Chickpea and Harissa Soup (Lablabi)
Our editorial director J.M. Hirsch calls this spiced chickpea soup “the best soup in the world”—a medley of crunchy croutons, a fragrant broth, and an abundance of toppings.
- Makes8 servings
- Cook Time1 hour
- 8
This brothy-bready Tunisian chickpea soup gets punches of flavor from garlic, tomato paste and cumin.. And instead of using stale bread—as is common in Tunisia—we got better texture by toasting chunks of crusty bread in olive oil to make croutons. Toasted ground cumin is used in the soup as well as on it; to be efficient, toast it all at once. In a small, dry skillet over medium, toast 5 tablespoons ground cumin, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute, then transfer to a small bowl. To make soft-cooked eggs for serving, bring 2 cups water to a simmer in a large saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Add the desired number of eggs, cover and steam over medium for 7 minutes. Immediately transfer the eggs to ice water to stop the cooking.
Don't forget to soak the dried chickpeas. They need to soak for at least 12 hours before cooking.
Step 1
First, soak the chickpeas. In a large bowl, combine 2 quarts water, the chickpeas and 1 tablespoon salt. Let soak at room temperature for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain the chickpeas and set aside.
Step 2
In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it browns, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cumin and harissa, then cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chickpeas and broth, then bring to a boil over high. Reduce to medium and simmer, uncovered, until the chickpeas are tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.
Step 3
Meanwhile, in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium, combine the bread, the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and ½ teaspoon salt.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bread is crisp and light golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the croutons cool in pan, then transfer to a bowl.
When the chickpeas are tender, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Step 4
To serve, place 2 to 3 tablespoons of croutons in each serving bowl. Ladle chickpeas and broth around them, then drizzle with oil.
Garnish to taste with harissa and cumin, then top each portion with 2 soft-cooked egg halves and 1 tablespoon each capers, olives, parsley and cilantro. Serve with lemon wedges.
