red peppers

A Flummoxed Spiced Chickpea Stew

08 Dec 2009
chickpea stew

Today I have soup. Or do I have stew? A Spiced Chickpea Stew with Feta Toasts

STEW : (formal) To undergo cooking by boiling slowly or simmering, especially a mixture of meat or fish and vegetables with stock.

(slang) To be in a state of anxiety or agitation

SOUP: (formal) A liquid food prepared from meat, fish, or vegetable stock combined with various other ingredients and often containing solid pieces.

(slang) A chaotic or unfortunate situation.

I don’t know whether to categorize this as a soup or a stew. Which has got me in a ”state of anxiety or agitation” leading to a “chaotic or unfortunate situation.

The Martha Stewart recipe that inspired me was solidly in the soup category. I say that because she called it soup. Flat out, no hemming and hawing. Soup period. Soup!

My version uses the same great flavors, chickpeas, tomatoes, coriander and red pepper. But I have let it cook a lot longer and I have left it a lot chunkier, so I tend to want to call it a stew. But these definitions above make no distinctions concerning texture. Conundrum.

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Spiced Chickpea Stew with Feta Toasts

Spicy Chickpea Stew with Tomato Feta Toasts
By jgreghenry Published December 8, 2009
Prep time: 30
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 3 clv garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 0.5 t crushed red-pepper flakes, or to taste
  • 1 t coriander seeds
  • 1 t kosher salt
  • 0.125 t caraway seeds
  • 2 cn (15 oz each) chickpeas, dreained and rinsed
  • 2 c diced canned tomatoes, with juice
  • 1 c jarred roasted red peppers, drained and roughly chopped
  • 4 c low sodium chicken broth
  • 6 sli rustic bread or baguette
  • 2 ripe red tomatoes, chopped into 1/4 pieces
  • 0.5 T dried oregano
  • 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

Using a mortar and pestle , crush garlic, chiles, coriander, salt, and caraway to form a rough paste full of cracked seeds. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic mixture, and cook until just softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in half of the chickpeas, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and stock. Cover the pot and simmer over very low heat, stirring often, for 45 minutes. Let cool slightly. Meanwhile lightly toast the bread slices in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Remove the toast from the oven and turn the broiler on to get hot. In a small bowl mix together the chopped tomatoes, oregano and feta. Add a drizzle of very good olive oil. Heap about 1 1/2 tablespoons on top of each toast and place them on a baking sheet. Put the toasts under the broiler for a few moments until they begin to bubble and get brown. Remove the toasts from broiler. Set aside. Using an immersion blender process the cooled tomato and chickpea mixture to a slightly chunky puree. Add the rest of the chick peas. Return the pan to the stove and reheat. Divide the stew among bowls, and serve with the tomato and feta toasts on the side.

Notes:

serves 6 Source: I adapted this from a Martha Stewart soup recipe