Lablebi, a vegetarian recipe from Tunisia

Name: Lablebi
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Tunisia
Ingredients: 300 g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 6 garlic cloves; 2 tbsp ground cumin; 3 tbsp harissa; 250 g stale bread, torn into pieces; 5 tbsp olive oil; 2 tbsp drained capers; Juice of 1 lemon; Salt; Black olives and parsley, to serve

Lablebi

Local name: لبلابي

This lablebi recipe is a Tunisian cumin-scented chickpea broth poured over torn stale bread, sharpened with harissa, garlic and capers.

Published on 14 March 2026·Updated on 25 September 2026

Vegan#chickpeas#harissa#cumin#bread#comfort

Method

Drain the chickpeas, cover with 2 litres cold water along with the bicarbonate and 3 whole garlic cloves, and simmer covered for 70 minutes until they crush easily.
Salt generously only at the end of cooking, and keep the broth at all costs: it is the whole dish.
Crush the remaining 3 garlic cloves with a little salt, then loosen them in a bowl with the harissa, cumin and 3 tbsp of the olive oil.
Stir this mixture into the chickpea pot and let it simmer for 5 minutes so the spices infuse the broth.
Tear the stale bread into large pieces and divide it between four deep bowls.
Ladle the chickpeas and scalding broth over each bowl, soaking the bread thoroughly without drowning it.
Finish with a thread of olive oil, lemon juice, the capers, a few olives and chopped parsley.

Lablebi is the workaday winter breakfast of Tunis, often topped with a poached egg or tuna. It is a leftovers dish: the drier the bread, the better it drinks the broth without collapsing.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.

Frequently asked questions

What does the bicarbonate of soda do to the chickpeas?

It makes the water alkaline, which helps the skins soften so the chickpeas crush easily within seventy minutes. Without it they take longer and stay firm. One teaspoon is plenty; more than that leaves a soapy taste.

Why is the salt added only at the end?

The recipe holds the salt back until the chickpeas are cooked. Season generously at that point, remembering that the broth also has to season the bread, which soaks up everything.

My bread turns to mush. How do I stop that?

Use genuinely stale bread, torn into big pieces rather than cut with a knife. Ladle the broth over just before serving, enough to soak but not drown, and eat straight away. Once assembled, lablebi will not wait.

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Lablebi

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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