Hubby-to-be was out for his leaving do last night (we’re moving
away from Wales in T minus 19 days – eek!) so I was left on my own for supper
with a post-holiday fridge... A particularly sad creature populated by the usual
jars of foodie potions, some limp looking veg that was at some point a green
leafy thing, a piece of now rather smelly cheese and a couple of bizarrely well
preserved peppers. So peppers for supper it is then!
When I’ve got a core ingredient I often find myself scouring
the internet or the index pages of the cook book library I seem to be ‘accidentally’
assembling. Today I found inspiration from my two favourite chefs…
Nigel Slater made a lovely dish from lentils and chickpeas
that made use of my favourite of chilli pastes on his show. And then I got to thinking
about a stuffed pepper recipe in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Veg Everyday
where the poblano variety is packed with a chickpeas loaded with merguez
spices.
Both of these fine recipes have served as inspiration for the recipe below, the use of hearty chickpeas is wonderfully filling on a tired Monday evening and the merguez spices and harissa provided a touch of warmth. Topped with an egg you really can’t go wrong (as always my philosophy is that there are few foodstuffs that are not improved by an egg on the top).
Merguez-spiced
peppers and chickpeas with a fried egg topping
Serves 2 or 4 with
bread
1 small onion
A glug of olive oil
2 peppers (any colour but I like the sweetness of red and
yellow varieties) cut into chunky strips
1 clove garlic
1 400g tin of chickpeas – drained
1 400g tin of tomatoes
2 tsp harissa paste (or more if you’re after a spicy hit of
chilli)
½ tsp each of fennel seeds (caraway would also work), paprika (sweet preferably but smoked is lovely too if not hugely traditional) and sumac
¼ tsp cinnamon (feel free to put in more but Hubby-to-be isn't really a fan so I try not to be too liberal with this particular spice)
A squeeze of lemon
A squeeze of lemon
An egg per person
Fresh coriander leaves for scattering
Gently fry the onion with a sprinkle of salt in a wide pan then as they soften add
the strips of pepper. Keep the oil sizzling on the heat for 7-10 minutes,
agitating the peppers as you go.
When they start to soften go in with the garlic, harissa and
spices; keeping the mixture moving over the heat for a further minute.
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Now pour in the chickpeas and make sure they are well coated
with the spice mix, follow this up with the tin of tomatoes, season and bring
the pan to a simmer. Let the juices bubble for 15 minutes or so. It will have
thickened and the contents cooked should be through. The length of time depends largely on the chickpea brand, some will take 10 minutes and others 20. When the chickpeas are soft but before they turn to mush squeeze in the lemon juice and check the seasoning.
Meanwhile, fry or poach an egg for each diner. Serve the
chickpea/pepper mix with an egg atop and a scattering of coriander leaves.
*** You may notice a distinct lack of starchy carbs. It’s
completely intentional, I just thought that there was plenty to fill up just
little ole me without it. You could of course add some crusty bread to mop up
all the lovely juices, or perhaps wrap it up in a tortilla, sort of huevos
rancheros meets shakshuka.
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