Moroccan Chickpeas With Chard Recipe (2024)

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Cooking Notes

Englishman in Brooklyn

Superb: delicious, healthy, economical. The recipe yields a great deal of food and it freezes well. Lots of opportunities to substitute here while staying true to the spirit of the dish: Try this with spinach if you've no chard; sub squash for turnip, etc. if you don't have preserved lemons on hand, simmer a diced lemon in a little olive oil, salt and sugar until it caramelises; stir in near the end of cooking.

Jen in Astoria

Folks, as an FYI: You can cook dried chickpeas in bulk and then freeze them, for the convenience of canned minus the downsides. Also, after soaking my dry chickpeas overnight, I just put em in my Zojirushi rice cooker on the brown rice setting, water just to cover, and let em do their thing while I'm at work....

Lucy

Use canned chickpeas. Dried ones were still not quite tender after 2 hours. Use modified version of Mark Bittmans recipe for preserved lemons. Dice organic lemon and mix with 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Let stand at room temperature for a few hours. Sunsweet brand apricots were wonderful.

Mark R

This was very tasty. I made it with canned chickpeas, halving the entire recipe, and it worked out fine. I simmered them for 30 minutes. Like others, I did not have preserved lemon and omitted that. Next time I will reduce the cinnamon by half as it overpowered some of the other spices. I would also increase the amount of chard leaves.

Deborah

Chickpeas and other beans take much longer to cook to softness when cooked in an acidic solution (tomato paste). Try cooking the chickpeas separately, then adding them when almost soft. Adding 1/2 tsp. of baking soda to otherwise plain boiling water (good if you have hard water) will also speed up the cooking time; just don't reuse the cooking water as stock if you do this.

Caity

You are right about chickpeas needing more time to cook: I soak them overnight, and then also boil them for half an hour by themselves. Other writers have mentioned upping the spices: definitely! I double the amount suggested. This stew is absolutely delicious, and it can be on the stove all day. Just be sure to add the apricots, preserved lemon, and chard at the last minute, as advised.

Ian

This has become one of my favorite recipes. It's rich, hearty, filling. Even meat-lovers will find it satisfying. Couple notes. First, the chickpeas will take longer to cook than you think. Canned is not a good substitute because they won't hold up. Also up the spices a bit. I like to add in some hot paprika as well. I never use all the chard stems, because they don't cook down as nicely.

I find the last 15-20 minutes, the stew goes from watery to a nice rich, thick sauce.

Jacob V.

Wonderful recipe! I found the chickpeas were done after about 1.5 hours, but that was after a 15 hour soak. Probably also depends on how old the chickpeas are.

I added some butternut squash during the last 30 minutes of cooking and I think it worked well. The squash added a nice sweetness that complimented the cinnamon and apricots, and it helped thicken the stew a bit.

Harriet

I just made this with Palouse Brand chick peas from Washingtom State. I soaked them overnight, and they cooked in exactly 1 1/2 hours. They made a popping noise when I drained them, which I had never heard before. I was really worried about cooking time when I read the comments. I guess the quality and age of the chick peas must make a huge difference. As for "huge," this recipe makes a huge amount of stew, which barely fit in the pot.

YellowTulips

This is, actually, an easy recipe. Granted, it does take a bit of time. To speed things up substitute drained, rinsed, canned chickpeas. Trader Joe's has jarred preserved lemons. I'm not a fan of 'soapy' cilantro and I substitute Italian flat-leaf parsley. It's a tasty vegetarian entrée ( healthy, too ). Serve it with naan or a crusty bread. If you have the time, use the dried chickpeas — they're worth it.

MollyT

This was so good! I upped the spices by 50%, reduced the salt by 50%, pre cooked the chickpeas to reduce overall cooking time, and substituted a softball sized summer squash for the turnip. Next time I will used a little more dried apricot; that was the one ingredient that kind of got lost. I made it a day before serving it, so the flavors could meld. Served with couscous this recipe easily feeds 10 adults, maybe 12. Freezes well.

