Lablebi: chickpea stew

Ingredients

For the lablebi

• 100ml oil
• A large sprig of fresh thyme
• 6 dried red chillies
• A pinch of salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 large cinnamon stick
• 2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 bulb of garlic, cloves peeled and minced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp salt
• 4 x 400g tins of chickpeas, drained

To serve

• 6 poached eggs
• 3 x 145g tins of tuna in brine, drained
• 180g jar of harissa
• 6 lemon wedges
• 354g jar of pitted black olives, drained
• A large handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• 6 small crusty baguettes, warmed

Method

Get a large pan and pour the oil straight in. Pop over a medium heat and as soon as the oil is hot, add the sprig of thyme in there and leave to one side. Add the dried red chillies and allow the chillies to toast and blacken very slightly. As soon as that happens, take the pan off the heat and carefully remove the chillies. Sprinkle with salt to keep them crisp and set them aside.

Now go in with the bay leaves, cinnamon stick and caraway seeds and toast them gently with the pan back on a low-to-medium heat. Add the minced garlic and toast till very golden brown. As soon as it is a golden brown, get the onions in with the salt and cook the onions till they are tender and golden.

Add the first three tins of drained chickpeas to the pan and mix through. Take the fourth tin, crush the chickpeas completely, add to the pan with 1 litre of water and bring to a boil. As soon as it comes to the boil, leave to simmer over a medium heat. You will know it is ready when the whole chickpeas are surrounded by a thick chickpea sauce and not a watery one.

While that cooks away, it’s great to get all the toppings ready to serve with the lablebi. Dish out the hot lablebi once it is off the stove. Remove the bay leaves and the cinnamon stick. Now serve with a poached egg, the tuna, a spoonful of harissa, a lemon wedge, black olives and a sprinkling of parsley. Warm up those crusty baguettes and serve alongside.

Image: Chris Terry

Recipe from Rooza by Nadiya Hussain (Penguin Michael Joseph)