Recipe: Chickpeas with winter vegetables and saffron

This Turkish recipe is a wintry version of turlu turlu, a version of ratatouille with chickpeas.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 3 carrots, roughly diced
• 2 parsnips, roughly diced
• 1 fennel bulb, cut into wedges
• 2 waxy potatoes, roughly diced
• 1 tsp salt
• Pinch of saffron threads
• 300ml vegetable stock, hot
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 small piece of fresh ginger, sliced
• 2 red onions, sliced
• ½ tsp dried mint
• ½ tsp crushed chillies (optional)
• 400g can whole plum tomatoes
• 400g can chickpeas

Method

1. Heat half the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrots, parsnips, fennel, potatoes and salt, cover and cook, stirring, for 10-12 minutes, until softened. Remove everything with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.
2. Meanwhile, soak the saffron in the hot stock and set aside.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the same pan and fry the garlic and ginger until it is just browning. Add the onions, mint and chillies, stir well, and continue to fry quite briskly.
4. Tip the tomatoes into a sieve to discard the juice, then add to the pan. Bring to a simmer. Add the chickpeas and their juices and return the vegetables to the pan. Pour over the stock and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring halfway, until tender. Season to taste, then serve.

The original recipe uses aubergines, courgettes and peppers instead of root vegetables.

Recipe courtesy of Delicious Magazine.