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Sometimes harira is thickened at the end, in one of two ways. The flour method gives the soup a little more body, and is simpler. The egg-yolk method adds a rich, silky-creamy finish as well as thickness but is a bit trickier (and more caloric). Both of them are optional: Use one method or the other, or skip this step entirely if you like.

Thickener For Harira

All-purpose flour

Egg Yolk

**Flour thickening:** Whisk 3 tablespoons unbleached white all-purpose flour into an additional 1/2 cup vegetable stock. Five minutes before serving the harira, stir a little of the hot harira broth into the flour paste, then dump all of the paste mixture into the simmering soup. Stir like the dickens, and then simmer for a few minutes, stirring now and again, until it thickens slightly. Ready!

**Egg-yolk thickening:** Lightly beat 3 to 4 large egg yolks in a heat-proof bowl. Ladle out a little of the hot harira broth into the yolks and whisk vigorously. Then add a little more, whisking. In all, you'll want to whisk in 1 1/2 to 2 cups of the hot broth, a little at a time. Then, gently stir the egg-yolk mixture back into the soup, which should just be barely simmering. Cook gently, stirring, 3 or 4 minutes more. Harira thickened with egg yolk doesn't reheat well, because the yolks get overcooked and are inclined to curdle. The flour-thickened and unthickened versions, however, reheat just fine.