Leslie J

I needed to use up chard, fennel and a big turnip so this fit the bill. I doubled the spices, used chicken stock, and added a drained can of petite chopped tomatoes. Simmered 30 min, then added 2 cans of chickpeas & simmered 10 more minutes before adding the chard. The result was very satisfying. Definitely needed salt at the end. Didn't have any preserved lemon on hand, which would have added additional depth. Looking forward to trying it today after the flavors had a chance to meld overnight.

Lorraine

It's very easy to make your own preserved lemons—and they're an easy way to add a bit of zip to many dishes. The original Paula Wolfort recipe is here on NYTimesCooking.

Brava

This was outstanding cooked exactly as recipe was written. My guests were blown away, and this will become a standard for cold winter nights. Hint: cook the day before up to step 4. The flavors meld, the sauce thickens, and the chard leaves, preserved lemon, and and apricots taste fresh and zingy. C'mon folks, preserved lemons are easy to make , last forever in the fridge, and have a thousand uses.

Meredith

The flavor is definitely better the second day. For those who dislike chard [or dislike beet greens, of course], it can be replaced with spinach with no real difficulty.

I think the next time I cook this, I will use a larger bulb of fennel and double the spices. The quality of the preserved lemon also makes a massive difference.

Elisa Corcoran

So in the comments of that recipe it said that the beans didn’t cook. So I cooked the chick peas totally by themselves before anything else. I didn’t use a turnip or cilantro. I did use a small butternut squash that i cubed and oven roasted before hand.In the recipe it says your cooking the chick peas by covering in water. But I already did that. But the stew really needed the fluid so I used veggie broth (1 qt) and a can of stew tomatoes.The preserved lemon was the acid that balanced

Amy

So yummy and healthy! I made this in the instant pot. I cooked the beans alone for 13 mins at high pressure. Then took them out and proceeded with the recipe from the beginning. Once sautéing was done, I added the chickpeas back in and cooked everything on high pressure for 3 minutes. I think I could have shaved 1-2 minutes off each cook time to keep a little bit of bite in the beans/veggies. I added the apricots, preserved lemon, and chard afterwards on sauté mode.

Jonathan

Excellent recipe, no need to do anything radical to it. Three tips: 1) Allow a lot--really a lot--of time for chopping/prepping before you can start cooking. 2) As others have noted, be much more generous with the spices than the recipe calls for. 3) Preserved lemon paste/puree works well in step 4. Re: softness of the chickpeas: when I made this most recently, I used Rancho Gordo black chickpeas, soaked for 7-8 hours during the day; they were soft enough to eat by 2-hour mark of Step 3.

Kim

So yummy! I didn't have preserved lemon or apricots so justed added dried currants - still amazing. I used 2 cans of chick peas. I made roughly 3/4 of the recipe and still had 2 full quart jars of leftovers after feeding 2 of us.

oldmama

I used smoked paprika because it is all I could find -- Don't do this! It tastes awful. Tried to rectify by upping the apricots and lemon, but it did not help enough. Ugh.

cv

i cook alot of beans, i no longer soak them but just cook them in the instant pot with three times water to beans and a tsp salt.. i cook for 45 minutes, always, then rinse them and use in whatever recipe as is on the stove or baked in dishes. i just put yhe beans in the instant pot in the early day and finish the dish in yhe evening. the tsp salt tenderizes the peels of the beans. Rinsing helps alot making yhem more digestible..

Jim F

Delicious! This stew has become a regular at our house so we've tried a number of variations. We prefer the 1x over the 2x spices version, though both are fine. And we prefer adding whole dried apricots 30 min prior to serving (they are delicious after a bit of plumping) rather than diced dried apricots near the very end.

