Jihva For Ingredients #3

Jihva for Ingredients is hosted by Sailu's Food and this month's theme is Dals. I've chosen a pulse that's popular in both Indian and Mediterranean cuisine - the chickpea.

These are dried chickpeas and I'll be using them in a recipe adapted from "A little taste of Spain" by Vicky Harris. It's a simple concept, chickpeas are teamed with that typical Spanish ingredient Chorizo to produce a spicy and flavoursome dish, just perfect for Tapas.

Chickpeas with Chorizo

150g dried chickpeas

1 bay leaf

4 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

750ml chicken stock

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, sliced finely

3 garlic cloves, sliced finely

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped

1 dried chorizo (your preference mild or hot), chopped into chickpea sized pieces

2 stalks fresh parsley, leaves stripped and roughly chopped

Soak the chickpeas in water overnight.

Drain, then place in a saucepan with bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon stick and stock, add water if the chickpeas aren't completely covered, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 1 hour, or until chickpeas are just tender. Drain and remove the bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon stick. I also like to remove any loose skins as I find the outer skins can be hard to digest.

Heat oil in frying pan, add onion and cook over medium heat until translucent. Add the chorizo and cook for a few minutes until the chorizo starts to crisp up slightly. Add garlic and thyme and cook for another minute.

Add chickpeas, mix well then stir over medium heat until they are heated through. Remove from heat and stir through parsley. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper but I found that the chorizo imparted a lot of flavour into the mix and it didn't really need anything extra.

Serve hot or at room temperature with a chilled glass of Fino Sherry.




Tagged with Jihva : JFI