Lablabi — Tunisian Chickpea Soup

About This Recipe

Lablabi is one of the great street foods of North Africa: a deeply spiced chickpea broth poured over torn stale bread in a terracotta bowl, customised at the table with harissa, cumin, olive oil, capers, lemon, tuna and a raw egg that cooks in the hot broth. It is the working man's breakfast of Tunis — sold from steaming cauldrons in the medina from early morning — and one of the most nourishing, warming and flavourful bowls of food in the world for very little money. The genius of lablabi is in the customisation: each person builds their own bowl according to taste, adding harissa aggressively or gently, loading up on capers, cracking in an egg. No two bowls are identical.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 tinschickpeas(with their liquid)
• 1 litrewater
• 6 clovesgarlic(crushed)
• 1 tablespoonharissa(plus more to serve)
• 2 teaspoonsground cumin(plus more to serve)
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 4 tablespoonsolive oil
• 4 slicesstale bread(torn into pieces)
• 4eggs
• 4 tablespoonscapers
• 200 g tintuna in oil(drained)
• 1lemon(cut into wedges)

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the broth

   Combine chickpeas and their liquid with water, garlic, harissa, cumin and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust — it should be spiced and savoury.

2. 2

   Assemble the bowls

   Divide torn bread pieces among deep bowls. Ladle the hot chickpea broth generously over the bread.

3. 3

   Add egg

   Crack a raw egg directly into each bowl of hot broth. The heat of the soup will gently cook the egg to a soft, just-set consistency — about 2 minutes.

   For safety, the broth must be very hot when you add the egg so it cooks through.

4. 4

   Serve with condiments

   Bring the table to life: set out harissa, cumin, olive oil, capers, tuna and lemon wedges. Let each person season their own bowl. Eat with extra bread.

Variations

• •

  Some versions add dried mint to the broth for a cooling note.

• •

  Completely vegetarian if you omit the tuna — still extraordinary.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

The broth keeps refrigerated for 3 days. Assemble bowls fresh each time.

Frequently Asked Questions