Lablebi
Local name : لبلابي
A Tunisian cumin-scented chickpea broth poured over torn stale bread, sharpened with harissa, garlic and capers.
Photo : Habib M'henni · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 75 min
- Total
- 90 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
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.
