AI-generated image
Sharba libiya
Libyan lamb and orzo soup with mint, eaten to break the Ramadan fast
Sharba libiya is the soup that opens the iftar table in almost every Libyan home during Ramadan, from Benghazi to Misrata: small pieces of lamb, tomato, chickpeas and tiny pasta (lisan asfour, orzo) in a red broth spiced with turmeric and chilli and finished with dried mint and lemon. It is light enough after a day of fasting but filling. The mistake is adding the pasta too early, which makes it swell and turn the soup to porridge; it needs only the last 12 minutes. Chef's tip: rub the dried mint between your palms over the pot at the end so it releases its oils.
- Total time
- 85 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a soup pot over a medium-high heat. Brown 14 oz boneless lamb shoulder for 6 minutes. Add 1 onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft.
11 minStep 2: Stir in 3 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp ground turmeric, ½ tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp baharat spice mix and 1 ½ tsp salt and fry for 2 minutes.
2 minStep 3: Add 8 ¼ cups water, bring to the boil, skim, then cover and simmer for 40 minutes until the lamb is tender and cooked well past 160°F.
40 minStep 4: Add 7 oz cooked chickpeas and 4 oz orzo pasta and simmer uncovered for 12 minutes, stirring now and then so the pasta doesn't stick.
12 minStep 5: Rub 2 tsp dried mint over the pot, add 3 tbsp chopped parsley and simmer 1 minute. The soup should be loose; add a little hot water if it has thickened. Serve with 1 lemon. Keeps 2 days chilled; add water when reheating.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 360 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sharba libiya take?
- About 85 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Soto Banjar
Along the rivers of Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, breakfast often means soto Banjar eaten at a wooden riverside warung, sometimes after a dawn trip to the floating market. Unlike the turmeric sotos of Java, this broth is pale and clear, perfumed with the sweet spices that traders brought up the river centuries ago: cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardamom and nutmeg. Shredded chicken, glass noodles, carrot and a boiled egg go into the bowl with rice cakes, and lime and a little chilli sharpen it at the table. Chef's tip: toast the whole spices in the pan for a minute before the paste goes in; it brings out their sweetness without the dusty edge of ground spice.
Coastal Mombasa mix
A Mombasa street-food bowl: chickpeas and potato simmered in coconut milk with raw mango and chilli, ladled into small bowls and topped with crisp lentil fritters, crunchy chevdo and red, green and tamarind chutneys. Make the fritters and chevdo ahead and assemble at the table. It's sweet, sour, hot and crunchy all at once.
Miso soup
Miso soup (味噌汁) is drunk every day in homes all over Japan, at breakfast as well as dinner, beside a bowl of rice. The base is dashi; this vegan version uses kombu and dried shiitake instead of bonito, which gives it a deep, rounded flavour. Silken tofu and wakame seaweed are the classic fillings. It takes ten minutes; just remember not to boil the miso. Chef's tip: add the miso at the very end and never let it boil. Boiling kills the miso's fresh, fermented aroma; Japanese cooks say the soup should only 'smile', with the surface barely trembling.
