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:

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.
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

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.
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.
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.
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