Stay Toasty: Spiced Garlic Chickpeas
There is something about winter days like this, blowy and snowy and bone chilling, that drives me to the kitchen without fail. My instincts tell me to create something with warmth and big flavours to ride out the storm. The time for crisp, pure, clean flavours is on the way, but right now, I want something earthy, smoky, and just a bit fiery to get me through.
This is a fantastic way to get into chickpeas, and it could not be more simple to prepare. Allow yourself an extra day if you're starting from dried chickpeas (see note below), but this aromatic dish can take as little as 15 minutes end to end.
Serve them up on salads, with some sausage and kale for dinner, or scooped in a pita with some baba ganoush, tabbouleh, peppers and cucumber. Delish!
Spiced Garlic Chickpeas 4 cups cooked/tinned chickpeas 1 heaped tsp cumin 1 heaped teaspoon garam masala
1 heaped teaspoon turmeric (dried, or grated fresh if you have it) 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp chilli flakes 4 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped Olive oil Sea salt 1 big handful cilantro leaves Heat 2 tbsp olive oil on medium heat in a large frying pan. Add the spices and chilli flakes and gently toast until aromatic, about one minute. Tip in the chickpeas and stir to coat in the spicy oil. Add the crushed garlic and stir. Reduce heat to low. Chop the cilantro and stir the chickpeas frequently while cooking for about 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle in the salt and cilantro leaves and stir to mix. Drizzle over a bit more olive oil and serve.
*If starting from dried chickpeas, measure out about 1.5-2 cups of chickpeas and soak in a bowl with warm water for about 24 hours. Pick out any discoloured ones and quickly rinse with fresh water. Cook the chickpeas, which will have about doubled in volume, in about 1 litre of water to 1 cup of chickpeas. Boil for 15 minutes, then reduce to a low simmer and cook for 2.5-3 hours until cooked and ready to use.