Tunisian Chickpea Soup (Lablabi)

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried chickpeas, picked over, covered with water, soaked overnight in refrigerator.
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 10 cloves garlic, slighly crushed
• 3/4 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red chile powder or chile caribe
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon hot paprika
• 10 cups chicken stock or water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Instructions

Drain the chickpeas, place themin a very large casserole or stock pot; cover wth fresh cold water; bring the mixture to a boil; then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until the chickpeas are just tender.

While the chickpeas are cookingt, heat the oil in a large skillet and add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, salt, black pepper, red chile powder, cumin, and paprika.  Saute the mixture slowly for 3 minutes, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and reserve.

Drain the chickpeas, pour them back into the large casserole, add the reserved vegetable saute mixture, add the stock, and stir until the mixture is well mixed.

Spoon about 1/2 of the mixture into a food processor or blender and puree.  Return the puree to the soup and reheat.  When the soup is hot, stir in the lemon juice and the cilantro.  Serve immediately.