spicy chickpeas with ginger

one of the things i love about blogging is being reminded of dishes i’ve previously cooked, either as i update the “this time last year” buttons, or via comments from readers who’ve also tried the same thing. it was a comment, about the lovely cumin flavour of the moro moroccan eggs with tomatoes and cumin that prompted me to cook this. plus a glut of peppers in the fridge.

i decided to use chickpeas instead of the eggs in the moro recipe, plus the combination of chopped garlic, ginger and chilli which a friend taught me (over a decade ago) was a great starting point for a spicy tomato sauce - by chopping the ginger and garlic you create little flavour bombs in the sauce.

the resulting dish has a lovely rich tomato flavour, with sweetness from slow cooked onions and peppers, and a freshness from ginger and fresh coriander. i ate this with brown rice and some greek yoghurt on the side, which is lovely as it 'melts' into the chickpea mixture.

spicy chickpeas with ginger (serves 4)

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 large red or yellow pepper, chopped into small pieces

1" piece fresh ginger, finely chopped (c20g)

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1-2 red chillies

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and roughly ground

1 heaped teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and roughly ground

400g tin of chickpeas, drained

finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

a handful of fresh coriander, chopped

sea salt and black pepper

heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion and peppers until they soften. add the ginger, garlic, chilli and spices and cook for a couple of minutes. add the tomatoes (plus half a tin of water, rinsing out any juices), chickpeas and lemon zest & juice. season to taste. cook for about 15 minutes until the onions and pepper are soft and the sauce has thickened. season to taste.