A tomato-based lamb soup with cracked green wheat, chickpeas and coriander.
Frik is cracked green wheat, which gives this soup its distinctive texture and lightly smoky character. This version uses cooked chickpeas so the lamb and grain can be timed separately.
- Prep
- 20 minutes
- Cook
- 1 hour 40 minutes
- Total
- 2 hours
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Cuisine
- Algerian
The recipe
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Before you start
Prepare the vegetables and rinse the frik. Simmer the lamb until almost tender before adding the grain, then finish with chickpeas and fresh herbs.
Ingredients
Quantities change with servings; cooking times stay the same.
Equipment
- Heavy 3-litre or larger pot paid link
- Fine sieve paid link
- Knife and chopping board paid link
- Ladle paid link
Method
Warm the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Cook the onion and celery for 7 minutes, stirring. Add the lamb, coriander stems, ground coriander and pepper; cook for 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste, then the tomatoes, water and salt. Bring to a boil, skim if needed, then cover partly and simmer gently for 45–60 minutes, until the lamb is nearly tender.
Pick over and rinse the frik. Stir it into the soup and simmer for 20–25 minutes, stirring near the bottom to prevent sticking. Add the cooked chickpeas for the final 10 minutes.
Check that the lamb is tender and the grain has softened but retains a little bite. Add hot water if the soup is too thick. Adjust the salt, stir in the coriander leaves and serve with lemon.
Chef’s notes
Frik thickens as it cooks and continues absorbing liquid after cooking. Keep the heat gentle and stir more often once the grain goes in.
Tips and variations
Bulgur can make a useful variation, but it will not reproduce the flavour of green wheat; its cooking time may also be shorter. Use cooked chickpeas here, not soaked but uncooked chickpeas.
Serve with
Serve in warm bowls with lemon on the side and wedges of kesra for dipping.
Storage
Cool promptly in shallow containers. Refrigerate at 4°C or below within 2 hours, or within 1 hour in temperatures above 32°C. Use within 2 days. Reheat to 74°C, adding water to loosen the soup.
Nutrition per serving (estimated)
Nutrition has not been calculated. Values depend on portion size and ingredients used.
Allergens
Contains wheat/gluten and celery. Check packaged ingredients for additional allergens.
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Questions
Can I make it ahead? Yes. The grain absorbs broth overnight, so add water when reheating.
Can I use dried chickpeas? Cook them fully in advance, then weigh the cooked quantity listed.
Sources and recipe context
This is an editorial adaptation informed by the sources below. Quantities and timings are written for this version; Sixto Carreon has confirmed kitchen testing of all ten recipes in this batch.
Soulef, Amour de Cuisine: chorba frik
University of Virginia International Center: Algerian cooking class recipes
The featured image is adapted from a licensed photograph with an AI-assisted champagne background. It is a serving example, not a Sixto kitchen-test photograph. The photograph is a serving example; the quantities and ingredients in its bowl are not documented as this recipe. Photographer, licence and edit details appear in Editorial Standards.
