A baked Tunisian chickpea casserole with roasted garlic, harissa and cumin, topped with a crispy breadcrumb crust.
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.
Serves 4
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.
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.
Add chickpeas, stock and salt. Simmer 15 minutes until the broth has reduced slightly and the chickpeas are well flavored.
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.
Toss breadcrumbs with melted butter and scatter over the top. Bake at 200C (400F) for 20-25 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Top each portion with a poached or fried egg and scatter with fresh parsley.
Use genuinely stale or day-old bread — fresh bread turns to mush instead of holding its texture once it soaks up the broth.
Roast the garlic ahead of time; it keeps in the fridge for up to a week, making this a faster weeknight dish.
Poach or fry the eggs just before serving, since lablabi is traditionally eaten with a still-runny yolk stirred through.
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.
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.
Lablabi is one of Tunisia's most iconic street food and home dishes, a simple chickpea soup built on garlic and cumin, traditionally poured over stale bread to make it filling and affordable. It's commonly finished with a soft-cooked egg, harissa, capers and sometimes canned tuna, and remains a beloved breakfast and lunch dish across Tunisia today.
Lablabi is a traditional Tunisian chickpea soup poured over bread; this casserole reworks the same core flavors — garlic, cumin, harissa, chickpeas and bread — into a baked format, so it's a home-kitchen adaptation rather than the classic soup preparation.
Yes — drained and rinsed canned chickpeas work perfectly well and save significant time compared to cooking dried chickpeas from scratch.
A dense, crusty white bread like a baguette or country loaf, ideally a day or two old, holds up best and soaks up the broth without disintegrating.
Per serving (380g / 13.4 oz) · 4 servings total
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