Traditional Libyan sharba: the Libyan lamb soup with tomato, chickpeas, mint and orzo

Sharba simply means soup in Arabic, and in Libya it is the soup: red, thick, of lamb and tomato, with the unmistakable perfume of dried mint rubbed between the fingers at serving time. It is the first course of every iftar, the meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, and the winter dinner of the whole country, from Tripoli to Benghazi.

The base is a sauté of lamb in small cubes with onion and tomato paste fried until dark, to which are added chickpeas, bzaar, the Libyan spice mix with turmeric, cinnamon, coriander and pepper, and water. At the end goes the orzo, the rice-shaped pasta Libyans call lsan asfour, bird's tongue, which cooks in the soup itself.

It is a one-hour, one-pot soup that thickens as it cools and is better the next day. The lemon squeezed at the last moment and the dried mint on top are not garnish: they are what makes sharba taste of Libya.

Recipe card

• Origin: Libya
• Category: Soup, starter or main course
• Difficulty: Easy
• Preparation time: 20 minutes
• Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 400 g lamb (shoulder) in 1.5 cm cubes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 ripe tomatoes, grated
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes (optional)
• 1.5 liters water
• 1/2 cup orzo pasta (or broken vermicelli)
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons dried mint, rubbed
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a pot and sauté the onion for 5 minutes. Add the meat and brown for 8 minutes.
2. Add the tomato paste and fry for 3 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and smells fragrant.
3. Add the grated tomato, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, peppers and salt and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Pour in the water and the chickpeas, boil, lower the heat and cook covered for 40 minutes, until the meat is tender.
5. Add the orzo and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and the soup thickens.
6. Turn off the heat, add the parsley, half the mint and the lemon, taste for salt and serve with the rest of the mint on top and lemon on the side.

Tips and variations

• Frying the tomato paste well is what gives the dark color and deep flavor; raw paste makes the soup acidic.
• Chicken or beef sharba follows the same recipe.
• Good-quality dried mint, green and fragrant, makes a difference; old mint tastes of hay.
• Without orzo, use broken vermicelli, rice or fine bulgur.
• The soup thickens a lot the next day: add water when reheating.
• Ready-made bzaar, the Libyan mix, replaces the individual spices.
• Serve with bread and dates, as at iftar.

Sharba is Libya in a red bowl: lamb, tomato, chickpeas, mint and lemon. An everyday soup that becomes special at the Ramadan sunset.