A warming chickpea soup enriched with garlic, cumin, and lemon, ladled over torn pieces of stale flatbread. This humble Iraqi street food is the ultimate rainy-day meal, simple yet deeply satisfying.
Ingredients
3 cups cooked chickpeas
6 cups chickpea cooking liquid or water
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
Juice of 2 lemons
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Stale flatbread, torn
Chopped parsley
Harissa paste (optional)
Instructions
1Bring chickpeas and their cooking liquid to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat.
2Add minced garlic, cumin, and turmeric. Simmer for 15 minutes to develop the flavors.
3Mash some of the chickpeas against the side of the pot to thicken the broth while leaving most whole.
4Squeeze in the lemon juice and drizzle olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper.
5Place torn pieces of stale flatbread in the bottom of deep bowls. Ladle the hot chickpea soup over the bread.
6Drizzle with more olive oil, sprinkle with parsley, and add a spoon of harissa if desired. Serve piping hot.
Did You Know?
Lablabi is one of the few dishes that actually tastes better with stale bread — fresh bread gets too mushy and misses the point entirely.