This week I had planned to work on some really pared back recipe ideas (which I am still planning to do) but I had a big batch of chickpeas cooked up, so here are a couple of tasty little treats that can be knocked up in virtually no time at all.
Spiced orange chickpeas and bacon
800g chickpeas
1 red onion
2 cloves garlic
2 small hot red chillies
2 bays leaves
5 juniper berries
1 small bunch of lemon thyme
1 small bunch of flat leaf parsley
5 rashers smoked streaky bacon
1 orange
Olive oil
Finely chop the onion and garlic, and slice the bacon into matchstick-sized pieces. Heat a decent spalsh of olive oil in a pan, add a twist of salt and the onion, garlic and bacon. Sweat down. Add thyme, bay, crushed juniper berries, and stir. Grate zest of the orange into the pan, add chickpeas and stir. Skin and slice half of the orange. Juice the other half. Chop the parsley. Add orange pieces, orange juice and parsley to the pan. Remove bay leaves. Check seasoning and serve.
Chickpea, chicken, pomegranate and walnut salad
800g chickpeas
2 roasted chicken legs and thighs
A decent handful of shelled walnuts
1 pomegranate
Small bunch of mint
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley
2 small hot red chillies
1 lemon
Olive oil
Pomegranate molasses
Chop the mint and parsley, finely slice the chillies, remove the seeds from the pomegranate. Put all of this in a bowl with the chickpeas and walnuts and mix thoroughly. Juice the lemon and add to the bowl with a slug of olive oil, salt and pepper and a tablespoon of pomegranate molasses. Stir well, check seasoning, and smugly present to loving girlfriend, accepting every accolade offered whilst failing to mention the similarity between this recipe and the walnut / pomegranate Ottolenghi thing in the Guardian at the weekend.