Passport & Plate - Moroccan Chickpea Stew
USA | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Spanish onions, chopped
• 1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped;
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon;
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 fennel bulb, diced (save fronds for garnish)
• 1 very large bunch chard, stems sliced 1/2-inch thick, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 large turnip, peeled and diced
• 1 pound or 32 ounce can of cooked chickpeas
• 1/3 cup diced dried apricots
• 1/2 preserved lemon, more to taste
• Chopped cilantro for garnish
How to prepare this recipe
1. Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Add onion and jalapeño and sauté until limp, 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper and cayenne and sauté until they release their fragrance, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and sauté for another minute, until darkened but not burned. (If tomato paste looks too dark too quickly, lower heat.)
2. Add fennel, chard stems, carrot and turnip and continue to sauté until vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes. Add water to barely cover.
3. Return heat to high if you lowered it and bring to a simmer. Partly cover pot, lower heat to medium low, and simmer for about 1 hour. Add more water if needed (this should be like a stew).
4. Add chard leaves and chickpeas, cook for five minutes. Then add apricots and preserved lemon to pot and continue simmering until chard is tender, about 5 minutes longer. Serve garnished with cilantro and reserved fennel fronds.
The story behind this recipe
“Heading to Irbid?” I asked in my halting, school girl Arabic. My earnest face on the cusp of a smile, I started to nod hopefully as she slowly shook her head no. I guess we wouldn’t be sharing a taxi then. Having just crossed the border from Israel, I was optimistically searching for another traveler heading to the Jordanian city in the North. Quickly realizing I was the only Westerner (or ghareeba) and the locals had already arranged their own transportation, I hopped into a taxi with a kind looking, elderly man, assuming everything would turn out alright. As we sped off into the mountains, the sun a ball of fire quickly melting behind us, I had ample time to reflect on how exactly I ended up here – a 26 year old, blond haired, blue eyed, American traveling alone in the Middle East.
A question, I assure you, most of my family and friends were also asking. Yet for me, this was a natural step of a journey that began 4 years when, on a whim, I took my first Arabic language class. I fell in love. Not only with the poetic language, rich history and fascinating culture but the food, oh the food. Kunafa, kibbeh, and fatayer suddenly became a part of my daily lexicon. Weekends were consumed by a hunt for the best falafel, hummus or tagine.
When my Moroccan friend sent me this recipe for a chickpea stew I knew immediately I had to make it. I made the first batch and invited neighbours to taste. That night we finished the pot and it quickly became a staple dish in my kitchen. To me it represents some of the best parts of Arab cooking. Bold flavours meld together in subtle sophistication. The spice of the pepper tempered by the sweetness of apricots with just a touch of briny, salty lemon. A few cooling sprigs of cilantro finish the dish. This stew warms you from the inside out.
I hope you will enjoy it as much my eager taste testers and I did.
Bon appétit!
