Tunisian Soup Recipes

LABLABI (TUNISIAN CHICKPEA SOUP)

Steps:

• Prepare the crispy chickpeas: Transfer chickpeas to a rimmed baking sheet lined with a clean dish towel or paper towels. Cover with another towel (or paper towels) on top, rubbing gently to dry. Remove top towel and let air-dry for at least 30 minutes and preferably 1 hour.
• As chickpeas dry, start preparing the soup: In a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot, combine soaked chickpeas, 5 cups water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, bay leaves and 1/2 teaspoon salt over high heat. Bring to a boil for 2 to 3 minutes, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until chickpeas are tender, about 1 to 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. While chickpeas are cooking, cut bread into thick slices, then tear slices into bite-size pieces. Place bread in one layer on large rimmed baking sheet and toast until crisp and light brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool on pan and set aside.
• Finish the crunchy chickpeas: Raise oven temperature to 425 degrees. Remove the towels from baking sheet with the chickpeas, and toss the chickpeas with 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and za'atar until well coated. Roast until golden and crispy, about 13 to 18 minutes, tossing halfway through. When chickpeas are still hot, sprinkle lightly more salt. Taste and add more salt or za'atar, or both, if you'd like.
• When the chickpeas for the soup are tender, discard bay leaves. Using a slotted spoon, transfer 2 cups of chickpeas, 1/2 cup of chickpea cooking liquid and 1/4 cup olive oil to a blender or food processor, and purée until smooth. (Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender to blitz half the chickpeas into a rough purée. Add the olive oil before puréeing. The broth won't be as silky as it would be puréed in a regular blender, but it will taste just as good.)
• In a large skillet over medium-high, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon cumin and tomato paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add a splash of the chickpea cooking liquid to the pan, and bring to a simmer to deglaze, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Turn off heat.
• Add chickpea purée and onion mixture to soup, along with harissa and lemon juice, and stir well. Add a little water if soup seems too thick, and more salt, if needed.
• To serve, divide toasted bread pieces among soup bowls, then ladle in soup. Garnish with lemon zest, parsley, olive oil, more cumin and some of the crispy chickpeas - you'll have leftovers. Serve hot, with more harissa on the side.

TUNISIAN SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a pot over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until translucent, about 5 minutes. Mix in couscous; cook and stir until browned, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in water, zucchini, potato, green beans, carrots, tomato puree, coriander, chile powder, cumin, and salt; bring to a boil. Simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in milk.

LEBLEBI - TUNISIAN CHICKPEA SOUP

Steps:

• To make the chickpeas, preheat the oven to 115°. Put the soaked prepared chickpeas, stock, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and extra water to cover the peas by 1", if necessary, into a heavy lidded pot or casserole pot. Bring to a boil, cover and put in oven for about 3 hours, or until fully cooked and silky. Now, you can keep going, or store the soup in the fridge for a day or two, until you're ready to go. When you are ready you can make it all (serves 8) or a bit now, and more later. If you have refrigerated it, you can easily remove the fat from the top.
• When you are ready to eat, reheat the chickpeas in their liquid, while you prepare the eggs. Fill a bowl with ice water. For each bowl of soup, put one egg in a pan of not quite boiling water. Cover pan and turn off the heat. After 6 minutes, slip the eggs into the ice water to cool. Once they ar cool, peel them carefully, leaving the medium cooked eggs whole. This is a little bit fidlely but worth the effort after coming so far, or a runny boiled/fried egg can do the job too!
• Put some stale bread in the bottom of each bowl, and cover with a portion of chickpeas and their cooking liquid. Set an egg on top of each bowl, and cut it so that the yolk runs. Dribble some harissa sauce over each and sprinkle with cumin and freshly ground pepper. Top with olives, capers, and diced bell pepper. Dribble on a bit of olive oil, and squeeze the lemon wedge over all.
• This is a satisfying, belly-warming, invigorating soup, to cure you if you are both tired and hungry. But don't substitute for those chickpeas!
• Serve with a Sangiovese.

TUNISIAN CHICKPEA SOUP

Steps:

• Sauté the onion in the olive oil until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute. Add all the spices and 'dry fry' to release all the aromatics. This should only take about a minute or two. Now add the chickpeas, barley, stock and coconut milk. Cover partially and simmer for 35-40 minutes. The barley should be tender. Transfer a third of the soup to a blender and blitz until smooth. Add the pureed soup back to the saucepan and stir through. Season lightly with salt and black pepper and add the lemon juice. Add the spinach to the soup and heat through until the leaves are wilted. Ladle into bowls and scatter over the almond flakes and drizzle with a some coconut milk, if you like.

