Leblabi ( Tunisian Chickpea Soup)
from EdsGirlAngie

After all the excesses of the holidays, this is such a nice, light and brothy soup to turn to. It has all of my favorites, including lemon, cilantro, garlic and chickpeas, and it has a surprise taste of caraway. Plus, it goes together in about a half-hour (unless you want to make it from scratch with dried beans). Serve with crispy croutons.

SERVES 8

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground caraway (you can use the whole seeds... but this is a light soup and they will sink to the bottom of the bowl)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 (14 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (garbanzos)
• 2 (14 ounce) cans vegetable broth or 4 cups of your own vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper

In a large saucepan or soup pot, saute the garlic and jalapenos in the olive oil until garlic is lightly golden.

Add the caraway and oregano and stir in for a couple of minutes.

Add the chickpeas, broth and water; simmer together over medium heat for about 20 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice and cilantro, season to taste with salt and pepper (I like lots of black pepper); simmer for 5 more minutes and serve topped with croutons.