Extra tasty soup with tons of flavor, and some spiciness. Made lectin-free by using pressure cooked garbanzo beans and strained tomatoes (without skin and seeds).
Most of you aren’t eating this diet I’m on, so you can just not pay any attention to the “lectin free” info. This is just a sure-fire winner of a soup no matter whether you use pressure cooked garbanzos or not. I make a lot of soups around my house. Even in the summer. The A/C is on, so I’m not uncomfortable having hot or cold soups all summer long.
I was craving this harira soup (it’s a real favorite of mine) – I’ve made it before, but in the past I’ve made it with a big bunch of chicken thighs and then you need to cool them, skin them if they’re not already, pull the meat off and wait for it to cool enough to chop up and add back into the soup. This time I bought ground turkey to make it a bit leaner, and easier.
As I’ve continued to be on this diet I’m on (which is still working, otherwise I’d have quit), from the Plant Paradox book (Dr. Stephen Gundry), I’ve been trying to adapt some of my existing recipes, and since I knew I loved this soup already, I wanted to make it a bit more friendly for my diet. Legumes (beans) are a no-no on this diet UNLESS they have been pressure cooked, which cooks out the bad bug lectins in them. (Who knew, right?) Technically, since I’m trying to lose weight, I shouldn’t be adding these beans into my diet, but I decided to seek out the Eden brand canned garbanzos (Whole Foods carries the whole line of Eden pressure-cooked beans) and I didn’t put very many in the soup in any case. You don’t know from the can or the label that they’re pressure cooked, but they just are. I could have pressure cooked my own, but I wasn’t in the mood.
I used most of the same seasonings, pretty much the same quantities of things (less water, though, because I was not adding lentils) and the soup was sensational. Don’t be dismayed by the long-long list of ingredients. None of them are difficult to add (lots of spices) and much of the soup is normal ingredients you’d have on hand anyway.
Another of the lectin no-no’s is tomatoes with skins and seeds. At first I wasn’t eating tomatoes at all, but gosh, that really puts a limitation on soups. So I’ve researched lots of canned tomatoes and found that if it says “strained,” it means no skins or seeds. That type is also called passata in Italian. You can buy canned whole tomatoes and try to cut them open to remove the seeds too. That’s not too difficult. Most whole canned tomatoes already have the skins removed. I am eating fresh tomatoes (albeit not too many) as long as they’re big enough to peel and seed.
So, I made this soup one day and didn’t eat it until the next (always a good thing with soups, IMHO). And oh gosh, was it ever good. I didn’t miss having chicken pieces in it – the ground turkey was very satisfying. And I loved the few garbanzos in it as well. If you’re sensitive to spice (heat) you can tone down the harissa a little bit, and you don’t have to add the chiles, either. I used a small can of whole green chiles (mild) and easily removed the seeds (yes, those are a no-no also, the skin and seeds of any kind of peppers), then chopped them up finely. Although they were the “mild” kind, they did have some heat to them. Just right for me, however.
What’s GOOD: well, for me, it’s that this soup is Gundry diet friendly – but the flavor of this soup is just right down my alley. I love love this soup. Love the spice in it, the texture and flavor of the soup/broth part. It’s very filling. A 1 1/2 cup serving is ample (for me anyway).
What’s NOT: only that there is a long list of stuff to add – just plow through it – it doesn’t take all that long.
printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)
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Moroccan Harira with Ground Turkey, Gundry friendly
Recipe By: My own concoction, 2018
Serving Size: 6
1 large onion — diced
4 stalks celery — diced
1 bunch cilantro — see notes
1 bunch Italian parsley — see notes
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 pound ground turkey
3 cloves garlic — minced
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon harissa — or sriracha
4 ounces green chiles — canned (skinned and seeded)
2 teaspoons salt — or more to taste
6 cups water — or more if needed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces Eden organic garbanzo beans — drained and rinsed, or use pressure cooked beans you’ve made from scratch
24 ounces canned tomatoes, strained — called “passata” in Italian
GARNISHES:
1/2 cup sour cream chopped
Italian parsley (see quantity above)
chopped cilantro (see quantity above)
NOTES: If you’re not following the Stephen Gundry diet, you can use any kind of garbanzo beans and tomatoes. To make this a Gundry soup, you must use lectin-free beans (only Eden brand are pressure cooked) and tomatoes with no skin or seeds.
1. Cut off the little brown ends of the cilantro and parsley, then cut the stems off and mince them up finely with a knife (you’ll add the leaves as a garnish).
2. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the vegetables and saute until the onions have begun to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and parsley and cilantro stems and cook for 1-2 minutes just until they’re fragrant, then add the ground turkey and stir to break up the meat. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Then add canned tomatoes, the chicken soup base, green chiles, garlic and water. Bring to a simmer. While it’s warming up, add all the seasonings.
3. Cover and keep over low heat for about 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
4. Add the garbanzo beans and taste for seasoning. Add more water if needed. This is best made the day before, but I’ve eaten immediately and it’s still delicious!
5. Serve in wide bowls (about 1 1/2 cups per serving) and add a dollop of sour cream on top and garnish with cilantro and parsley.
Per Serving: 321 Calories; 16g Fat (44.5% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 24g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 68mg Cholesterol; 870mg Sodium.
hddonna
said on September 17th, 2018:
This is very appealing and would work well for my diet as well. I aim for moderate carbs and plenty of fiber, and I like the middle eastern spices a lot. Would have to tone down the heat for my family, but that’s easily done. When cooler weather hits, this will be on my to-try list!
I’ve already eaten all of the soup, including the one in the freezer. This is going to be on my make-list again soon. I just love the flavors. And definitely, you could leave out the heat! . . .carolyn t
hddonna
said on September 17th, 2018:
I’m going to print it out now so I can keep it handy! Which reminds me, I’ve been wanting to tell you how much I like your recipe format. I love that it always fits on one page–at least all the ones I’ve printed have done so. I get so annoyed when even the simplest recipe is somehow formatted to take up three pages when one would do. Milk Street recipes do that–one page for a banner an introductory paragraph, with lots of blank space, and two pages for the recipe, though the third page might only contain a line or two.
You’re welcome! I do that from within MasterCook – I’m able to change the size of the type and where it’s placed on the page, and I do my level best to make sure recipes don’t flow onto 2 pages! . .. carolyn t
Toffeeapple
said on September 24th, 2018:
The people of North Africa have this soup to break their fast when it is Ramadan. It always smells so delicious.
I first had it in Morocco about 12 or so years ago. Loved it. It was made with chicken and was served to us as part of a several-course lunch at a restaurant. I’ve loved it ever since! . . .carolyn t