Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Libyan

Shorba libiya

Non-vegetarian

شربة ليبية · Shorba libiya

Libya's beloved spiced tomato soup with small pieces of lamb, chickpeas and tiny pasta, finished with dried mint and lemon. The first thing on the table at iftar during Ramadan.

Shorba libiya is a Libyan soup, ready in about 1 hour 25 minutes and made with lamb shoulder, tomato paste and dried pasta. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep
15 min
Cook
1 h 10 min
Total
1 h 25 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
376

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Warm the oil in a large pot and brown the lamb with the onion (opens in a new tab) until the onion is soft and golden.

    Food safety: Wash hands and boards after handling raw meat.

    Meat searing in a hot pan
    How it looks · Photo: Skylar Kang on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Stir in the tomato paste (opens in a new tab) and spices and fry for 2 minutes until the paste darkens.

    • 2 min
    • medium heat

  3. Step 3

    Add the water and salt, cover and simmer until the lamb is tender.

    • 45 min
    • low heat

  4. Step 4

    Add the chickpeas (opens in a new tab) and pasta (opens in a new tab) and simmer, stirring now and then, until the pasta is soft and the soup slightly thickened.

    • 12 min
    • medium-low heat

  5. Step 5

    Rub the dried mint (opens in a new tab) between your palms into the pot, simmer 1 minute, then serve with parsley (opens in a new tab) and lemon (opens in a new tab) wedges.

    • 1 min
    • low heat
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Libya · Well documentedMore food from Libya
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups
Cooking method
Simmered
Taste
savoury, spicy (chilli heat), herby, tangy
Diet
Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Calorie-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Freezer-friendly · Festive & celebration
Cook more with
Lamb shoulder · Tomato paste · Dried pasta · Dried mint · Onion · Turmeric
Techniques
Simmering

Allergens

  • May contain: Eggsfrom dried pasta
  • Contains: Wheatfrom dried pasta
  • Contains: Glutenfrom dried pasta

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

376 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 409 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 17%
  • Carbohydrate 27%
  • Fat 56%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy376 kcal92 kcal
Protein16.5 g4 g
Carbohydrate25.8 g6.3 g
Net carbohydrate21.6 g5.3 g
Sugars3.9 g0.9 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4.2 g1 g
Fat23.5 g5.7 g
Saturated fat7.7 g1.9 g
Trans fat0.8 g0.2 g
Cholesterol40 mg10 mg
Sodium737 mg180 mg
Salt equivalent1.8 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
397 mg
Calcium
69 mg
Iron
2.5 mg
Magnesium
44 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
30 µg
Vitamin C
3 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
1.2 µg
Folate (DFE)
—

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: parsley, lemon.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • A squeeze of lemon at the table brightens the rich tomato broth.

Common mistakes

  • Adding the pasta too early: it swells and turns the soup into porridge.

Serve with

  • Serve at iftar with dates, bread and brik.

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days in the fridge; the pasta keeps absorbing liquid.

Reheating

  • Reheat with extra water until piping hot.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like