Chickpeas to me is comfort food. My father’s side of the family being Egyptian/Syrian/Turkish, I have grown up eating this grain and it is a staple in my diet. A couple of months ago I received my favorite magazine in the mail, Saveur, and I came across this recipe.
Initially, I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it. Generally I like my vegetables barely cooked, fresh and crispy. But this article praised slow cooked veggies. I figured I would give it a try, thinking that I wasn’t going to be that thrilled with it. What a surprise! I fell in love with it. It is really simple, flavourful, and the one word that comes to mind, is comforting. It was so reminiscent of the flavour profiles that I grew up with, that instantly I knew I was going to make this dish again and again.
It is quite heavy on the cumin, which I love, but the original recipe calls for an hour of cooking time. I reduced that to 35 minutes, because I wanted more tomato sauce than Saveur’s. This is a perfectly simple and delicious meal that can be enjoyed on it’s own with a loaf of crusty bread, à la girl in a food frenzy’s. But you can always have it as a side dish as well, with something simple, like grilled fish or steak.
So here’s what you’re going to need:
Adapted from Saveur Magazine
SERVES 4-6
INGREDIENTS
¼ cup olive oil
2 tsp. cumin seeds
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat the oil in an 8-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat; add cumin seeds and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
I’m so flattered that you’d consider my bread as a worthy substitute to your dish, truly 🙂 I love simply cooked green beans, with tomatoes and garlic. So adding in chickpeas and other delicious spices is a sure fire winner for me too!
I think that your bread and my stew would make a happy couple…..I eat this all the time, and wanted to share. But now I have to try and make your bread to go with it…..can’t wait for the weekend as I have a huge catering on Thursday and can’t make anything time consuming until afterwards, but lazy Sunday will be trying out your “mock” sourdough…which is one of my favorites…..can’t wait!
Thanks Carla! I love that you’re excited about the recipe! Truly any bread dough would work fine, it’s all about the wacky technique for me 🙂
This looks great! I love chickpeas too, they are filling and satisfying in a way that other legumes aren’t. This is definitely on my to do list!
I am happy you liked it, trust me, it is just so yummy there are few words to describe. I think you’re just going to have to make it! 🙂
This would be great over a bed of brown rice. I’ll be borrowing this recipe too!
Please do! Thanks for checking in!