Tunisian Chickpea Breakfast Stew - cooking recipe

Ingredients

For the stew
1 lb chickpeas (washed, picked over and soaked in 2 quarts water for six hours or overnight)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, green shoots removed, minced
1 tablespoon cumin seed, lightly toasted and ground
2 tablespoons harissa, to taste (or if harissa is not available, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more)
salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (more to taste)
Garnishes (choice of)
lemon wedges or preserved lemon wedge
coarse sea salt or kosher salt
harissa
chopped fresh tomato
diced green and red bell pepper
chopped hard-boiled egg
rinsed capers
ground lightly toasted cumin
finely chopped flat leaf parsley
finely chopped cilantro
crouton
thinly sliced scallion, both white and green parts
extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Drain the chickpeas, and combine with 2 quarts water in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer one hour.
Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium heat in a medium-size, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Stir in the garlic and cumin, and stir together for 30 seconds to a minute, until the garlic smells fragrant. Remove from the heat, and stir into the beans.
After the beans have cooked for an hour, stir in the harissa and salt to taste. Cover and continue to cook for another 30 minutes to an hour, until the beans are very tender and the broth fragrant. Add lemon juice, and taste and adjust salt.
Serve the soup. Passing your choice of condiments on a large tray, or have them laid out on a buffet to stir into the soup.