Spicy chickpeas with preserved lemon

There are days when I just don’t feel like spending time in the kitchen but I need to eat something -something tasty and satisfying. On those days when there’s no time, energy and not even anything much to cook with, this spiced up chickpea dish is the one I turn to. And it doesn’t even feel like a standby but a perfect meal in its own right.

You can make this with soaked, cooked chickpeas but that requires planning and I usually make this when I haven’t given a moment’s thought to what we are going to eat and it’s late and we are hungry. I simply use a jar of ready cooked chickpeas, which I always have in in my food cupboard. Here in Spain they are very good, as chickpeas – garbanzos – are very much part of the staple diet. The Spanish way to make them is rich and hearty with chorizo and other meats but my version is vegetarian and tending to Moroccan flavours. I use preserved lemons (yes, again!) but if you don’t have any, then add lemon juice and lemon zest instead to get a mellow lemony kick. I add whatever vegetables I have and think will go well, my favourites being either fresh spinach, fennel or red pepper. My first choice is fennel.

 

The nice thing about this is that there is no definitive recipe. You can improvise according to what you have on hand. However, the base is always the same.

Spicy Chickpeas with Preserved Lemon

Olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 -2  cloves garlic crushed

1/2 medium sized preserved lemon  thinly sliced (the peel) or lemon juice and zest

salt, black pepper, thyme, chilli flakes, ground cumin, (1/2 tsp), paprika

1 jar/can cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed

A couple of big handfuls of fresh spinach OR 1 fennel (sliced) OR 1 diced red pepper.

 

• Gently sautee the chopped onion and garlic in olive oil. When it’s all soft and translucent, add the chopped preserved lemon peel. Let it all cook together for a good 5 minutes. Keep it moving.
• If you are adding a hard vegetable like fennel or red pepper, add it now but don’t overcook. They shouldn’t be too soft. If using fennel, keep some leaves for adding at the end.
• Season it well with some salt (not too much as the preserved lemons are already salty), black pepper, chilli flakes according to taste, thyme, a little ground cumin. Make it tasty.
• Open your jar of chick peas, give them a good rinse, drain them well and throw them into the pot. Mix it all up and heat it through so the flavours permeate. Taste, and if needs more flavour, add a spoonful of the preserved lemon juice or more spice.
• If you are using fresh spinach, tear it up – or chop roughly, and add it right at the very end. Cover and turn off the heat. The spinach just needs to wilt.

I like to eat this with some natural yoghurt and fresh mint on the side (or just yogurt if you have no mint), and a freshly grated carrot salad, but you can serve it with rice to make it go further – and of course, any other salad you fancy

 

 

Really quick and satisfying and just as delicious cold. Try it.

If you have a favourite quick ‘fall back’ recipe worth sharing, please feel free to post in the comments below.

Also, if you missed the last post for the seeded crackers, check it out. Great recipe.