Moroccan Cuisine: Five Soups You Should Integrate Into Your Diet

Moroccan soups make for delicious meals that are rich in nutrients to strengthen your health.

Morocco might be most famous for its delicious couscous and tajine, but many also celebrate the country for its tasty and healthy Moroccan soups.

The North African kingdom’s food is as diverse as its culture. You can find exquisite soups that will keep you warm during winter or healthy ones that will speed up your recovery and strengthen your immune system.

Based on a healthy Mediterranean diet, Morocco’s cuisine is centered around vegetables, beans, fruits, nuts, and whole grains, with a moderate amount of dairy, poultry, eggs, and seafood. Moroccan food occasionally features meat.

Morocco’s cuisine is also special with its culinary masteries that fuse between European and Amazigh gastronomy, which give it an exotic taste with rich flavors that attracts people from across the world.

Moroccans may serve soups for breakfast, dinner, and on occasions such as weddings, Eids, and other celebrations. These are five delicious Moroccan soups that you should integrate into your diet to keep you warm in winter and to provide you with all the nutrients you need. 

Harira

Harira is Morocco’s most famous soup. It features on Moroccan iftar tables every evening during Ramadan. Moroccans also enjoy it often not during Ramadan for its many health benefits and its delicious taste.

Made of tomatoes, chickpeas, celery, parsley, onion, vermicelli, turmeric, and you can even add chicken, meat, or eggs, the soup is rich in healthy ingredients that are packed with protein, vitamins, minerals.

Chickpea is rich in minerals, vitamins, and fiber with a moderate number of calories, allowing you to enjoy a healthy, tasty meal without worrying about your weight. In fact, the fiber and protein in the legume will slow your digestion and promote fullness, which can help you manage your weight.

Another important ingredient in Moroccan Harira soup is turmeric. It is simply one of the healthiest spices out there. Turmeric contains medical properties called curcumins that work as a powerful anti-inflammatory tool and antioxidant.

The ingredient also helps in lowering heart disease risks and even has benefits against depression. Besides its many benefits, this Moroccan soup is delicious and warm and there is no doubt you will ask for a second fill after you try it.

Belboula (barley soup)

Belboula, also called Hssoua, is a barley soup that Moroccans mostly serve for breakfast, but you can also eat it whenever as a light and healthy snack.

The Moroccan soup is lightly cooked with barley grounds or semolina, water, olive oil, and cumin, while a pinch of butter and a fair amount of milk are added at the end.

Most Moroccans will associate this tasty soup with health and recovery. If you are feeling ill or running on a cold, your stomach will refuse most heavy food, which is why Belboula is the perfect meal to have in those times.

The light meal will give you the nutrients your body needs to fight off the cold, warm you up, and satisfy your taste buds.

Barley is a grain that is rich in vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial plant elements that reduce hunger and promote fullness, improve digestion, and might help reduce cholesterol and the risk of heart disease.

Loubia (bean soup)

Almost all Moroccans love this delicious soup. You can serve it as a side or a main dish.

The white beans soak overnight before you cook them with olive oil, fresh tomatoes, ginger, paprika, garlic, and cumin. If you like spicy food you can add a harissa or chili pepper.

These healthy ingredients give the soup an exquisite flavor that you can enjoy with a loaf of soft Moroccan bread, olive oil, and a sprinkle of cumin.

The Moroccan soup’s benefits lie in the beans and its spices. White beans are rich in protein, fiber, folate, magnesium, iron, copper, antioxidants, and vitamin B6.

These elements help in energy production, improve digestive health, help transport oxygen throughout your body, and might protect against chronic illnesses including heart disease.

Bean soup is also the perfect meal for athletic people or heavyweight figures because it can promote muscle building and hormone production.

Soba (vegetable soup)

Moroccan Soba is a vegetable soup that is perfect for all seasons, but especially in winter. Because winter is the flu season, when anyone may fall victim to a harsh cold, it is important to follow a healthy diet that strengthens your immune system and keeps you healthy through cold days and nights.

Soba is packed with healthy nutrients because it consists of many powerful vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, celery, pumpkin, bell peppers, and others.

It also has legumes, which are low in calories yet rich in minerals, vitamins, and fiber to help you stay healthy, boost your energy level, and keep you warm.

The cook boils all the vegetables together then grinds them up and serves the soup with olive oil, salt, paprika, ginger, sauteed onion, and cumin.

In addition to all the healthy vegetable ingredients, the Moroccan soup’s benefits also come from the various spices the cook uses in it, especially ginger.

Ginger contains powerful medicinal properties due to its natural oil, gingerol. The oil has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. It can treat nausea, lower blood sugar, and help with weight loss.

Bissara (dry green pea soup)

Bissara is not only one of Moroccans’ favorite soup but also foreigners’ top choice. Moroccans often serve it for breakfast, especially in the northern region and the mountain where it can get extremely cold, but you can also serve it with other meals as a side dish.

Almost all Moroccans love to indulge in this tasty and healthy soup that keeps them warm during the chilly mornings. You can also find the meal in most traditional Moroccan restaurants.

You make this Moroccan soup with dry green peas (or dry fava beans), cooking them in water with olive oil, salt, cumin, paprika, red pepper until you achieve a thick sauce. Moroccans serve it hot with olive oil, cumin, and bread for dipping.

The benefits of bissara are plenty. The popular soup is rich in protein, fiber, iron, folate, and vitamins (A, K, and C). These nutrients balance blood sugar levels, boost digestion, and can protect against chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.

Moroccan food has earned many fans from across the world throughout the years. Moroccans and international culinary lovers alike consider it healthy with its richness in nutrients, and delicious for its diverse and delightful flavors.

Integrating these five soups in your diet can help you stay healthy in the long term without having to give up the pleasure of a tasty meal.

Source: Morocco World News