Beans & Legumes

Leblebi (North African Chickpea Soup)

12 INGREDIENTS • 11 STEPS • 9HRS 30MINS

Leblebi (North African Chickpea Soup)

Recipe

5.0

1 rating

This Leblebi is a delicious North African chickpea stew, swirled with a smoky harissa.

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Leblebi (North African Chickpea Soup)

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Alexandra's Kitchen

Alexandra Stafford is the blogger behind Alexandra's Kitchen, a food blog featuring mostly simple, sometimes fussy but always seasonal recipes.

http://www.alexandracooks.com/

This Leblebi is a delicious North African chickpea stew, swirled with a smoky harissa.

9HRS 30MINS

Total Time

$0.94

Cost Per Serving

Ingredients

Servings

4

us / metric

Chickpeas

2 1/4 cups

Dried Chickpeas

or 6 cups Canned Chickpeas

3 Tbsp

Kosher Salt, divided

plus 2 tsp

Leblebi

4 Tbsp

1

Large Yellow Onion, diced

2 tsp

Cumin Seeds

1 tsp

to taste

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1/2 cup

Roughly Chopped Fresh Cilantro

2 cloves

Garlic, chopped

3/4 cup

Canned Crushed Tomatoes

to taste

Harissa Paste

for serving

to taste

Flatbread

for serving

Nutrition Per Serving

VIEW ALL

Calories

260

Fat

15.7 g

Protein

6.7 g

Carbs

25.2 g

Love This Recipe?

Leblebi (North African Chickpea Soup)

Save

Alexandra's Kitchen

Alexandra Stafford is the blogger behind Alexandra's Kitchen, a food blog featuring mostly simple, sometimes fussy but always seasonal recipes.

http://www.alexandracooks.com/

Author's Notes

If you don’t feel like using dried chickpeas and cooking them from scratch, you can use canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed. You’ll need 6 cups.

Cooking InstructionsHide images

step 1

Soaking and cooking the chickpeas: Dissolve the Kosher Salt (3 Tbsp) into 4 quarts of water. Add the Dried Chickpeas (2 1/4 cups) and soak for 8 to 24 hours.

step 2

Drain, rinse and place in a pot with Kosher Salt (1 tsp). Cover with water by three inches. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook at the gentlest simmer for about 45 minutes or until the chickpeas are cooked through. Let the chickpeas cool in their cooking liquid. Store the chickpeas in their cooking liquid.

step 2 Drain, rinse and place in a pot with Kosher Salt (1 tsp). Cover with water by three inches. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook at the gentlest simmer for about 45 minutes or until the chickpeas are cooked through. Let the chickpeas cool in their cooking liquid. Store the chickpeas in their cooking liquid.

step 3

Heat a soup pot over high heat. Add the Olive Oil (4 Tbsp), then the Yellow Onion (1) and Kosher Salt (1 tsp). 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.

step 4

Lower the heat if there is any browning going on, and cover. Cook like this until the onion is tender, about 15 minutes.

step 5

Add the Cumin Seeds (2 tsp), Paprika (1 tsp), Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (to taste), Fresh Cilantro (1/2 cup), and Garlic (2 cloves) and stir for 1 minute.

step 5 Add the Cumin Seeds (2 tsp), Paprika (1 tsp), Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (to taste), Fresh Cilantro (1/2 cup), and Garlic (2 cloves) and stir for 1 minute.

step 6

Add the Canned Crushed Tomatoes (3/4 cup) and cook for a couple of minutes more, stirring occasionally.

step 6 Add the Canned Crushed Tomatoes (3/4 cup) and cook for a couple of minutes more, stirring occasionally.

step 7

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.

step 7 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.

step 8

Lower to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

step 8 Lower to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

step 9

Put 2 ladles of soup in a blender or food mill and purée — careful: it’s hot.

step 10

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.

step 11

To serve: ladle the leblebi into bowls. Pass a bowl of Harissa Paste (to taste) on the side. Serve with warm Flatbread (to taste).

step 11 To serve: ladle the leblebi into bowls. Pass a bowl of Harissa Paste (to taste) on the side. Serve with warm Flatbread (to taste).

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