Chickpea stew....

[patR]

Chickpea and Veggie .... sort of stew thingy...

Sorry but all the amounts are quite vague as Im not a very precise cook, a handful of this, a dollop of that...

I have a litre jug and use that to soak dried beans etc...for Rik n me I'd soak only a coffee mug of dried chickpeas, when soaked they'll swell to about half a jugfull, which is plenty.

So...
Chickpeas, as above.
3-4 big toms sliced
3-4 small green peppers (I pick mine about the size of an orange) chopped.
1 big onion, 2 if you like...chopped
A couple of small aubergines or 1 large.. diced.
a good big handfull of sliced green beans...
I used a chunk of cauliflower I had left over too,
A good half teaspoon thyme.
chopped parsley.... to taste.
A good dollop of homemade passata..
A good dollop of olive oil.
Hot pepper sauce to your taste... optional...
Veg stock cube.
Soak and cook chickpeas... (boil for a few mins then simmer till soft... add a bay leaf and herbs but not salt or they'll be tought)

Meanwhile, in a heavey bottomed pan , fry off in olive oil, onions, toms, aubergines... add thyme,and parsley... simmer till all soft and melded together... add a dash of water , crumble in stock cube... add rest of veggies and simmer till soft and fragrant... add passata and hot sauce to your taste... (some may want to add a sprinkle of sugar if toms were not very sweet) Add chickpeas and cook for a few mins to let them absorb the flavours...

Serve with boiled rice.

[eccentric_emma]

mmmm chickpeas....that sounds lovely

[bonniethomas06]

Mmm, that does sound lovely. Do you think it would work in the slow cooker?

I guess you could just put the pre-soaked chick peas in and let them cook all day.

We are trying not to eat meat 4 days out of 7, so this would be ideal. Thanks!

[prison break fan]

Handfuls and dollops are my kind of cooking! pbf.

[grahamhobbs]

Anyone tried growing chickpeas? or lentils for that matter.

[contadina]

I've grown chickpeas in southern Italy over winter. I've had mixed success however as they are prone to fungal diseases and really don't like overly damp weather (it rained for six months solid last year). If you have the room, I'd be inclined to give both a go.

[grahamhobbs]

Contadina, thanks, can you let us know a bit more about them, when should they be sown, how do they grow, do they need support/protection, what quantity should you expect to harvest, etc, etc - I've never seen them described in English veg. books. Any info would be much appreciated.

[Sally Jane]

Sounds absolutely gorgeous - I'll definitely give it a try.
I'm sure it would do well in a slow cooker after the usual chickpea boiling ritual!

[StripyPixieSocks]

Sounds lovely, I love Chickpeas, infact we're having them tonight but Middle Eastern Style :)

We've going back to being practically vegetarian and if we eat meat it's got to be free range organic so any veggie recipes are great at the moment!

[contadina]

They should take around 100 days to grow, just sow a couple of seeds per post about the same depth as you would sow broad beans and about the same distance too. They won't need supports as they are quite a sturdy plant. Over here they usually sow the bigger varieties in October/November and the smaller ones in February. As we've had problems with a fungal disease owing to high humidity in the past we're going to sow them later this time to see if we get a higher yield.

Each plant grows quite a few pods and there are a few chickpeas in each. Once they've grown let them dry on the plant and then harvest them.

[grahamhobbs]

Thanks Contadina, I'll give them a little try, it will be nice experiment.