I saw Kylie tweeting about an easy chickpea recipe that she'd fallen in love with and immediately downloaded the badly photographed recipe to add to our rotation. I should have known immediately it was an Ottolenghi - ludicrously precise instructions like "11 garlic cloves" alongside big flavours? It has his fingerprints all over it.
It's also, somewhat surprisingly, incredibly simple - the confit takes a long time to bake, but preparation work is super minimal and the pay-off predictably wonderful. It's an oily, spicy delight, with the herby yoghurt providing a bit of freshness to cut through. We served it with paratha from the freezer, but something a bit more absorbent would really hit the spot I think. This is up there with Yotam's orecchiette for me, in terms of maximising simplicity and deliciousness. We'll definitely make it again!
Confit chickpeas
(based on this recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi)
chickpeas
2 x 400g cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
11 cloves of garlic, peeled
thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and julienned
400g cherry tomatoes
3 red chillies, with a slit cut down the side
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar and pestle
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar and pestle
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 teaspoons hot paprika
1 teaspoon caster sugar
200ml olive oil
salt
dressing
small bunch mint, leaves only
small bunch coriander, leaves only
200g yoghurt
1 tablespoon lime juice, plus bonus lime wedges to serve
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
In a casserole dish or other ovenproof pan that has a lid, combine all the chickpea ingredients, stirring thoroughly to mix everything together. Cover and cook for 70-80 minutes, stirring everything at the halfway point - you want the tomatoes to almost completely break down by the end.
When the chickpeas are nearly done, whiz together the dressing ingredients in a food processor.
Serve, with bread or rice and with yoghurt dressing and lime wedges.
Snap - I recently made this recipe after a colleague recommended it. It was really good and I enjoyed eating it different ways - best with roast pumpkin, baby spinach and rice I think - though I was lazy about the yoghurt sauce. It seemed very ottolenghi and yet less fussy than most of his dishes (esp when I just served it with yoghurt and lime juice). Definitely a keeper!
ReplyDeleteYes, when Michael suggested this one for dinner I replied that you had just posted about it that week! We've had several facebook comments from people who've already made it too... it's clearly a popular one. :)
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