Tunisian Roasted Garlic and Chickpea Casserole (Lablabi-Style)

About This Recipe

Lablabi, a hearty Tunisian chickpea soup built on garlic, cumin and harissa and traditionally poured over torn stale bread, is one of the country's most beloved everyday dishes, often finished with a poached egg. This casserole reworks that same flavor base — roasted garlic, cumin, harissa — into a baked format, layering the chickpeas with bread directly in the dish rather than serving the bread separately, and topping it with a crisp, golden breadcrumb crust. Roasting a whole head of garlic until soft and sweet gives the casserole a mellow depth that raw garlic can't provide, especially important since lablabi traditionally relies on a generous amount of garlic for its backbone flavor. The chickpeas simmer briefly in a cumin-and-harissa spiced broth before being layered into the baking dish with torn bread, which soaks up the broth exactly the way it would in the traditional soup, then the whole thing is topped with buttered breadcrumbs and baked until golden. A poached or fried egg on top at serving time keeps the dish connected to the classic way lablabi is finished.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 headgarlic(roasted)
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1onion(chopped)
• 2 tspground cumin
• 2 tbspharissa paste
• 3 cupscooked chickpeas
• 3 cupsvegetable stock
• 1 tspfine sea salt
• 4 cupsday-old crusty bread(torn into chunks)
• 0.75 cupbreadcrumbs
• 3 tbspbutter(melted)
• 4eggs(for topping, poached or fried)
• 3 tbspfresh parsley(chopped)

Instructions

1. 1

   Roast the garlic

   Roast the garlic head wrapped in foil at 200C for 35-40 minutes until soft, then squeeze out the cloves and mash into a paste.

2. 2

   Build the base

   Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Cook onion 6 minutes until soft, then stir in cumin, harissa and roasted garlic paste, cooking 1 minute.

3. 3

   Simmer the chickpeas

   Add chickpeas, stock and salt. Simmer 15 minutes until the broth has reduced slightly and the chickpeas are well flavored.

4. 4

   Layer the casserole

   Scatter the torn bread in a baking dish, then pour the chickpea mixture evenly over the top, pressing gently so the bread soaks up the broth.

5. 5

   Top and bake

   Toss breadcrumbs with melted butter and scatter over the top. Bake at 200C (400F) for 20-25 minutes until golden and bubbling.

6. 6

   Serve

   Top each portion with a poached or fried egg and scatter with fresh parsley.

Variations

• •

  Traditional soup format: skip the baking step entirely and pour the hot chickpea mixture directly over torn bread in individual bowls, topped with a poached egg, for classic lablabi.

• •

  Extra heat: increase the harissa or serve extra on the side for those who want more spice.

• •

  Tuna addition: some Tunisian households add flaked canned tuna and capers as a traditional lablabi topping.

Storage

Refrigerate the baked casserole (without the egg) up to 3 days. Reheat in a 180C oven until warmed through and re-crisped on top; add a freshly cooked egg to each portion when serving.

Frequently Asked Questions