Crockpot Vegetarian Harira

This came up on a list of foods for Ramadan.  I can't imagine smelling this cook all afternoon, waiting for the iftar, because it was really nice to come home from work and realize dinner had been slow-cooking while I was gone.

I did not know until I saw the recipe that lentils could be made in a slow cooker.  Some beans cannot, and other legumes can, but you might not like the texture.  Since I like my harira completely mushy, this was something I had to try.

I did find out that you have to set the cooker on high to get it to work.  It was on low while I was gone for about 9 hours, and needed two more hours on high before the lentils split.  We're calling it six on high for the recipe.

Lamb has been super expensive lately, so I went vegetarian on this day.  Vegan, I guess, since there's no butter in it.  It's just a vegetable-lentil soup with tons of cilantro in it, because that's what really differentiates harira from other similar soups.  At the end I stirred in the cilantro and lemon juice and let it do its thing for half an hour.

If making this on the stovetop, I would sauté the onions and celery in the oil, then add everything.  Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for 2 hours before adding lemon juice and cilantro.  Simmer 5 more minutes and serve.

1 Tb olive oil
*1 C finely diced onion
1 C finely diced carrots (about 2 medium)
*1/2 C finely diced celery
1 clove garlic, minced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, no salt is better
3/4 C lentils, sorted and rinsed
2 C vegetable broth, unsalted if possible
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
small pinch saffron, optional
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tb lemon juice
1/2 C cilantro leaves, or to taste

1.  Prep the vegetables.  Peel and finely dice onion and carrots.  Dice celery.  Mince garlic.  Sort and rinse lentils.

2.  Rub olive oil all over inside of crock.  This is mainly to make cleaning it easier, but you do get some flavor and body from it.

3.  Add everything except the lemon juice and cilantro to the pot and stir to combine.  I went easy on the salt, only half a teaspoon, and just a shake of pepper.  It will depend on the seasoning of your broth.  You can actually do all this up to 24 hours in advance.  If pulling from the fridge, run on low for the first half hour, to bring the crock up to temp slowly.

4.  Turn slow cooker on high, cover, and allow to cook 4-6 hours.  Stir in lemon juice and cilantro.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  If desired, add more broth for a thinner soup, then cover and simmer another half hour.  I didn't purée this batch, which I often do.  An immersion blender makes that easy.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating  π