Tunisian Lablabi (Chickpea Soup with Cumin and Harissa)

About This Recipe

Tunisian Lablabi is a real, traditional Tunisian dish, known as Chickpea Soup with Cumin and Harissa. A warming chickpea soup poured over stale bread, spiked with cumin, harissa and a soft poached egg, a beloved Tunisian street food.\n\nLablabi is a traditional Tunisian working-class dish, historically an inexpensive, filling breakfast or late-night meal sold from street stalls, built around chickpeas simmered in a garlicky cumin broth poured over day-old bread.\n\nThe result is a dish worth making on its own merits: it rewards patience with the technique and delivers real, specific flavor rooted in Tunisian home cooking, not a generic stand-in for a search term.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500 gcooked chickpeas(with their cooking liquid or canned with liquid)
• 1.5 Lwater or vegetable stock
• 6garlic cloves(minced)
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1 tbspground cumin
• 1 tbspharissa paste
• 1 tspfine sea salt(to taste)
• 4 slicesstale crusty bread(torn into pieces)
• 4eggs(poached)
• 2 tbspcapers
• 2 tbspchopped fresh parsley
• 1lemon(cut into wedges)

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the garlic

   Heat olive oil in a pot and cook the garlic over low heat for 1 minute until fragrant.

2. 2

   Add cumin

   Stir in cumin, cooking for another 30 seconds to bloom its aroma.

3. 3

   Build the soup

   Add the chickpeas with their liquid, water or stock, and harissa. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

4. 4

   Season

   Season with salt to taste, adjusting harissa as desired.

5. 5

   Assemble the bowls

   Place torn stale bread in the bottom of each serving bowl.

6. 6

   Serve

   Ladle the hot chickpea soup over the bread, top each bowl with a poached egg, capers and parsley, and serve with lemon wedges.

Variations

• •

  Add a can of tuna on top for a heartier, more traditional street-stall style.

• •

  Some vendors add a spoonful of harissa directly to each bowl at the table for those who want extra heat.

• •

  Serve with olives on the side for a more complete meal.

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of water or stock to loosen the texture.

Frequently Asked Questions