Moroccan harira & chicken soup

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil 
• 4  chicken thighs boneless skinless
• 1  leek washed and finely sliced
• 4 small fat celery sticks chopped
• 3 large carrots chopped
• 2 small big parsnips peeled chopped
• 1 small pack coriander finely chopped
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds 
• 2 tsp ground cumin 
• 2 tsp ground coriander 
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 2 tsp ground turmeric 
• 2 tbsp harissa (we used Belazu)
• 800 g tomatoes chopped canned
• 2  chicken stock cubes crumbled
• 85 g green lentils raw
• 1  lemon zest 
• 1 tbsp golden caster sugar 
• 4 servings natural yogurt 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan
• ladle
• measuring cup

Directions

1. Heat half the oil in a frying pan, season the thighs and brown really well on both sides.
2. Remove to a plate. Tip a mug of water into the pan and simmer, scraping up all the browned bits. Tip this liquid into a measuring jug for later.
3. Put the remaining oil, the vegetables and coriander stalks in a big saucepan. Gently cook until the veg is softened about 5 mins. Stir in the spices, turn up the heat, and cook for a few mins. Stir in the harissa, followed by the tomatoes, the chicken, stock cubes and lentils. Top up your jug of chickeny juices to 500ml with water, then add this, too. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 mins.
4. Lift the chicken from the soup and shred finely using a couple of forks. Return to the soup with the lemon zest and juice, sugar, and season to taste. Ladle into bowls with a dollop of yogurt and the coriander leaves, and serve with toast, spread with hummus and drizzled with oil.