Chick-Pea Tomato Stew with Moroccan Flavor

Made this with kala chana. Would be better with regular chick peas. Might experiment with assing more veggies.

Modified from Epicurious

ingredients

2 cups kala chana, picked over
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 cup olive oil
3 large onions, sliced thin (about 7 cups)
two 28- to 32-ounce cans whole tomatoes, drained, reserving juice, and chopped
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped peel of preserved lemons (substituted amchur powder)
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/2 pounds fresh spinach, stems trimmed and leaves washed well and drained (about 10 cups packed)


Dried Beans
1/2 to 1 pound dried beans, picked over

Accompaniment: couscous and crusty bread
preparation

In a bowl soak chick-peas in water in cover by 2 inches overnight and drain.

In a 3-quart saucepan combine chick-peas, cinnamon, cumin seeds, and water to cover, by 2 inches and simmer, covered partially, adding more water if necessary, 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until chick-peas are just tender. Discard cinnamon. Chick-peas may be made 1 day ahead, cooled completely, and chilled in their cooking liquid, covered.

In a large heavy kettle heat oil over moderate heat and cook onions, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with reserved juice, chick-peas with cooking liquid, raisins, preserved lemon peel, ground cumin, and coriander and bring to a simmer. Cook stew about 45 minutes, or until chick-peas are tender and liquid is thickened slightly. Stir in spinach, a heaping handful at a time, and cook until wilted and just tender.

Season stew with salt and pepper and serve with couscous and bread.

Chickpea and Leek Soup

One of our favorite soups shamelessly copied from Jamie Oliver who copied it from a friend who found it in some undocumented recipe book. Very tasty indeed. This is nice with roasted cauliflower.

Yield: 6

This is a recipe that my Aussie friend Bender found in some old recipe book. It is quick and easy to make and it tastes fantastic. The chickpeas go really creamy and moreish and the leeks go silky and sweet. These are just two simple flavours, and even though I?m a bit of a fresh herbs boy, this lovely light soup is very tasty.

Ingredients:

Chickpea and Leek Soup

• 12 oz chickpeas, soaked overnight in water
• 1 medium potato, peeled
• 6 leek, finely, sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• knob of butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely, sliced
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 850 ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 handful parmesan cheese, grated
• extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Chickpea and Leek Soup

1. Rinse the soaked chickpeas, cover with water, and cook with the potato until tender.
2. Remove the outer skin of the leeks, slice lengthways from the root up, wash carefully and slice finely.
3. Warm a thick-bottomed pan, and add the tablespoon of oil and the knob of butter. Add the leeks and garhc to the pan, and sweat gently with a good pinch of salt until tender and sweet.
4. Add the drained chickpeas and potato and cook for 1 minute. Add about two-thirds of the stock and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Purée half the soup in a food processor and leave the other half chunky this gives a lovely smooth comforting feel but also keeps a bit of texture.
6. Now add enough of the remaining stock to achieve the consistency you like. Check for seasoning, and add Parmesan to taste to round off the flavours.
7. This is classy enough for a starter, but I like it best for lunch in a big bowl with a good drizzle of my best peppery extra virgin olive oil, a grinding of black pepper and an extra sprinkling of Parmesan.© Jamie Oliver 2002
   http://www.jamieoliver.com