Chickpea recipe stew

Chickpea stew recipe

How to make stewed chickpeas Preparation time45 minCooking time35 min

Ingredients:

• 500 grams of cooked chickpeas
• ½ onion
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 bouillon cube or a pinch of salt
• 1 ripe tomato 
• 1 green bell pepper
• 500 ml of water
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• ½ red bell pepper
• 50ml olive oil

Chickpea stew is a good dish for the winter, however, in the Mediterranean countries it is consumed practically at any time of the year. Although there are variations depending on the region, the preparation of stewed chickpeas is very similar everywhere.

If you don’t know how to cook chickpeas, you can buy a jar at the supermarket, but you should check the product label for the weight of the drained chickpeas, which is what you need for this recipe. If, on the other hand, you want to use dried chickpeas and make them from scratch, don’t miss this simple preparation.

To start, you have to place the chickpeas in warm water. These must be soaked for at least 12 hours, therefore, they must be left overnight. At this point it is important to add that if the water in your place of residence comes with a lot of lime, then you should add a teaspoon of baking soda. 

The next day, before preparing the stewed chickpeas, you must drain them well and discard the water completely. In a pot, pour enough water so that the grains are completely covered. When the water reaches the boiling point, you can add the chickpeas to cook them over low heat for a period of 2 to 3 hours. If you have an electric or express pot, the time is reduced to only 30 minutes.

If you already have the cooked chickpeas, you can start preparing the stew. For this you must place the olive oil in a pot and fry the whole garlic until they take on a golden hue. Then, you have to crush them in a mortar with salt to taste. You can add the teaspoon of sweet paprika and a little water to help integrate the ingredients.

Meanwhile, in the same pot that you have prepared the garlic, you must fry the chopped peppers and the chopped onion over medium high heat for about 10 minutes. Then, you must change to a low heat to add the chopped tomato, mixing everything very well. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes, then add the crushed garlic with the sweet pepper and finally the well-drained chickpeas. You must mix everything and cook for 5 minutes.

It only remains to taste a little to rectify the amount of salt if necessary. And that’s it, now you know how to prepare stewed chickpeas in a practical and simple way. You can accompany them with some salad and bread.