Recipe!
Pan-Mediterranean Chickpea Stew, or, Why Improvisational Cooking Is the Best
Drain: one 19-oz. can of chickpeas. Open: one carton Pomì chopped tomatoes. Chop finely: a couple of cloves of garlic (to taste).
On one burner, start some rice cooking. On another burner, heat a splosh of olive oil in a pot. Add chopped garlic and stir around for a few seconds.
Add the drained chickpeas and stir everything vigorously. Throw in:
- cumin, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon (or to taste)
- coriander (to taste)
- black pepper (to taste)
- hot red pepper flakes (to taste)
Add enough of the tomatoes to generously coat the chickpeas but not enough to drown them utterly. Pour in: a splosh of lemon juice (to taste). Stir. If you are feeling expansive, add: a few saffron threads, crumbled between your thumb and forefinger.
Turn the heat down and give the chickpeas a chance to simmer. Meanwhile, chop into quarters: a quantity of pitted green olives (to taste). Throw them into the pot with everything else.
Stare into the refrigerator until a sudden inspiration hits you. Rinse: several small sprigs of fresh mint leaves. Tear the leaves up and add them to the stew last.
Add salt if you deem it necessary. Serve the stew over rice with a salad and a glass of Chianti while reflecting that the mint leaves were one of the best ideas you’ve had all week.
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