Soup meets salad in this nutrient-packed vegetarian dish inspired by a recipe for lablabi (Tunisian breakfast stew) in Clifford Wright’s “A Mediterranean Feast”. You start out preparing it like a soup by cooking onions and spices, adding water and simmering, but then finish it like a salad by adding raw tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos, herbs, lemon juice and a generous glug of olive oil – a great way of preserving all the healthy plant compounds in these ingredients! Home-made North African spice pastes– chermoula and harissa (see recipes on separate sheet) – add gutsy flavors that will cover up the taste of canned chickpeas, making this a delicious quick-and-easy weeknight dish! Other additions can include preserved Moroccan lemons, capers and bread croutons. In the summer you can eat it at room temperature or lukewarm (think: salad), in the winter, enjoy it hot (think: soup!). By the way, this way of hard-boiling eggs prevents the ugly grey-green yolk rings that come from overcooking. I often cook 6eggs at once and keep a few in the fridge for quick, sustaining snacks (source).
Tunisian Chickpea "Salad"
Ingredients
- 4 Eggs
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Red Onion halved and finely sliced
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 4 cloves Garlic crushed
- 4 cups cooked chickpeas drained
- 2 cups water or vegetable stock
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
- 1/2 Red Pepper finely cubed
- 1/2 fresh jalapeno chili finely diced
- 1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp chermoula optional
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place eggs in a single layer in a small pot, cover with cold water and add a teaspoon of baking soda. On “high,” bring the eggs to a boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes (use a timer). Strain out the water from the pot, fill the pot with cold water and a handful of ice cubes to cool the eggs down. Once cooled, set aside.
- Crush garlic and leave it on a chopping board for 10 minutes. Warm 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion in it for 5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cumin and cook, stirring constantly, for a minute.
- Add chickpeas and water or stock, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. While the chickpeas are simmering, chop tomatoes, peppers, jalapeno and cilantro and peel the cooled eggs. After 10 minutes, remove pot form heat and add chopped vegetables, lemon juice, olive oil and chermoula to the chickpeas. Stir and season to taste with salt and pepper; stir in chopped cilantro.
- Serve in individual bowls, topped with quartered eggs and a small dish of harissa for anyone who wants some extra heat.
