Today’s recipe is my last hurrah of comfort food before we start to swelter in the heat 😉 . Looking out now (it’s sunny but the wind is sooo cold) it feels like I’m tripping a little, but I live in hope that we will soon be able to leave cold weather behind for a while. This Greek inspired lemon flavoured chickpea stew is very popular in my house. Duncan is a big fan and so am I, so I make it regularly.
It’s really easy to make, filling, healthy and so comforting but not too heavy. While it’s akin to Greek ‘revithada’, I’ve put my own spin on it so it’s not a traditional way a Greek γιαγιά or pappoús (men can and should cook too!) would typically make it. For starters many Greek cooks simmer dry chickpeas directly in the stew, but I opted to use separately cooked chickpeas instead. Firstly, it’s because I know that many people use already cooked store-bought chickpeas and also because when you cook your chickpeas separately, it is much easier to skim them and because I tend to use aquafaba in many of my recipes. My second addition was to include an entire head of roasted garlic, which may seem like a lot, but trust me its flavour is mellow and deep and it makes this stew particularly delicious and addictive. I also decided to blend a portion of the chickpeas with creamy plant milk and said garlic to add body and creaminess to the dish. If you want it even more indulgent, a couple of tablespoons of tahini is also a nice addition. Instead of onions, I decided to use a seasonal leek as it adds a beautiful hit of sweetness and a pop of colour combined with the onion’s milder cousin Madame French shallot. You can totally use an onion instead or two large shallots or two leeks. They all work well. Finally, I’ve added a handful of chard at the very end to celebrate my ‘chard crop’. I planted it from seed a couple of years ago and last year an army of ravenous slugs completely beat me to it. This year, because it’s been unseasonably dry, the slugs have backed off and I discovered, to my great astonishment, that I have a proud bunch of chard waiting to be consumed. You can also use kale or spinach or nothing at all. Or if you are after some extra comfort, I really like adding some cubed potatoes in at the end for extra bulk and nutrition. Well, I hope you’ll enjoy my take on this Greek classic as much as we do and that it will provide you with some comfort during the still cold evenings.
**I made this stew with creamy almond milk with a high percentage of almonds, other neutral flavoured creamy milks like oat, cashew or even soy milk will work well too. I would steer clear of coconut though as it’s more suited to Asian-inspired stews.
