Lifestyle
A Greek island chickpea dish that moves slowly and tastes deeply
By Jewish Life Staff, . Jewish Life.
The Jewish Chronicle has published a recipe drawn from a cookbook devoted to Greek pantry cooking, showcasing a preparation that island cooks have long relied on: chickpeas cooked low and slow until their texture turns creamy and their flavor deepens.
The recipe comes from "Greek Odysea: Flavours of Greece from Pantry to Plate" by Odysea, published by Quadrille at £25. It pairs dried or canned chickpeas with rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, honey and lemon, all brought together in a covered clay pot or Dutch oven and baked for up to two hours.
How it comes together
If starting from dried chickpeas, the cook soaks them overnight, simmers them until just tender, then drains them before the main preparation begins. Canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed, can stand in for the dried ones.
The base is built in a wide pan: onion softened in olive oil, then garlic, a rosemary sprig, chopped sun-dried tomatoes and two tablespoons of honey stirred in together. The chickpeas and stock go in next, seasoned with salt and pepper, and the whole mixture moves into the covered pot for the oven.
After one and a half to two hours, the liquid should have reduced to what the publication describes as a glossy sauce. The rosemary sprig comes out, lemon juice goes in, and the dish is finished with a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper. The recipe suggests serving it warm alongside crusty bread.
Quantities
The recipe calls for 300 grams of dried chickpeas (or two 400-gram cans), four tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, one onion, two garlic cloves, 80 grams of sun-dried tomatoes, two tablespoons of Greek honey, 400 milliliters of stock or water, and the juice of half a lemon.