Tony

Excellent. The main change I made was to use store-bought low-sodium vegetable broth instead of water. I also doubled the paprika and the cumin, and increased the turmeric by 50%. Like some others, I could not find preserved lemons, so I added juice of half a lemon at the end, and used golden raisins instead of apricots. A pound of dried chickpeas yields an absurd amount once soaked, so I ended up using about 3/4 of them. I will start with 12 oz. of dried chickpeas next time.

meg

Absolutely delicious. I added some crumbled merguez in the first step as I had some in the fridge, but it would be delicious without. And subbed kale for chard as the grocery was out of chard — the chard would probably add a bit more sweetness but the kale worked just fine. So well-spiced, hearty and tasty. Will definitely make again.

NP

Canned chickpeas vs dried worked great for me on this and saved me an overnight soak + lots of summer time! Also lemon zest in place of preserved lemon worked fine as well.

Courtney

I had cooked a pound of chickpeas al dente beforehand (for other recipes) and added them at step 3, which shortened the simmer time to about 30 minutes.I hadn't made preserved lemons and couldn't find any at the store, so I squeezed the juice of an entire lemon into the soup at the very end. Will try with preserved lemons next time, but it was delicious using this shortcut anyway!

KW

I’ve made this recipe a few times; what I’ve learned is this one is best done slowly and intentionally. I double the veggies, increase all the spices except turmeric by .25, decrease the salt by 1tbs (or more if making your own preserved lemon), add an extra tbs of tomato paste, and add 2 15oz cans of rinsed chickpeas. I don’t rush the simmering time as the longer it simmers the better the spices meld. Definitely don’t skip the preserved lemon. Be patient with this one, it’s worth it!

Mama Liz

I subbed celery for the fennel and dried cranberries for the apricots. I used 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1 full tsp cumin. I sampled the stew before and after adding the chard leaves/preserved lemon/cranberries and found that the chard leaves added a bitter element I didn't love. Next time I will use spinach instead and will double the preserved lemon!

Mama Liz

Also -- used canned chickpeas instead of dried. In step 2, I just added water to cover the vegetables and simmered 1/2 hour, then added 2 cans of chickpeas and simmered another 1/2 hour. This recipe is even better the next day -- the bitterness of the chard leaves mellows out.

Madge, Boston

Parsnip is a nice sub for turnip

Colorado Cooking

Doubled the spices, perfect for us, but it's beautiful at any level.

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Moroccan Chickpeas With Chard Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make chickpeas more digestible? ›

Soaking may help them digest better.

Soaking may help to remove some of the phytic acid found in dry beans, and it may also help remove some of their gas-causing properties. If you want to remove even more phytic acid, try Instant Pot Chickpeas instead– pressure cooking helps even more!

How long does it take to cook chick peas? ›

Cover with cold water, add the bicarbonate of soda, if using, and leave to soak for 8-12 hrs. Drain the chickpeas and tip into a saucepan. Add cold water to come to about 8-10 cm above the chickpeas and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 45 mins - 1 hr, or until the chickpeas are tender.

How do you thicken Moroccan stew? ›

Secret Ingredient Alert: Chickpea flour is used to thicken the stew. I like Bob's Red Mill brand. Mix it with equal parts water. The more you use, the thicker the stew will be.

How do you eat canned chickpeas? ›

How to Use Canned Chickpeas:
  1. Make a quick but better-than-store-bought hummus.
  2. Roast canned chickpeas.
  3. Pan fry chickpeas.
  4. Mash chickpeas for a sandwich.
  5. Mash 'em in a quesadilla.
  6. Make chana masala.
  7. Or another chickpea curry!
  8. Bulk up your soups or stews.
Feb 13, 2021

Are chickpeas good for bowels? ›

Health benefits of chickpeas

They are also high in insoluble fibre content which assists digestive health. It helps food pass more quickly through the digestive tract, helping relieve constipation and potentially reducing the risk of certain cancers, especially colon cancer.

