Recipes

Food Is Medicine – Greek-Style Braised Chickpeas

By January 14, 2021March 16th, 2024No Comments

This recipe looked complicated at first but ended up being very simple to make.  It only took 30 minutes from start to finish and was so delicious.  The orange flavor really came through in a tasty way and was not overbearing.  I did not have bay leaves or parsley so I substituted Thyme and thinly sliced celery.  Feel free to substitute things in this recipe.  As in the case of parsley, it was green so I looked for something else I had that was green.  With bay leaves, I looked for a seasoning that was similar in taste and came up with Thyme.  Last thing, I also cut this recipe down to 2/3 of the original since I was only cooking for me.  I still ended up freezing 2 servings for use at a later time.

  • 1/4 cup virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
  • 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 Tablespoons honey, divided
  • 3  15 1/2 Ounce cans chickpeas, drain reserve 1/4 cup of liquid
  • 28 Ounce can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 Medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 3 Medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced.
  • 5 Bay leaves
  • 1 Sprig of rosemary
  • 1 Teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 1/4 Cup orange juice
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped oregano
  • 1/2 Cup lightly packed fresh flat-leafed parsley, chopped
  1. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, combine oil, tomato paste, and 1 tablespoon of honey.  Cook, stirring often until the tomato paste begins to brown, 6 to 7 minutes.  Stir in chickpeas and tomatoes with their juices. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated, 10 to 12 minutes.
  2. Stir in the onion, garlic, bay, rosemary, orange juice, 1 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and reserve chickpea liquid.  Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, 12 to 15 minutes.
  3. Remove from the heat, then taste and season with salt and pepper.  Stir in the oregano and orange zest.  Transfer to a serving bowl.  Sprinkle with parsley, then drizzle with the remaining honey and additional oil.

 

From the Jefferson Journal – Recipe created Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street in Boston