This nourishing soup was originally a Bedouin dish that was adopted by Arab Muslims, and later by the Jews. Traditionally harira was served to break a fast, during Ramadan or for Yom Kippur, but today it is served throughout the year for breakfast, lunch or dinner. There are many variations of harira, but it is usually based on lentils or chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, garlic, herbs and spices, thickened with flour and delicately flavoured with lemon juice. Sometimes vermicelli or orzo – small pellets of pasta the size of a grain of rice – is used instead of rice.