Tunisian chickpea soup with harissa, cumin and a poached egg, poured over stale bread — a warming street food classic.
Lablabi is Tunisia's most iconic street breakfast — a deep bowl lined with chunks of stale bread over which is poured a cumin-spiked chickpea broth enriched with harissa, vinegar and olive oil. A poached egg and a scatter of capers and olives complete it. It is eaten standing up from stalls in medinas across the country and represents the resourceful, bold spirit of Tunisian street food.
Serves 4
Heat olive oil in a pot. Cook garlic 1 minute. Add chickpeas, stock, harissa and cumin. Simmer 20 minutes.
Mash about 1/4 of the chickpeas with a fork to thicken the broth slightly. Add vinegar and season with salt.
Crack eggs into simmering broth and poach 4 minutes until whites are set.
Place torn stale bread in the bottom of each bowl.
Ladle chickpea broth and a poached egg over the bread. Top with capers, olives, a drizzle of olive oil and lemon wedge.
Really stale bread is better — it absorbs the broth without turning to mush.
Adjust harissa generously — lablabi should be boldly spiced.
Serve with a small saucer of harissa, olive oil and cumin for self-seasoning.
Add tuna flakes on top for extra protein.
Use lamb stock for a richer, more complex broth.
Broth keeps refrigerated for 3 days. Assemble fresh each time with new bread and eggs.
Lablabi is a morning meal across Tunisia, particularly in winter. The name comes from the Arabic for chickpea. In Tunis it is served from small bare-bones stalls called gargotes, where bowls are served to workers from dawn.
Yes — soak 300 g dried chickpeas overnight, then boil 1 hour until tender. This gives even better flavour than canned.
Per serving · 4 servings total
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