Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Shortcut Lablabi (Chickpea and Harissa Soup)

I got this recipe from the January-February issue of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Magazine. Unlike my previous post of "Makeshift Lablabi," I had harissa on hand. 

Here's the recipe. I also used a lime instead of a lemon because I like limes better.  

It's called "Shortcut" because I used canned chickpeas and store-bought croutons. 

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

2 shallots, chopped finely

6 cloves of garlic, minced

6 tablespoons of harissa

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

2 tablespoons of ground cumin

3 quarts of chicken stock

2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

For serving

Croutons, homemade or store-bought

Wedge of lime

Small handful of cilantro, chopped

Small handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped

Hard-boiled eggs, halved or quartered

Chopped green olives

Capers to suit

Process

Coat a Dutch oven/soup pot with olive oil, heat the oven to medium, and sweat down the onions and shallots. Once they are soft, dump in the garlic and cook it for less than a minute. Put in the tomato paste and cook for approximately five minutes. Add in the harissa and cumin and cook for a few minutes. 

Add the chicken stock and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the chickpeas and simmer for 5-10 minutes. 

When serving, put the croutons in the bottom of the bowl, ladle the soup over the bread, and top with a couple of hard-boiled eggs. Sprinkle capers, olives, cilantro, and parsley atop the soup and then squeeze the lime on top of the soup.