Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large yellow onions, sliced thin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to finish
- 4 large red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and torn into strips, or 2 cups jarred roasted peppers packed in water and drained well
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas, or two 15 ounce cans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
- A large handful of parsley, chopped
Method
- Warm the oil in a wide skillet over medium. Add the onions and the salt and cook, stirring now and then, for a full 12 to 15 minutes, until they are soft, sweet, and starting to take on color. This is where the flavor is built. Rushing it is the only way to get this dish wrong.
- Add the garlic and cook one minute more, until you can smell it.
- Stir in the paprika, cumin, and coriander and let them bloom in the oil for about 30 seconds.
- Add the roasted peppers and cook 5 minutes, pressing them into the onions with the back of a spoon so they start to break down.
- Add the chickpeas and the stock. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes, until the liquid has reduced and everything is glossy rather than soupy. Mash a spoonful of the chickpeas against the side of the pan to thicken it.
- Taste, salt again, and finish with the parsley off the heat.
Notes from my kitchen
Roasting your own peppers. Halve them, seed them, and lay them cut side down on a sheet pan under the broiler until the skins blister and blacken, about 10 minutes. Cover the pan with foil for 10 minutes and the skins slip right off. Do six at once and keep the extras in olive oil in the fridge.
Check the jar. Most jarred roasted peppers are packed with vinegar or citric acid. Read the label and buy the ones packed in water and salt only, then drain and pat them dry.
Dried chickpeas are worth it. Soaked overnight and simmered with a bay leaf, they hold their shape and taste like something. Canned works fine on a Tuesday.
Make it a bigger dinner. Crack four eggs into wells in the finished skillet, cover, and cook on low until the whites set. That is breakfast for dinner in this house at least once a month.