Need a break from meat? Try this chickpea stew for a change! This recipe does include ham but you can skip the ham and make this 100% vegetarian. Or if you want the opposite and want to give this dish a little more “oomph,” you can use chicken broth instead of water. Go ahead and play with it! This stew is so easy to make and I guarantee you will keep this recipe in your rotation.
Chickpeas Stew Recipe
Ingredients:
- 4 Roma tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/2 fresh chili pepper
- A handful of fresh basil leaves, reserve some for garnish
- 1/2 cup ham or bacon, sliced
- 2 cans chickpeas
- 1/2 cup carrots, sliced
- 1 cup potato, diced
- 1 cup water or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper
- Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Method:
- Chop the tomatoes, garlic, chili pepper, and basil leaves in a food processor.
- In a medium pot, heat up the olive oil. Add the tomato mixture to the pot and bring the pot to a boil.
- Once the tomato mixture starts to boil, season it with salt and pepper and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add water and stir. Cover and simmer at medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
- Add chickpeas to the pot and combine well. Cover and cook at medium heat for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the carrots and potatoes. Cover and cook at medium-low heat for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Serve and garnish with Parmesan cheese and basil.
Tips:
- You can add chickpeas, carrots, and potatoes all at once in Step 5. However, adding the ingredients in stages creates more flavors and depth to the dish, plus your potatoes may get too mushy when they are added in too early.
- Taste the stew 5 minutes before it finishes cooking. In the event additional seasoning is needed, the additional salt and pepper will have time to incorporate into the stew. (Trust me on this one. This is a try-and-true technique I learned from my mother.)
To see a demo on how I make this Tomato Chickpea Stew, click the video below or visit my YouTube channel.
If you like this vegetarian bean dish, check out this recipe made with black beans.