Small casserole with confit chickpeas (Ottolenghi)

Once you've tried them, you'll never want to prepare these delicious chickpeas any other way! Ottolenghi and his team show just how much flavor can be found in simple ingredients—and how good olive oil opens up new possibilities for cooking and getting creative!

Ingredients for a casserole (serves 4):

• 2 cans of cooked chickpeas, 400 g each (480 g drained weight)

• 10 garlic cloves, peeled and whole

• 30 g fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips

• 250 g cherry tomatoes

• 1 red chili pepper, cut lengthwise

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 2 tsp cumin seeds and 2 tsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed in a mortar

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 1 tsp chili flakes, Kashmiri chili powder, or mild paprika for a milder version

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 200 ml olive oil

Ingredients for the sauce:

• A large handful of mint leaves

• A large handful of cilantro, coarsely chopped

• 180 g whole milk yogurt

• 1 small clove of garlic, pressed

• Juice from 1 lime

Preparation

For this recipe, you'll need a small Dutch oven or an oven-safe pan with a tight-fitting lid. Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Simply mix all the ingredients together and place them in the oven. The cooking time is at least 1 hour and 20 minutes—stir the mixture once halfway through.

The exact cooking time depends on the amount and size of your casserole dish. The chickpeas should be tender, the tomatoes slightly broken down, and the garlic nice and soft. Make sure the ingredients are well submerged in the oil—so don't use a dish that's too wide.

Additional Tips

• Freshly crushed cumin and cilantro seeds have a more intense aroma than ground spices.

• Be sure to use fresh tomatoes—the long cooking time makes them especially flavorful.

• For the sauce, you have two options: Either puree everything until smooth for a creamy version, or chop the herbs coarsely and stir them into the yogurt so that the sauce retains some texture and bite.

Serving Suggestion

Fried or grilled shrimp go perfectly with this. Be sure to serve it with fresh bread—it’s ideal for dipping into the aromatic olive oil sauce.