Chickpea Stew with Kale

This stew is so incredibly delicious, the recipe alone is worth the cost of the Gjelina cookbook. I'm not joking. I could eat this chickpea stew every day for weeks on end, and I would love it every time (which is unusual - I'm more of a "had it once, on to the next thing" kind of girl). It's satisfying, substantial, amazing with grilled bread (as recommended by the author), over rice/couscous/quinoa, or on its own.

Happily, Gjelina's chickpea stew is not an anomaly in this cookbook. I have enjoyed every single dish I've made from Gjelina (and will post about them soon, I promise). Not only are the recipes outstanding, but they are also remarkably simple and quick to execute. This cookbook wins bonus points for being laid out the way I believe all cookbooks should be; recipes and their accompanying photos are contained on the same two-page spread, so I don't have to flip pages to see how much of what ingredient is called for midway through cooking.

I've made this a few times, so I did make a few changes to the recipe, and discovered in the process that this stew is pretty difficult to mess up. Since I was too lazy to make the chickpeas from scratch the second time around, I just used canned chickpeas from Trader Joe's - honestly, it was worth the time trade-off. Without having to presoak chickpeas, this stew can be ready in under an hour and there's very little active time. Another time, I threw in almost double the number of carrots called for (5 instead of 3), and although it needed to rest a little longer for the flavors to really meld, it was still incredible. Travis Lett instructs you to blend only 1 cup of the soup base with 2 cups of the cooked chickpeas - I blended all of the soup base with 2 cups of the chickpeas because I prefer smooth soup. Finally, the spiced yogurt & harissa are great complements, but not strictly necessary to enjoy the stew. The key to this stew tasting phenomenal is the red wine vinegar - don't omit it. Also, it really does taste better after having some time to sit, so make a big batch and know that your second+ bowls will be better than the first! (or don't make it when you're hungry.)

Adapted slightly from Gjelina

Chickpea Stew with Kale

One of the best stews I've ever tasted! Even though the ingredient list looks length, you can use store-bought harissa and canned chickpeas, making this perfect for a fast weeknight dinner or for making a big batch on the weekend to enjoy throughout the week. Prep time assumes you are using canned chickpeas.

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Course: Vegetarian

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keyword: Gjelina

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 4 -6 bowls

Ingredients

Harissa (Makes ¾ cup)

• 12 dried guajillo chiles
• 2 dried cayenne chiles
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoons caraway seeds
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 4 garlic cloves chopped coarsely
• ½ preserved lemon minced rind only or zest from 2 lemons
• Kosher salt

Spiced Yogurt (Makes 2 cups)

• ¼ teaspoon coriander seeds
• ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 cup (237 grams) plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• juice from ½ lemon
• kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons water if needed

Chickpeas: proceed with 1.5 cans (455 grams) canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed, or make your own:

• 455 grams dried chickpeas
• 1 medium yellow onion quartered
• 1 medium carrot peeled and quartered
• 2 garlic cloves smashed
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs
• kosher salt to taste

Stew

• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• ¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
• 3 medium carrots peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• kosher salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine**
• 4 cups (960 ml) vegetable stock
• 1 bunch (10oz total) Tuscan kale*** stemmed and cut into 2-inch strips or 3 huge handfuls of torn kale
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Toppings

• ½ cup (75 ml) Spiced Yogurt
• ¼ cup (55 grams) Harissa

Instructions

Harissa

• Combine dried chiles in small saucepan with enough water to cover.
• Bring to boil, partially cover, then continue boiling until 75% of the water has evaporated and chiles are softened (30 minutes).
• Cool chiles in water.
• Toast the cumin and caraway seeds in a small pan over medium heat until fragrant (about 3 minutes).
• Set aside to cool, then grind to a powder with a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
• Combine the olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl.
• Puree the chiles and their cooking liquid in a food processor until smooth.
• Add garlic, preserved lemon, and ground cumin mixture to puree.
• With food processor running, slowly add the olive oil-vinegar in a steady stream until the puree has the consistency of a loose paste.
• Season with salt.
• Can be stored in the fridge for 1 week.

Spiced yogurt

• Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a small pan over medium heat until fragrant (about 3 minutes).
• Set aside to cool, then grind to a powder with a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
• In a food processor, combine the yogurt, ground cumin mixture, cilantro, and mint. Pulse until herbs are broken down and yogurt acquires a green tinge ( 5-10 seconds).
• Add olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice, then pulse to just combine.
• Taste and season with salt.
• As needed, stir in the water until the yogurt is thin enough to drizzle from a spoon (but still retains some thickness).
• Use right away, as the lemon juice will break the yogurt (or stop before adding the lemon juice, store up to a week in the fridge, and just add some lemon juice when using).

Cooking the chickpeas (skip if you are using canned)

• In a large pot, cover the chickpeas with water, plus an extra 2 inches, and soak overnight.
• Drain the chickpeas and rinse with cool water.
• Add the onion, carrot, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, and a pinch of salt to the chickpeas in the pot, then cover with fresh water by 2 inches.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower heat to a simmer and cook another 45 minutes until tender but not falling apart.
• Discard the bay leaf, then allow the chickpeas to cool in their cooking liquid. Drain cooled chickpeas and set aside.

Stew

• Toast the cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds in a small pan over medium heat until fragrant (about 3 minutes). Set aside to cool, then grind to a powder with a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
• In a clean soup pot over medium heat, warm the oil until hot. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, salt, and pepper. Cook until vegetables begin to soften and brown, about 10 minutes.
• Add the powdered cumin mixture as well as the paprika, turmeric, thyme, and bay leaf, continue cooking until fragrant (another 3 minutes).
• Stir in the tomato paste, stirring and scraping the bottom frequently to prevent burning, until fragrant and browned (about 5 minutes).
• Add the dry white wine, bring to a boil and stir to scrap up any browned bits, until the wine is reduced by half (about 2-3 minutes).
• Add the vegetable stock, discard the bay leaf, and return the stew to a simmer.
• Turn off the heat and let the stew cool somewhat prior to blending.
• Blend the soup base with 2 cups of the cooked/canned chickpeas until smooth.
• Return the puree to the pot, turn the heat back to medium, and add the kale.
• Cook until the kale is softened, about 5-10 minutes.
• Add the remaining chickpeas and stir to combine.
• Remove pot from heat and let the stew rest 20 minutes so the flavors have the opportunity to meld.
• Just before serving, spike in the vinegar and adjust the salt to taste. Dollop with spiced yogurt and a drizzle of harissa.

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