One-pot chickpeas with carrots, dates, and marinated feta

Name: One-pot chickpeas with carrots, dates, and marinated feta
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 2 h 45 min
Total time: 3 h 15 min
Cuisine: Moroccan, African
Ingredients: 1½ cups/300g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in plenty of cold water with 1 tsp baking soda; 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped (1 cup/150g); 6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped; ¾ oz/25g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped; 1 large serrano chile, roughly chopped, seeds and all; ¾ cup/15g cilantro, roughly chopped; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1½ tsp ground cumin; 1½ tsp ground cinnamon; 2 Medjool dates (1½ oz/45g), peeled, pitted, and roughly chopped (40g); 1 tbsp tomato paste; 4 carrots (1 lb 2 oz/500g), peeled and cut at an angle into 2–3 large chunks; 2 fresh bay leaves; ¼ tsp baking soda; 5 cups/1.2 liters water; 2 tbsp lemon juice; ¼ cup/5g parsley, chopped; salt and black pepper; 5¼ oz/150g Greek feta, roughly crumbled; 1 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and roughly crushed with a mortar and pestle; 1½ tsp finely grated lemon zest; ¼ cup/5g parsley, chopped; 75 ml olive oil

5 steps

Prep:30minCook:2h 45min

Marinated feta – Make the feta sans parsley, seal it off with more oil, and keep it in a sterilized jar in the fridge for up to 1 week. – Spoon it over salads or soups, or serve with the sweet ’n’ sour peppers

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 03:41:29 GMT

Ingredients

6 servings

300gdried chickpeas

soaked overnight in plenty of cold water with 1 tsp baking soda

1 cuponion

peeled and roughly chopped

6garlic cloves

peeled and roughly chopped

25gfresh ginger

peeled and roughly chopped

1serrano chile

large, roughly chopped, seeds and all

¾ cupcilantro

roughly chopped

2 Tbspolive oil

1 ½ tspground cumin

1 ½ tspground cinnamon

45gMedjool dates

peeled, pitted, and roughly chopped

1 Tbsptomato paste

500gcarrots

peeled and cut at an angle into 2-3 large chunks

2fresh bay leaves

¼ tspbaking soda

5 cupswater

2 Tbsplemon juice

¼ cupparsley

chopped

salt

black pepper

Marinated Feta

150gGreek feta

roughly crumbled

1 tspcaraway seeds

toasted and roughly crushed with a mortar and pestle

1 ½ tsplemon zest

finely grated

¼ cupparsley

chopped

75mlolive oil

Instructions

Step 1

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Drain the chickpeas from their liquid and set aside.

Step 2

2. Put the onion, garlic, ginger, and serrano chile into a food processor and pulse a few times until very finely chopped but not puréed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the cilantro and pulse a couple of times more, to incorporate.

Step 3

3. Heat the oil in a large, ovenproof cast-iron pan, for which you have a lid, on medium-high heat. Add the onion mixture and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the cumin, cinnamon, dates, and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more, or until fragrant. Add the drained chickpeas, carrots, bay leaves, baking soda, 1¾ teaspoons of salt, the water, and a good grind of black pepper and bring to a boil, skimming the scum from the surface as needed. Cover with the lid and bake in the oven for 2 hours, or until the chickpeas are completely softened and the sauce has become thick and rich. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Step 4

4. While the chickpeas are cooking, make the marinated feta by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl and setting aside for the flavors to infuse.

Step 5

5. Divide the chickpea mixture among 4–6 bowls and top each with some of the feta, serving any extra alongside.