Lablabi (Tunisian Chickpea Soup — Vegan)

Name: Lablabi (Tunisian Chickpea Soup — Vegan)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Tunisian
Ingredients: 3 cup cooked chickpeas; 2 can chickpeas (15 oz / 425 g cans); 1 cup dried chickpeas; 3 tbsp olive oil; 2 tbsp olive oil; 3 clove garlic; 4 cup vegetable broth; 2 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp paprika; 1.5 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp black pepper; 1 piece lemon; 1 tbsp harissa; 225 g stale crusty bread; 0.33 cup fresh parsley; 2 tbsp capers; 0.5 tsp Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes

A warming, spiced Tunisian chickpea soup ladled over torn crusty bread and finished with harissa, lemon and parsley. It’s simple, budget-friendly, and built from pantry staples.

AI image

40 min

start to finish

10 min

hands on

Easy

difficulty

servings

4 servings

Ingredients

Garnish

⅓ cup fresh parsleychopped (about 15 g)
2 tbsp capersdrained (optional)(optional)
½ tsp Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakesoptional, to sprinkle

Contains gluten. Cooking for an allergy? Check the label on every packet you use — brands differ, and we can only tell you what the recipe calls for.

Roughly, per serving

460 kcal15g protein67g carbs12g fat

An estimate, not a lab analysis.

Method

If using dried chickpeas, place 1 cup dried chickpeas in a bowl, cover with cold water by 2 inches and soak 8–12 hours; drain before cooking.
If you soaked dried chickpeas, put them in a pot, cover with fresh water by 2 inches, bring to a simmer and cook until tender, 45–60 minutes; drain and measure 3 cups cooked.
Warm 3 tablespoons olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat.
Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander and 1 teaspoon paprika and cook 30 seconds to bloom the spices.
Add the 3 cups cooked chickpeas and 4 cups vegetable broth (or water) to the pot and stir to combine.
Bring the pot to a gentle simmer, cover partially and simmer until the flavors meld and broth thickens slightly, 20 minutes.
Use a potato masher or the back of a large spoon to mash about one-quarter of the chickpeas right in the pot to thicken the soup.
Season the soup with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and the juice of 1 lemon; taste and adjust salt or lemon as needed.
Place torn pieces of stale bread into four shallow bowls, dividing evenly.
Ladle the hot chickpea soup over the bread so the bread soaks but still gives some texture.
Top each bowl with 1 tablespoon harissa (add more at the table if you like it hotter), a drizzle of the reserved 2 tablespoons olive oil, chopped parsley and 1/2 tablespoon capers if using.
Serve immediately with lemon wedges and extra harissa on the side.

Worth knowing

If you prefer a thicker, creamier texture, puree 1/2 of the soup in a blender and stir it back in instead of mashing.
Lablabi is traditionally customisable at the table — offer extra harissa, lemon, olive oil and capers so each person can adjust heat and acidity.
To make it gluten-free, replace the torn bread with toasted gluten-free bread or rice; note the recipe as written contains gluten.
Leftovers keep well refrigerated for 3–4 days and reheat on the stove; add a splash of water or broth if it becomes too thick.

Make it yours

Cooking without dairy, without an oven, for someone who won't touch chilli, or for six instead of four? Have the recipe rewritten around it — quantities, steps and all.

VeganVegetarianDairy-freeBudgetQuickMeal prep

More Tunisian cooking

An original Restaurant Pro recipe — our own composition in the idiom of Tunisian cooking, not any restaurant's recipe. Written to be vegan and vegetarian and dairy-free as listed.