Tunisia's classic working-class breakfast: garlicky chickpea broth ladled over torn bread with cumin, harissa, lemon, and a soft egg.
Lablabi is the soul of Tunisian street food — a rib-sticking chickpea soup served in deep bowls over torn day-old bread, finished tableside with a generous spoon of harissa, a slick of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, capers, olives, and often a runny soft-boiled or poached egg stirred in until the yolk gilds the broth. The flavor base is deceptively simple: chickpeas cooked very soft in a garlic-and-cumin-perfumed broth. The magic happens at the table, where each diner builds their own bowl. In Tunis it is breakfast food, sold from steam-billowing storefronts from dawn, where dockworkers and bus drivers spoon it down standing at marble counters before sunrise. Done right, it is hot, sour, spicy, garlicky, smoky, and rich all at once.
Serves 4
Drain and rinse the soaked chickpeas. Place in a heavy pot with 1.5 L fresh water. Bring to a boil, skim, then reduce to a steady simmer for 60–75 minutes until very tender — they should crush easily between two fingers.
Don't salt the water at this stage; salt added too early keeps chickpea skins tough.
While the chickpeas finish, warm the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low. Add the crushed garlic and 1 tbsp cumin. Cook 60 seconds until fragrant but not browned, then stir in the tomato paste and cook another 60 seconds.
Tip the garlic-cumin oil into the chickpea pot. Add salt, the remaining 1 tbsp cumin, and 2 tbsp of the harissa. Simmer 15 more minutes — the broth should taste deeply garlicky, smoky, and warm.
Using a potato masher or the back of a spoon, crush about a quarter of the chickpeas directly in the pot to thicken the broth. Keep the rest whole.
Crack each egg into a cup and slide into the gently simmering soup. Cook 3 minutes for runny yolks, or 4 for jammy. Lift out carefully with a slotted spoon and hold warm.
Divide the torn bread among 4 deep bowls — fill each about a third full. Ladle the hot chickpea broth over the bread, letting it soak in for 30 seconds before adding more.
The bread should be hot and soft but still hold its shape, not a mush.
Top each bowl with a poached egg, a generous spoon of the remaining harissa, a drizzle of olive oil, capers, olives, parsley, and optional tuna. Squeeze a lemon wedge over and stir everything together just before eating.
Use real Tunisian harissa, not Moroccan or Middle-Eastern brands — Tunisian harissa is smokier and more vinegared. Le Phare du Cap Bon in the green tube is the gold standard.
Stale bread is essential — fresh bread turns to paste. If you only have fresh, dry torn pieces in a 150°C oven for 10 minutes first.
Soaking chickpeas with 1 tsp baking soda dramatically shortens the cook time and gives a silkier broth.
Lablabi b'roumi: stir in a handful of grated aged hard cheese with the egg for a richer winter version.
Vegan lablabi: skip the eggs and tuna and double the olives and capers for brininess.
Lablabi with merguez: brown 100 g sliced merguez sausage and scatter over the top.
The chickpea broth keeps refrigerated for up to 4 days and improves overnight. Reheat gently and poach fresh eggs to order — never refrigerate the assembled bowl, the bread disintegrates.
Lablabi has been sold in Tunis since at least the late 19th century, originally as a poor man's breakfast in working districts like Bab Souika. Its name comes from a Maghrebi Arabic verb meaning roughly 'to soak,' referring to the bread bath. Today every Tunisian neighborhood has at least one dedicated lablabi shop open before sunrise.
You can in a pinch — use three 400 g cans with their liquid and cook the broth for only 30 minutes — but the flavor and texture are noticeably thinner than long-simmered dried chickpeas.
Use any harissa you trust, but add a teaspoon of smoked paprika and a teaspoon of red wine vinegar to push it toward the Tunisian profile.
It can be very spicy — but each diner controls their own bowl. Start with a small spoon of harissa and add more after tasting.
Yes, but the egg yolk is what makes the broth velvety. If skipping, add a tablespoon of tahini per bowl for a similar creamy effect.
Per serving (480g) · 4 servings total
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