Sharba libiya

Ingredients

Soup

• 500 glamb shoulder or neck, cut into 1.5 cm dice
• 1large onion, very finely chopped
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 3 tbsptomato paste
• 1 tbspbzaar (Libyan spice mix)
• 1 tspturmeric
• 1 tspfilfil (chilli powder), or to taste
• ½ tspground cinnamon
• 150 gcooked chickpeas
• 1.8 litreswater
• 2 tspsalt

To thicken

• 120 gorzo (lsan asfour, sparrow’s tongue pasta)
• 30 gflat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tbspdried mint, crumbled

To serve

• 1lemon, cut into wedges
• Extra dried mint
• Bread or dates, for iftar

Directions

1. Cut the lamb small, no larger than 1.5 cm; sharba is a soup you eat with a spoon and the meat should be bite-sized.
2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and fry the onion for 10 minutes until it is very soft and just turning gold. Libyan cooks chop it almost to a pulp so it dissolves into the broth.
3. Add the lamb and brown 6–8 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste and fry it for 4 minutes until it darkens and the oil turns orange.
4. Add the bzaar, turmeric, filfil and cinnamon, fry 30 seconds, then pour in the water, add the chickpeas and salt, and bring to a simmer.
5. Simmer, part-covered, for 40 minutes, skimming any foam, until the lamb is tender and the broth has taken on a deep orange-red colour.
6. Add the orzo and cook 8–10 minutes, stirring often so it does not sink and stick, until it is soft and the soup has thickened to the consistency of single cream.
7. Stir in the chopped parsley and half the dried mint, and simmer 2 minutes more. The soup should coat the back of a spoon; loosen with hot water if it has gone stodgy.
8. Taste for salt and heat. Rub the remaining dried mint between your palms over the surface just before serving, which releases its oils.
9. Ladle into bowls, squeeze over lemon at the table, and serve with dates and bread. In Ramadan this is the first hot thing eaten after the fast, every night for a month.

Technique

• Dried mint, not fresh, is the signature of sharba libiya. Fresh mint tastes of toothpaste here; the dried leaf gives the dusty, sweet-herbal note Libyans expect.
• Frying the tomato paste properly is the difference between a bright, sharp soup and a rounded, savoury one. Give it the full four minutes.
• Orzo swells as the soup sits and will drink the broth overnight. If you are making it ahead, cook the pasta separately and add it when reheating.
• Bzaar mixes vary by household and by city; Tripoli versions lean on caraway and cinnamon, Benghazi versions on chilli.

Substitutions

• No orzo: use broken vermicelli or 60 g of long-grain rice, adding 5 minutes to the cooking time.
• Beef shin works in place of lamb but wants an extra 20 minutes of simmering.

Variations

• Sharba with a beaten egg stirred in at the end for extra body.
• A chicken sharba, lighter and paler, made outside Ramadan.
• Sharba khadra, thickened with a large quantity of parsley and coriander for a green-tinged soup.

History

Finished with dried mint and bzar, a Libyan spice blend of cinnamon, turmeric and pepper; every household keeps its own bzar formula for Ramadan.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sharba libiya?

Sharba libiya is a soup & stew from Libya: lamb, orzo, tomato and dried-mint Ramadan soup, dusted with bzar spice. Finished with dried mint and bzar, a Libyan spice blend of cinnamon, turmeric and pepper; every household keeps its own bzar formula for Ramadan.

How long does Sharba libiya take to make?

Sharba libiya takes 20 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Sharba libiya?

Yes, within limits. No orzo: use broken vermicelli or 60 g of long-grain rice, adding 5 minutes to the cooking time. Beef shin works in place of lamb but wants an extra 20 minutes of simmering.

What is the most important thing to get right in Sharba libiya?

Frying the tomato paste properly is the difference between a bright, sharp soup and a rounded, savoury one. Give it the full four minutes.