Made from pantry staples, including canned chickpeas and tomatoes, Leblebi, a North African chickpea stew, comes together quickly and is incredibly flavorful thanks to spices, herbs, aromatics, and a smoky swirl of harissa just before serving.

Two bowls of leblebi, harissa, and flatbread.

I’ve been cooking my way through the bean chapter of Twelve Recipes, which unsurprisingly has been a joy: last week I discovered dal and over the weekend, a black bean soup flavored with orange zest, a subtle but bright touch to a wintry dish. Most recently, I made the leblebi, a North African chickpea stew, swirled with a smoky harissa.

Each of these recipes is made with water (as opposed to stock) and none calls for cream thanks to Peternell’s techniques: slow sweating of the onion, brief toasting of the spices, and thoughtful layering of herbs and garnishes.

I know little more about leblebi than what I’ve read in Twelve Recipes and the few recipes I’ve found online, but from what I gather it originates in Tunisia, is typically served at breakfast, and welcomes many a garnish: poached or hard-boiled eggs, a sprinkling of cumin or capers, a drizzle of olive oil or harissa, toasted bread, preserved lemon, tinned fish, or pickled vegetables.

I served it solely with Peternell’s simple homemade harissa (see recipe box) and mopped it all up with homemade naan.

How to Make Leblebi, Step by Step

First, gather your ingredients.

leblebi ingredients

Next: sweat the onions; then add the spices and cilantro.

adding the spices

Stir to combine.

sauteing the onions, garlic, cilantro, and spices

Then, gather your chickpeas, home-cooked or canned.

cookedchickpeas

You’ll need a can of crushed tomatoes.

crushed tomatoes

Add the tomatoes and chickpeas to the pot.

pot of leblebi

And simmer until thickened to your liking.

leblebi, day 2

Cal offers a simple harissa recipe (see recipe box for details).

simple harissa

Serve with naan.

leblebi with tarka flatbreads

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Leblebi (North African Chickpea Soup)

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Description

Leblebi is a North African chickpea stew made with sautéed onions, garlic, spices, herbs, and tomatoes. A swirl of harissa adds a spicy, smoky kick.

Notes: 

Source: Cal Peternell’s Twelve Recipes

The original recipe calls for chopped or grated tomatoes or 1/2 cup of roasted tomato puree. I find the canned, crushed tomatoes to work just as well.

Chickpeas: I love my slow cooker for cooking chickpeas from scratch, but you can also cook them on the stovetop or simply use canned. 

Peternell suggests a few other serving ideas: croutons, a poached egg or hard-boiled egg, a sprinkling of ground cumin, oil, and capers. I keep it simple and swirl in some harissa, which is now readily available at most markets.

You can also make your own: See Simple Homemade Harissa. Peternell offers two simple recipes as well:

  1. Make a paste with 2 tablespoons paprika and 3 tablespoons hot water. Add 2 teaspoons crushed garlic, 3 tablespoons olive oil, a splash of vinegar, and, if you wish, ground cumin and cayenne.
  2. Mix together 3 tablespoons sambal oelek, 1 to 2 cloves crushed garlic, and 6 tablespoons olive oil.

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro stems and leaves
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced or chopped
  • 3/4 cup crushed tomatoes, see notes above 
  • 6 cups cooked chickpeas, see notes above
  • harissa for serving, see notes above
  • flatbreads for serving

Instructions

  1. Heat a large pot over high heat. Add the oil, then the onion and a pinch of salt. Stir, turn the heat to low, and cover the pot. Check and stir after a few minutes, letting the moisture on the lid drip back into the pot to keep things steamy. Lower the heat if there is any browning going on, and re-cover. Cook like this until the onion is tender, about 15 minutes.
  2. Add the cumin, paprika, pepper flakes, cilantro and garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes more, stirring occasionally. Add 6 cups of the cooked chickpeas and enough of their cooking liquid to cover by 2 inches, raise the heat, and bring to a boil. (You’ll need about 4 cups liquid total: all of the cooking liquid, which was 3 cups plus 1 cup extra water — the chickpeas may not be covered by 2 inches, but it will be fine.) Season with salt to taste — I always add another teaspoon, but you may want to start with 1/2 a teaspoon and add more to taste.
  3. Lower to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Put 2 ladles of soup in a blender or food mill and purée — careful: it’s hot. (I used an immersion blender and puréed partially.) Return to the soup pot and stir in to thicken the leblebi slightly. Taste for seasonings and add water or any reserved cooking liquid if it’s too thick. Note: When reheating, you most likely will need to add water to achieve desired consistency.
  4. To serve: ladle the leblebi into bowls. Pass a bowl of harissa on the side. Serve with warm flatbreads.
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hours 20 minutes
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Moroccan, North African