LABLABI (TUNISIAN CHICKPEA SOUP)

Steps:

• Combine stock, chickpeas, harissa, cumin, and salt in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce temperature, and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
• Divide bread, chopped parsley, cilantro, and capers between 4 soup bowls. Scoop an egg from the shell into each bowl, pour soup on top, and drizzle with olive oil.

HLELEM: TUNISIAN VEGETABLE & BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium to medium-high heat then add the onion, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the celery is crisp-tender and the onions are beginning to brown at the edges, 4-6 minutes. Lower the heat if the vegetables brown too quickly. You don't really want the garlic and onions to caramelize.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 2-3 minutes. You can leave the stove at medium-high hear.
• Add the broth and beans including the bean liquid, bring to a boil then simmer for about six minutes.
• Add the pasta and Swiss Chard and simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the harissa. Taste for additional seasoning. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley and/or grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

TUNISIAN BREAKFAST SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat the oil to medium. Add the onion and bell pepper and sauté, stirring
• frequently, until softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and sauté another 2
• minutes.
• Add the diced tomatoes, Saffron Road Classic Culinary Vegetable Broth , chickpeas, harissa paste, and chopped kale leaves. Stir well and bring to a full boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 20 to 30 minutes, until vegetables have softened. Add the capers and salt.
• Serve soup with toasted sourdough or rustic bread of choice and chopped hard boiled eggs.

TUNISIAN FISH SOUP

Steps:

• Serves 6-8
• In a 5-quart, heavy casserole, heat the olive oil and add the onion, fennel and red pepper. Sweat the vegetables over gentle heat for 8-10 minutes or until the onion is translucent and red pepper and fennel are soft. Add the minced chili and garlic and cook for 1 minute.
• Stir in the harissa paste and cumin powder and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 ½ minutes. Add the saffron, tomatoes and half the herbs then pour in the fish stock or water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 25 minutes.
• In the meantime, place the potatoes in a medium saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and cook the potatoes gently until tender, then drain in a colander. Keep warm.
• Stir the fish and potatoes into the soup. Simmer, covered, 5 more minutes or until the fish is just cooked through. Stir in the rest of the herbs and the lemon juice. Taste to adjust the seasoning. Spoon into bowls and serve with lemon wedges.

LABLABI (TUNISIAN CHICKPEA SOUP) FROM 'THE HEART OF THE PLATE'

Steps:

• Drain and rinse the soaked chickpeas, then transfer them to a soup pot, large saucepan, or Dutch oven, along with the water and garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, partially cover, and cook until the chickpeas are completely tender, an hour or longer. (You want to err on the soft side.)
• Meanwhile, place a medium skillet over medium heat for about a minute, then add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the onion and cumin, and cook, stirring, for 5 to 8 minutes, until the onion becomes soft. Add the minced garlic and 1 teaspoon of the salt, reduce the heat to low, and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Cover and cook over the lowest possible heat for 10 minutes longer, then remove from the heat.
• When the chickpeas are very tender, add the onion-garlic mixture, scraping in as much as you can of whatever adhered to the pan. Collect the remaining parts (this is flavor!) by adding the lemon juice to the skillet and stirring it around, scraping the sides and bottom (deglazing), then pouring all of this onto the chickpeas as well. Taste to adjust the salt (you will likely want to add up to another 1/2 teaspoon) and grind in a generous amount of black pepper to taste. At this point, if you choose, you can puree some of the chickpeas with an immersion blender.
• Cover and let the soup simmer for another 10 minutes or so before serving.
• Optional Enhancements: A few strands of saffron added to the cooking water in step 1 A spoonful of harissa Touches of torn fresh flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, or mint Crushed red pepper A poached or fried egg added to each serving A drizzle of high-quality extra-virgin olive oil (or a citrus-spiked olive oil) Cooked diced carrot mixed in A spoonful of thick yogurt on top A sprinkling of capers on top A spoonful or two of cooked brown basmati rice or couscous stirred in Chopped, pitted olives on top-or a bowl of assorted olives on the side Crisp, cold radishes on the side-whole or sliced Chopped or slivered Marcona almonds Sliced ripe tomatoes on the side

TUNISIAN SOUP WITH GREEN BEANS RECIPE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a pot over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until translucent for about 5 minutes. Mix in couscous; cook and stir until browned for about 5 minutes.
• Stir in water, zucchini, potato, green beans, carrots, tomato puree, coriander, chile powder, cumin, and salt; bring to a boil.
• Simmer until tender for about 20 minutes. Stir in milk.