Chickpea Stew & Nom De Plume
by Chelsea Manoff
Try this healthy and satisfying recipe paired with Nom de Plume.
Feeds 6, or enough for leftovers
~25 mins cooking time, (if prep beans and rice beforehand)
Tools:
Rice cooker and Pressure cooker electric
Ingredients:
2 cups Dry chickpeas
3 cups Jasmine rice
1 large onion
1 whole garlic bulb
1 large nub of ginger
1 sweet pepper
¼ cup coconut oil
4 cups chicken or vegetarian broth
4 ‘leftover’ fennel stalks & fronds, can slice the bulb as well if you have it
1-2 hot peppers sliced, hot or mild it’s chef’s choice
3oz tomato paste 1 small can
1 TBS Garam masala (or more per your preference)
1TBS Tumeric ground
Kosher salt & Ground Pepper for seasoning
Cilantro finely chopped for garnish
Lemon wedges for garnish
Steps:
Soak 2 chickpeas for 4 hours covered in cool water
Soak 3 cups Jasmine rice for 20 mins covered in cool water
Drain and rinse chickpeas, add to pressure cooker, add water to almost max fill line, pressure cook ‘bean’ setting or high for 30 mins then low for 15-20 mins, drain, rinse, set aside.
Drain and rinse rice, rinse until water runs clear. Add rice to cooker insert, add approx 3.5 cups water, water line should be just above the rice line by ¼ inch. Add pinch of salt. Cook on white rice setting. (Jasmine rice seems to benefit from almost equal parts water to rice compared to long grain rice).
Heat up broth in a sauce pan.
Chop large onion in thin half circles.
Crush garlic bulb with palm to loosen, then peel and slice. Yes, the whole thing.
Slice or mince ginger nubbin, peel or don’t peel, it’s up to you.
Chop fennel stalk & fronds to somewhat bite-sized pieces.
Slice sweet pepper, save for when you add the chickpeas to the pan.
Chop hot peppers.
Get coconut oil melting in a large dutch oven or deep skillet pan, on stovetop, medium-high heat.
Add the onion, garlic, ginger, hot peppers & fennel to the pan with coconut oil.
When it starts to ‘melt’ or ‘bloom’ in the pan, and you smell it, season with salt and pepper.
Add the garam masala and turmeric.
Stir it, isn’t it beautiful?
Add tomato paste, stir, let it get a little golden and start coating the bottom of the pan.
Add the hot broth to deglaze, hear it sizzle and scrape the bottom of pan with a wooden spoon.
Turn heat down to medium. Simmer with lid on for 5 mins, pour yourself a glass of Nom de Plume.
Add the chickpeas and sliced sweet pepper, salt and pepper again. Lid on medium-high for 5-10 minutes, when chickpeas feel tender and pepper has softened turn to low until rice is finished.
Serve with a sprinkle of cilantro, a squeeze of lemon, a bowlful of rice, and a glass of
Nom de Plume. Unchilled or chilled, your preference.
*Making this recipe with less people in mind? Once you’ve gone through the effort of soaking chickpeas and cooking them, save half in the freezer for an easy go-to option next time. Cut remaining ingredients down to portions that you normally prepare.
*The richness of the tomato base works well with the strength of the Nom de Plume. The tannin structure of its apple varieties Yarlington Mill and Medaille d’Or are hearty and would pair well with a good steak if chickpeas aren’t your style.
*Full disclosure. I hate to measure when cooking. The more you cook, the more you realize your own preferences when it comes to say, amounts of garlic or ginger, or spice and seasoning. Learning to trust your intuition is a part of cooking; ask any ‘nonna’ or grandmother how much of this or that, she’ll show you in palmfuls or pinches or broken mugs. Measurement only gets you so far with cooking, trust your senses. Try this recipe out and if you feel it needs tweaking, do so.
