Hergma (Hergma (kra'een))
Overview
Hergma is a rich, sticky Moroccan soup-stew of lamb or beef trotters. The trotters are cleaned, singed and cut, then simmered very slowly with soaked chickpeas and sometimes wheat berries, garlic, onion and a lot of spice: paprika, cumin, ginger, turmeric and black pepper. Over several hours the trotters release their gelatine, and the sauce becomes thick, glossy and deeply savoury. Some families add raisins for sweetness. It is eaten hot with bread, often at breakfast or as a hearty winter meal. In Algeria a similar dish made with white beans is called loubia bil ker'ine.
History
Hergma is closely tied to Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice. After a sheep is slaughtered, nothing is wasted, and the trotters are singed and kept to make hergma in the days after the feast. It is also sold in popular eateries in the old medinas of cities such as Fez, Marrakesh and Casablanca, where big pots simmer from early morning, and it is often eaten as a warming meal on cold days.
Main ingredients
Lamb or beef trotters, chickpeas, wheat berries, garlic, paprika, cumin. The soup is built on trotter broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Chickpea soups · Beef soups · Lamb soups · Tripe and offal soups · Barley and grains soups · More soups from Morocco
Recipe
Method
- 110 min
Blanch the trotters in boiling water for 10 minutes and drain.
- 2
Put them in a heavy pot with the onion, garlic, oil and spices and stir for a few minutes.
- 3
Add the chickpeas, wheat berries and 2.5 l water.
- 44 h
Simmer very gently for 3 to 4 hours, until the meat falls from the bone and the sauce is thick.
- 530 min
Add the raisins for the last 30 minutes, season and serve with bread.
- ✓
Serve. About 4h 30m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