Are chickpeas good for bowel movements? ›

Chickpeas are high in dietary fiber, especially a soluble fiber called raffinose. The good bacteria in your gut breaks this down so your colon can digest it slowly. Studies have found that eating more chickpeas can help make bowel movements easier and more regular.

Why add baking soda when cooking chickpeas? ›

The chickpeas are sautéed with baking soda for a few minutes, before dumping in the water to simmer the chickpeas. The baking soda makes the water more alkaline, which softens the chickpeas more quickly by weakening their pectic bonds.

What happens if you don't soak chickpeas? ›

No, you don't actually need to soak chickpeas (or any other legume) before cooking, but it will take longer for them to be ready — plan on an extra half hour or more, depending on how old they are.

Do canned chickpeas need to be cooked? ›

Canned chickpeas are pre-cooked chickpeas. You can eat canned chickpeas straight out of the can! (Just be sure to rinse them off before chowing down to wash out excess sodium) Otherwise, you can roast them or turn them into any number of delicious dishes, like these here.

What is a Moroccan stew called? ›

Harira is a Moroccan stew—or a thick, hearty soup—traditionally served during Ramadan as a way to break the fast. Made with meat, tomatoes, spices and chickpeas, harira is warming and deeply satisfying, so it's no surprise it's served year-round in homes as well as at shops.

Is it better to thicken stew with flour or cornstarch? ›

this is the easiest hack for thickening soups stews sauces and it does it instantly. instead of a roux or flour use cornstarch or arrowroot . equal parts water to cornstarch and arrowroot. mix that up and then you add it to simmering sauce or whatever.

Why is my cornstarch not thickening my stew? ›

Something to remember when you're using cornstarch: If your sauce is quite acidic (like maybe it's tomato-based), the acid will cause cornstarch to lose some of its effectiveness as a thickener. In that case, you can substitute arrowroot or tapioca starch.

How to add flavor to canned chickpeas? ›

To do this, I drain and rinse a can of chickpeas, then toss them with oil, salt, pepper, and any spices that I'm feeling. (I typically go with garlic powder, cumin, and smoked paprika, but anything will work.)

How do you make canned chickpeas taste better? ›

Cook the canned chickpeas, smoked paprika, and salt for 2 minutes. Cook just until they're just warmed through. You'll be amazed at the amount of flavor that comes through in just a few minutes of cooking.

How do you make chickpeas taste nicer? ›

In salad - toss with a light dressing like olive oil, lemon juice and salt to brighten their flavor and take the canned taste off them. As a snack - dry well, then toss with a blend of spices, olive oil and salt. Bake at 375F until crunchy.

How do you make canned chickpeas not gassy? ›

Here are a few ways to do this:
  1. Rinse your cooked legumes. The first thing you can do is drain and rinse your legumes. ...
  2. Cook your legumes thoroughly. ...
  3. Add baking soda to your legumes. ...
  4. Try alpha-galactosidase supplements. ...
  5. Eat more legumes.
Jul 31, 2022

How do you get lectins out of chickpeas? ›

Cooking, especially with wet high-heat methods like boiling or stewing, or soaking in water for several hours, can inactivate most lectins. [6] Lectins are water-soluble and typically found on the outer surface of a food, so exposure to water removes them.

How do you make canned chickpeas less gassy? ›

HOW TO PREVENT GAS AND BLOATING
  1. Soak the beans in water overnight or for 12 hours. ...
  2. Drain the water and thoroughly rinse the beans. ...
  3. Use fresh water and bring the beans to a boil and reduce to a simmer for about one hour or until tender.
  4. Rinse the beans one more time to further remove gas promoting compounds.
Jun 14, 2020

How do you reduce gas when cooking chickpeas? ›

While not every recipe calls for soaking beans before cooking them, if beans give you gas, soaking can help. Soaking overnight and then discarding the soaking water leaches out sugars in beans that are responsible for gas production.

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