With the ever changing weather from cold to warm to cold again, and the increase of the sniffles and cases of the crud around me, I am ramping up on immune boosters, natural antibiotics like raw minced garlic and spicy soups to clear out the sinuses and protect my health.

In addition to cooking, I love to read and was delighted to be given a travel food magazine called Milk Street from which I was introduced to Lablabi, a delicious and spicy chickpea soup from Tunisia. I actually ended up making two small pots since I could not get enough of the bright and complex flavors in the soup. I also tried making one pot with harissa and one with the Chinese chili sauce that is easier to find in more stores and was pleased that both were great. This soup combines Spanish flavors like olives, capers and cilantro with North African spices like harissa. I was intrigued to learn that this soup is traditionally a breakfast in Tunisia and is usually more combined like a porridge. I decided not to mash everything together and have more whole and identifiable ingredients. Color me lazy. I decided to work with canned organic chickpeas instead of dried for a quicker cooking time on a busy night. Even with the chickpeas in the dish last week, I was still inspired to use more chickpeas. This soup took about 30 minutes to make. Now if you prefer your chickpeas super soft then I would recommend adding 15 minutes of cook time. Check out the recipe below.

Lablabi (Makes 4)

Ingredients:
2 cups of large chopped French bread or ciabatta
1/4 cup harissa or alternate spicy chili sauce
1 can or organic low sodium chickpeas
1 cup diced onion
1/8 cup minced garlic (6-8 large cloves)
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 cups water
32 oz chicken stock or broth
4 boiled eggs
6 tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley
6 tbsp. chopped cilantro
4 tbsp. chopped olives
4 tbsp. capers
3 tbsp. olive oil (garlic infused optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and dice onion and add to a medium pot over medium heat with a splash of water and 2 tbsp. of olive oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
2. Smash and peel garlic cloves before chopping fine and add to pot. Stir well.
3. Add tomato paste and harissa and stir well. Rinse the can of chickpeas in cool water and add chickpeas and water to the pot. Top and bring to a boil for 20 minutes.
4. While that boils, line a small baking dish or sheet with foil. Slice bread and cube into large pieces. Place on baking sheet and toss with olive oil.
5. Bring eggs to boil in a separate small pot.
6. Add stock or broth and boil another 10-15 minutes. Add bread to oven.
7. While boiling, chop olives and fresh herbs. Remove eggs and rinse with cool water. Peel eggs.
8. Turn off pots and remove bread from oven.
9. Add a handful of bread to each bowl, top with soup mixture. Add 1 tbsp. of capers, olives and 1 1/2 tbsp. of parsley and cilantro to each bowl and one egg cut longwise.
10. Enjoy!