This chickpea harissa bread soup is a variation of lablabi, a Tunisian chickpea stew. The traditional stew has a thin broth with chickpeas served over toasted bread. This version is also served over toasted bread, but the broth is thick and creamy.
The Italians also have a version of bread soup, usually made with stale bread and tomatoes. Italian bread soup has you add the bread to the pot at the end of cooking. I prefer this version of bread soup where the bread is toasted and added to the bowls. It maintains more texture, kind-of like a crouton.
As you can see, bread soup is common across many cultures, and for a good reason. It is a delicious way to use up bread that is past its prime and give it new life. This reduces food waste and is budget friendly!
The bread is my favorite part of this soup. I used homemade sourdough, just less than half a loaf (recipe coming soon!). The bread soaks up the flavors of the creamy chickpeas and the gentle heat of the harissa as well as lending its own sweet toasted nutty flavors.
Variations to the Chickpea Harissa Bread Soup recipe:
Can I make it with canned chickpeas? In theory, yes, but I have not tried it because freshly cooked chickpeas just taste so much better. The bean cooking liquid becomes the base for your soup, so freshly cooked chickpeas lend a more flavorful soup overall.
What is Harissa? Harissa is a chili pepper paste made along with some other seasonings traditionally from north Africa. There are many variations, but the Tunisian variety is the hottest. If you cannot find a Tunisian variety, simply use a little more. You could also substitute another hot sauce if you cannot get it.
What bread should I use? Be sure to use quality artisanal bread for the best flavor. Cheap aisle 2 bread from the grocery store tastes, well, not so good, and will not add good flavor to your soup. I love the flavor of sourdough here but anything flavorful will work.
- 1 ½ cups chickpeas, rinsed, soaked 8 hours
- 4 ¾ cups water
- 2 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 6 TBS extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 8 oz hearty bread, such as artisanal sourdough
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 TBS cumin
- 1 TBS tomato paste
- 3 TBS fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ TBS Tunisian harissa (use more if it is not Tunisian)
- Parsley, for garnish
- Drain the chickpeas and place back in the pot. Add 4 ¾ cup water, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp kosher salt, and 1 TBS olive oil. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until tender.
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 400 F. Slice the bread, then rip it into bite size or smaller pieces. Spread out onto a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile add the onion and 1 TBS olive oil to a skillet. Saute over medium low heat until the onion turns translucent. Mix in the garlic, and saute another minute. Mix in the cumin, tomato paste, and remaining 1 tsp kosher salt and saute 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.
- When the chickpeas are tender, remove the bay leaves then use a slotted to remove 2 cups of chickpeas, placing them in a blender. Use a liquid measuring cup and remove ¾ cup liquid from the pot, placing in the blender along with 4 TBS olive oil. Blend until smooth.
- Stir the blended chickpeas back into the cooked chickpeas along with the onion mixture, fresh lemon juice, and harissa. Cook until heated through, about 2-3 minutes.
- Divide bread pieces among 6 bowls. Ladle soup over top. Serve immediately. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
Recipe inspired by Cool Beans by Joe Yonan.
