Chickpea bake

I have heard many things about the famous Moroccan Soup Bar and it's amazing chickpea bake, but I haven't been there yet (I know, I know). I have eaten a chickpea bake once, when a friend made it at one of our FFOFs, and I remember it being tastier than it initially seemed. I was thinking about it the other day because I had some Lebanese flat bread in the pantry. The bread was a bit stale, so I was trying to think of a way to use it up.

In some ways it's a good thing I've never had the Moroccan Soup Bar version of the chickpea bake because I don't have any preconceived ideas about how it should taste. I can tinker with my own version to my heart's content!

So I googled for a chickpea bake recipe, and found one on a blog called the mobius strip. I adapted this recipe to my taste, mostly in the way I cooked the eggplant and flat bread. I also added some chermoula spice, that I had purchased from the Harvest Picnic.



The chickpea bake was good - I really loved the crispy flat bread and the tangy, slightly spicy chickpeas. I thought it could've used a squeeze of lemon juice and might try that next time I make it.

I topped the bake with some spinach from my garden, to add a bit of green. Speaking of my garden, I have cracked the coriander growing problem. After a bit of research, I found that coriander is quite sensitive to transplanting, which might be why I had so much problem with seedlings. I sowed some coriander from seed a few weeks ago, and they sprouted without any problems. They've very small at the moment, but seem to be growing successfully. The rest of my plants are also growing well, although my basil, mint and spinach seem to have been decimated by unidentified insects and the recent heat wave. I'm hoping they will revive! They're not completely toast, but they're not as lush as they were a week ago.



Chickpea Bake

Adapted from the mobius strip

Serves 3-4

3 pieces of flat Lebanese bread
Olive oil for spraying
2 teaspoons of chermoula spice (or any other desired mixture of spices)
1 medium eggplant, cut into cubes
1 teaspoon of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon chermoula spice (or other mixture)
400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper
1 cup yoghurt
A handful of baby spinach (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Lightly spray the bread with olive oil, and sprinkle the spice on top. Toast in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until nice and crispy. Take it out of the oven and crush/rip into smallish pieces. Turn the oven down to 180 degrees C.

Steam the eggplant over boiling water for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat, and saute the garlic and onions until soft. Add the spice mixture, chickpeas and the steamed eggplant. Fry lightly for a couple of minutes to warm the chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper.

Put the chickpea mixture into a baking dish, then stir through the yoghurt. Place the dish into the oven until the chickpea bake is just warmed through (don't bake it for too long or at too high a heat in case the yoghurt curdles).

Take the chickpea bake out of the oven, and stir through the toasted flat bread (or layer if you prefer). Top with spinach if desired, and eat immediately before the bread softens.

Chorizo and chickpea salad

Another day, another meal utilizing canned chickpeas. I enjoy chickpeas, and I seem to use them a lot because they're so easy. Most weeknights, I don't have much time to cook - by the time I get home, chill for a bit (reading me some internets), exercise and shower, it's at least 7.30pm by the time I get in the kitchen. It's a good night when the bulk of my cooking time involves opening a can and tossing together some salad ingredients.

Chorizo & Chickpea salad

Serves 3-4

2 chorizo sausages, sliced
400g can of chickpeas
Handful of mixed salad greens/lettuce per person
2 carrots, grated
1 Avocado, diced
Handful of sprouts
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Heat a nonstick frying pan on medium heat, add the chorizo slices, and sauté gently on all sides until the juices run and the edges are slightly crisp. Turn off the heat and add the chickpeas into the pan, tossing them around until they're all nicely coated in that yummy, tasty fat.

Put the salad greens/lettuce, carrots, avocado and sprouts into a large salad bowl. Add the chorizo and chickpeas.

Drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, toss gently and season well with salt and pepper.

Chickpea and ricotta balls

The idea for these balls floated around in my head for a couple of days before I got around to making them. My cooking inspiration hasn't returned yet. Even walking around the South Melbourne market on Wednesday didn't help. Sadly, it was my last weekday wander around the market for the foreseeable future.

It's my last week at my current job (tomorrow is my last day!) and next Thursday Alastair and I go on holiday. My head is full of finishing up, and sorting things out for going away and my routine is all shot. I suppose it's hardly surprising that cooking has been neglected.

I've no doubt that inspiration to cook will return when we get back. I do have several meals that I haven't blogged about yet. I'm finding it difficult to think of something interesting to say about them, but perhaps I'll just whack them up with minimal commentary.

My chickpea and ricotta balls ended up rather soft, which is why they look more like lumps than balls. I could've added some fresh breadcrumbs to stiffen the mixture but couldn't be bothered. My Bro made a simple green salad of lettuce, cabbage and cucumber, which worked perfectly with them. The crunchy salad provided a great textural contrast to the balls.

Chickpea and ricotta balls

Makes 12

1 small onion, peeled
400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
200g ricotta
1 egg
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (less if you prefer less spiciness)
Salt (about 1/2 teaspoon)
Pepper
Dried breadcrumbs

In a food processor, pulse the onion until finely diced. Add the chickpeas and pulse until mashed.
Tip into a bowl and add the ricotta, mashing it into the mixture.
Add the egg, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper. Mix well.
Roll into balls, then dip the balls in the breadcrumbs until covered.
Fry over medium heat, turning them every couple of minutes, until warmed through.

Jamie inspired roast lamb

This (rather unattractive) roast lamb was inspired by a recipe in Jamie Oliver's book, Cook With Jamie. In the book, he has a recipe for Mad Moroccan lamb (page 170 if you have it).

Jamie's recipe looked wonderful, but rather involved, and it included cous cous. I adore cous cous, but the Boys are not fans. But I liked the idea of the spices, especially since we all have colds. Subtle flavours are a bit lost on us at the moment.

I served the lamb with balsamic chickpeas (adapted from Jamie's recipe) and roast potatoes. For the potatoes, I parboiled them whole, then cut them in half and tossed in a glug of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, chilli flakes plus a good seasoning of salt and pepper. They went into the oven for half an hour.

The lamb was too well done for my liking, but it still tasted good. I'm an "bit of this, bit of that" kind of cook, so truthfully I have no idea if all the spices and stuff I put in are necessary for yumminess. Possibly not, so consider the recipe below a guide more than anything!




Jamie inspired roast lamb with balsamic chickpeas and roast potatoes

Serves 6-8

For the lamb

1 x 2kg shoulder of lamb
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
2 teaspoons chilli flakes
6 large cloves of garlic
Zest from one lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt

For the chickpeas

1 large red onion, peeled and sliced
1 cinnamon stick
salt and pepper
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
100ml good quality balsamic vinegar
200ml water

Preheat the oven to 220 degree C. Score the lamb in a criss cross pattern about 2.5cm apart.

In a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic cloves with the salt.

In a dry pan, toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and black mustard seeds over a medium heat until fragrant. Tip them into the mortar and pestle and add the chilli flakes. Crush it all together, then add the lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix it all up with a spoon, it should be like a paste. Rub this all over the meat, making sure you get it into the cuts. Put the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan and put into the oven for about 1 & 1/2 hours (mine went in for 2 hours which was too long unless you like well done meat). After the lamb is cooked to your liking, take it out of the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

For the chickpeas, heat some olive oil in a large saucepan and fry your onions and cinnamon with a pinch of salt and pepper for about 15 minutes or until softened. Don't hurry this. Add the chickpeas with the water and the vinegar. Simmer on a medium heat until nice and thick, then remove from the hob and serve with slices of the roast lamb.