Tunisian chickpea and egg soup, recipe by Lablabi

Last Updated on November 12, 2024

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Total: 1 h 30 min Diners: 4

The lablabi is perhaps one of the most loved popular dishes by Tunisians as breakfast, although there is also a Turkish and a Syrian version. But to each people what belongs to its people. We are talking about a soup that includes chickpeas, that mixture of spices called harissa, pieces of bread and then a little bit of what everyone wants, being very common tuna (canned), capers, olives and egg. There are some variants, in addition, which include lamb or veal trotters that are cooked in the same broth in which the chickpeas are boiled.

To put it in context, this soup is served in the cheapest, most popular restaurants, an ideal restorative soup to charge the batteries for the long working days ahead. The cumin will help us to digest everything well and garlic also to disinfect and give us strength.

After reading a lot of information on the internet and also in different popular cookbooks of the area, this is my version of lablabi that tries to remain as faithful as possible to the flavors of there; although we all understand that there are as many of these chickpea soups as houses in Tunisia. It is a bit like the cocido in Spain. I have preferred to add the poached egg rather than hard-boiled and spread the bread not only with garlic but also with a little of the same harissa that we will incorporate later also the soup.

If you want, the recipe you can make it perfectly from chickpeas already cooked, but I recommend then that you use a rich broth to bathe those chickpeas. Because here the broth is vital for the flavor of the dish. The cured lemons, those blackish ones, also usually appear in this soup although we can substitute them for a few drops of normal lemon (and no, it is not the same, but it is an option). The broth will be clean, similar to Vietnamese pho, but with a background that is key to the final whole which, by the way, has to be spicy thanks to the harissa.

How to make chickpea and egg soup

Ingredients

To cook the chickpeas

Chicken or vegetable stock, 1.5 L Dried chickpeas, 300 g Celery, 1/4 stick Bay leaf, 1 leaf Dried tomatoes, 4 pc Garlic cloves, 2 pc Shallot, 2 pc Salt, c/s

For the spice paste

. Garlic cloves, 3 pc Shallot, 1 pc Black or regular cumin, 1 tsp Harissa, 1 tsp Chili flakes, 1/4 tsp Coriander seed, 1/2 tsp Extra virgin olive oil, 1 or 2 tbsp Salt, a pinch

Salt, a pinch

.To finish the lablabi

Free range eggs, 4 pcs Apple or white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons Yellowfin tuna, 2 cans Sliced rye bread, 8 pcs Capers, 4 tablespoons Olives, optional Lemon, 1 pc A little fresh parsley, if desired

Step 1

Soak the chickpeas in plenty of warm water with a little baking soda the night before. The next day drain well and wash lightly.

Step 2

Put the chickpeas to cook in chicken or vegetable stock, with the bay leaf, garlic cloves, shallot, celery stalk and sun-dried tomatoes, with a little salt as well. To soft fire until the chickpeas are very tender and cooked in its point. At the end, add salt to the broth.

Step 3

Prepare the spice paste by putting the cumin, the peeled garlic cloves, the shallot, the pinch of harissa, the spicy chili we want to give it, salt, coriander seeds, dried tomato and a little olive oil in a mortar. Crush very well with the help of a mortar and pestle until a dense and powerful paste is obtained. Set aside.

Step 4

Slice the bread into about one centimeter slices, spread with some of the paste or simply with garlic and oil and toast until crispy on both sides. Just before serving the soup.

Step 5

Pour water and two tablespoons of vinegar into a ladle, bring to the boil and, when it comes to the boil, lower the heat to the minimum and pour in the egg to poach it. It is important to make a poached egg that the water does not boil because it will not poach the egg properly. The water has to be very hot, that’s why the fire is lowered just after it has started to boil. We will cook the egg with this residual heat. We will leave the egg in the water for a couple of minutes and, after this time, we will remove it.

Step 6

Pour the crumbled tuna, capers, toasted bread slices and also the chickpeas in the soup bowl, sprinkled with the broth. Put a dried tomato of those of the broth, some drops of lemon and also a little parsley if we want and finish with the poached egg and with the pasta that we have done. We could have mixed that paste with the broth previously. But this way we can taste the broth alone and then with the spice mixture. The bread will be soaking and softening when the soup is poured in so if we don’t want to, we can set it aside.