to hotel food! And being served this food in a family home was one of the most special experiences I have had.
Marcelle
March 8, 2016 at 4:25 amSuch beautiful photos in this post, David!:)
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:30 pmThanks, Marcelle!
Valentina
March 8, 2016 at 4:26 amOne of the (way too many) places of my "must go to" list! What gorgeous pictures! The ingredient list for this recipe is mouth-watering! And beautifully colorful.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:31 pmFunny, Valentina, the ingredients in this soup often appear in your posts! 🙂
ChgoJohn
March 8, 2016 at 4:10 pmSounds like that was one heckuva trip, David. I cannot believe the cost of the airfare — and 1st Class, no less. Your recipe for harira sounds wonderful. It certainly looks like the real deal and I bet the aroma is incredible. I need to make this!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:32 pmWell, John as I mentioned above to Christina, it was underwritten by the Moroccan Government. I wonder if Fam Tours are still as good a deal these days!
Karen (Back Road Journal)
March 9, 2016 at 5:03 pmI have made harira and think it is delicious. I can't wait to try your version. Wonderful memories, thanks for sharing your story.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 10, 2016 at 12:32 pmKaren – let me know if you do make this. It is as authentic a recipe as I could put together!
Nicole (RieglPalate.com)
March 11, 2016 at 1:18 amDavid – What a wonderful post – thank you for sharing your memories and a tasty recipe, too.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 11, 2016 at 12:34 pmYou are welcome, Nicole – glad you enjoyed it!
Colette (Coco)
March 17, 2016 at 11:52 pmYou're a well-traveled soul, my friend. I love your stories and the recipes that accompany them.
Never heard of harira and am crazy about anything Moroccan. Can't wait to try it. It sounds fragrant and delicious! xoxo
Cocoa & Lavender
March 18, 2016 at 1:29 pmI think you will really love this combination, Colette!
Recipe for Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Almonds – Cocoa & Lavender
May 13, 2023 at 3:09 am[…] since my first trip to Morocco 30 years ago, Moroccan cuisine has been a favorite. I love their Harira, a warmly spiced lamb and chickpea soup, and a good vegetable couscous is always delicious (though […]
Inger
January 27, 2024 at 6:59 amSuch a wonderful story–and the soup looks so good!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 27, 2024 at 8:19 amThanks — it’s fun to reread old posts sometimes!