Lablabi

(Image from harissa.com)

Lablabi is a "popular" (in the French sense) food that you can find at many quick-serve places in Tunis. It's a great, simple food that works the best when it's cold outside (it also knocks you off your feet and into nap time for half an hour). Basically, lablabi is a thick soup of chickpeas, garlic, and sometimes onion. You break bread up into little pieces, and then you ladle the soup over it. After, you add cumin (or during the cooking), harissa, olive oil, and lemon juice. You can also add a runny soft-boiled egg if you feel comfortable with it (I do it, but also I'm not here for a week-long excursion that could be shot by a bad egg).

Then you take two spoons and mash it all up. The resulting mixture is a nice, thick chickpea stew with a solid and simple flavor - the chickpeas and the olive oil and lemon come through, as does the harissa. Another great benefit is the price - a lablabi with an egg in Tunis is 1.500 TD, which is a steal.

Just go into a decent fast-food and ask "'Andik lablabi?"