Spicy Chickpeas & Tomatoes

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

Oh, is this tasty! I love spicy, Indian flavors and have fond memories of a chickpea & eggplant stew that I had at diner in Maine years ago. This version comes close.

This dish can be done with just the chickpeas and tomatoes but because the garden is flourishing right now, I added onions, green pepper, and eggplant to it. The result is a thick vegetable stew that makes a great side dish (would be great with the lamb we just got) or for lunch as I had it today.

The hands-on time for this dish is less than 10 minutes. If you stick with just the tomatoes and chickpeas, it takes about 5 minutes to prepare, another 20 to simmer. Fast and tasty!

3 T olive oil
3 T cumin
2 T coriander
1 t ginger
1 t cinnamon
cayenne pepper to taste--I added about 1/2 t--I love Penzey's black & red

1/2 med onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 qt canned tomatoes juice included
2 cans chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1 1/2 c chopped eggplant (I used a long, thin variety)
salt, pepper to taste
1/2 c chopped Italian parsley

Saute the onion and green pepper in the olive oil over medium heat until they just begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the spices and saute, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes or until the oil turns a deep, rich color. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve hot, cold or at room temperature and top with chopped parsley.