Tasty Tuesdays - Persian Herb and Chickpea Stew with Rice (Tieghan Gerard, Halfbaked Harvest)

Ok, I know. I said I’d be taking a break, but I tried out a particularly tasty recipe on the weekend which I just had to share: a Persian Herb and Chickpea Stew with Rice from Tieghan Gerard’s website Half baked Harvest. Understandably, I made a few adjustments to suit my tastes/ingredient availability, but please remember this is not my recipe – the original can be found here.

The first few steps are easy, just make sure not to let the onion or chickpeas burn during those first 5 minutes. Once you’ve added the seasonings, however, you will be greeted with the most amazing aroma, especially from the lemon zest.

Before starting on the third step, I added 2 ingredients of my own. To make this a little more like the stew recipes I make at home, I used 50g/1.75oz of pearl barley, soaked overnight and then boiled gently for an hour. Also, to add a little more protein, I included the meat from one decent sized chicken breast and a bone-in chicken breast with wing, seasoned with dried parsley, sweet paprika and salt/pepper, and slow cooked in a little red wine for 40 minutes at 150°C/300°F then roughly chopped.

Once the broth, lemon juice and salt have been added, I chose to leave the mixture to simmer for roughly 5 minutes to let the chicken soak up some flavour before adding the spinach and herbs, to which I made a second set of adjustments. I chose to make roughly half the amount but included 1 cup of fresh kale. And while I unfortunately forgot to buy the fresh herbs, I made do with 1/3 the amount in dried herbs (but I won’t forget them next time!)

All that’s left then is to let it carry on simmering for another 15 minutes while you cook the rice and, as Tieghan recommends, heat up a few fluffy naan breads to go on the side. And don’t forget the yoghurt on top!

It also tastes great warmed up the day after for lunch.

PERSIAN HERB AND CHICKPEA STEW WITH RICE (serves 6)

·         1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

·         1 yellow onion, chopped

·         2 cans (14 ounce) chickpeas, drained

·         kosher salt and pepper

·         3 cloves garlic, minced or grated

·         1 teaspoon ground turmeric

·         1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

·         2 teaspoons lemon zest

·         3-4 cups low sodium vegetable broth

·         2 tablespoons lemon juice

·         2 cups baby spinach

·         1/2 cup fresh cilantro (coriander), roughly chopped

·         1/2 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

·         1/4 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped

·         1 tablespoon chopped chives

·         2 cups cooked basmati rice

·         plain Greek yogurt, for serving

·         fresh mint, for serving

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add the chickpeas and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the chickpeas begin to crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, turmeric, crushed red pepper, and lemon zest, cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Carefully remove 1 cup of chickpeas and reserve for topping, only if desired.

3. To the chickpeas, add 3 cups broth, the lemon juice, and season with salt. Bring the mix to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Stir in the spinach, cilantro, parsley, dill, and chives, and simmer 10-15 minutes, until the spinach is wilted and the stew is very fragrant. Taste, adjusting salt and pepper as needed. If you would like a thinner consistency, add the remaining 1 cup broth.

4. To serve, divide the rice among bowls and ladle the stew overtop. Top with yogurt, the reserved chickpeas, and fresh mint.