Chickpea, Chorizo & Tomato Stew

Yesterday was something of a momentous day for me – so much so that I went to bed early and as a result this post is a little late – you see it was my daughters first day at school.

I think it went well, well enough for her to have been up since 6am dressed and ready for day two.  I’m writing this whilst she fills in time before it will actually be time to go.  I suspect I’ll need some exciting things planned for the weekend otherwise the constant: “when is it time to go back to school” may drive me slightly insane.  I have no doubt that all this wont last and she’ll be resenting school with the best of them soon enough so perhaps I should enjoy this…

This recipe though has absolutely nothing to do with either my daughter (although she does like it) or indeed school but it is both; what we had for dinner yesterday and a nice way to use some ripe tomatoes that, if you are in the southern hemisphere, you hopefully have sitting around at the moment.  Having said that the dish would work equally well with preserved tomatoes, or passata, or tins so could really be cooked anywhere, anytime.

 Chickpea, Chorizo & Tomato Stew (Serves 2 adults & 2 kids)

  • 125g chickpeas or 500g cooked chickpeas
  • 250g chorizo (if you have a really nice, strongly flavoured chorizo you may not need quite this quantity) chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 10 medium sized tomatoes chopped into small dice (you can skin them if you like but I don’t think its necessary)
  • 3 tblspn olive oil
  • 1 onion – chopped into small dice
  • 1 red capsicum – cut into small dice
  • 3 big fat garlic cloves – finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli – finely chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp paprika (I use standard paprika as I find the smoked one a bit too artificial tasting when used in tomato dishes)
  • 1 cup chicken stock ( you may not need the full cup worth) or stock from cooking the chickpeas
  • 1 small bunch parsley, leaves finely chopped and stalks reserved for cooking the chickpeas.
  • a really nice extra virgin olive oil for finishing.
  • Salt & Pepper

If you are using uncooked chickpeas, as I usually do, soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of water and with 1 tsp bicarb soda added.  Drain.  Place the chickpeas into a saucepan with plenty of water, some parsley stalks and a few bits of tomato (for some reason I find beans and peas cooked with a bit of tomato taste much nicer).   Bring to the boil and then simmer until cooked.  Drain reserving the cooking water to use as stock either in this recipe or at a later date.

If you have more aromatics on hand like celery, thyme, carrot etc by all means add them to the chickpea water, as they will add depth to stock you produce.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a wide based pan (either a saucepan or a high sided frying pan work well.)  and fry the chorizo until it starts to brown.  Remove the chorizo from the oil and set aside.  Add the onion to the hot oil and cook over a lowish heat for about 5 minutes.  Add the capsicum.  Cook until the capsicum & onion are soft.  Add garlic and chilli and cook for another few minutes.  Add the paprika & bay leaf then the  tomatoes.  Cook until the tomatoes collapse.  At this point add the chicken stock (if your tomatoes are very watery you will not need to add the full cup of stock).  Bring back to the boil.  Reduce a bit if you think it needs it.  Add the chickpeas & chorizo.  Season with salt & pepper. Cook for a further 5 -10 minutes.  Add the parsley.  Stir through, remove from heat.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Serve with chunky bread.

To see what others are cooking this week head over to the Gardener of Eden for Thursdays Kitchen Cupboard.

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12 Responses to Chickpea, Chorizo & Tomato Stew

  1. Julie says:

    First day of school… how exciting!! I hope she enjoys it. The chickpea stews looks tasty. Have you ever grown chickpeas?

  2. Leanne says:

    It will go on for sometime, a few years at least. I can remember when my first daughter started she loved it so much and I had a lot of trouble getting her to come home. She was sick with a tummy bug at one stage and she cried because she wasn’t allowed to go. Now the other one, she never wanted to go and even when she started liking it still would stay home any chance she could. Enjoy it while it lasts, the next you know they are in Year 12 and all grown up.

  3. L says:

    Oh, how exciting for you- such a big transition! J is desperate to go to ‘big school’. I would have sent her if I had had a choice, but it will be nice to have her all to myself for another year.

    • Liz says:

      We did have fun last year but there were quite a few times that I bemoaned the fact that they don’t start til they are 5. I think I spent most weeks last year explaining when February was and how long away it was, so I do sympathise….

  4. Sound delicious and we do have some frozen tomatoes.
    I must say I went to school ’til I was in my late forties and the novelty had worn off by then!

  5. Robin says:

    I went home and cried when my youngest went off to school. It’s great that she loves it!

    We love chorizo. This recipe sounds wonderful. I will have to make it with some other type of bean since “The Italian” is allergic to chickpeas. I think it would be good with one of the dried beans we have here.

  6. Norma Chang says:

    You and I are thinking the same thoughts, chickpeas . Just posted a chickpeas stew recipe over at the Gardener of Eden. Your daughter’s outfit is so cute – hat, backpack …

  7. Rick says:

    This soup looks delicious thanks for the recipe, we may have to try it out with some of our canned tomatoes.

    All our kids have had their first days of school, in fact some are getting close to their last days. Our youngest was very enthusiastic about school too and it has never really worn off after three years. Maybe you’ll be lucky and yours will always love school.

  8. Wilderness says:

    Liz that looks so good except for the chick peas. I have never been able to acquire a taste for them.

    I to am late with my post. Just did it today.

  9. Mrs.Pickles says:

    that looks yummy! going to copy it down to try!

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