Sunday 30 May 2010

Spicy Chickpea, Sausage, Potato and Tomato Stew, with Tzatziki

Spicy Chickpea, Sausage, Potato and Tomato Stew, with TzatzikiYou've been there, I'm sure: a houseful of hungry teens, and the cupboard is virtually bare. So is the fridge and freezer, apart from a pack of pork sausages, which are not enough to feed two thin cats, let alone six long-limbed late-night revellers.

 Here's how to stretch a few ingredients into a warming rib-sticker of a stew that takes just half an hour to prepare. If you don't have chickpeas to hand, use tinned beans.  If you don't have any of the veggies I've listed, use whatever you find languishing in the bottom of the fridge.

If you don't have teens, use every ingredient I've listed here to make a most delicious and satisfying quick supper. For this dish, I used gorgeous pork, garlic, white wine and parsley sausages from Open Veld, which are made using organic, free-range meat, and are available at Cape Town's Neighbourhood Goods Market. (My fellow blogger Jamie Who recently posted a lovely recipe using these sausages - check out his Wholewheat penne with pork sausage, blistered tomatoes and chilli.)

This dish is enhanced by adding a sliced chourizo sausage (fry it along with the onions) and is doubly good topped with cool Greek tzatziki.

Quick Supper Dish: Spicy Chickpea, Sausage, Potato and Tomato Stew

6 medium potatoes
3 T (45 ml) olive or sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 sticks celery, sliced
4 carrots, scraped and diced
1 red pepper, sliced [bell pepper]
1 red or green chilli, finely chopped
3 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and finely chopped
½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt
6 pork sausages
1 T (15 ml) vinegar
3 T (60 ml) tomato paste
a tin of chopped Italian tomatoes
2 tsp (10 ml) Tabasco sauce, or similar hot sauce, to taste
1/2 cup (125 ml) wine, white or red
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) cumin
1 tsp (5 ml) paprika
2 tins chickpeas, drained
milled black pepper

To serve:
chopped fresh parsley or coriander [cilantro]
a tub of tzatziki (cucumber, garlic and yoghurt dip)

Cut the potatoes into chunks and cook, in plenty of boiling salted water, until just tender.  While the potatoes are boiling,  heat the oil in a large saucepan.  Add the onion, celery, carrots and red pepper and cook, over a brisk heat, until just softened. Add the chilli, garlic and salt and cook for another minute, without allowing the garlic to brown. Tip onto a plate and set aside. Add the whole sausages to the same pan and fry for five minutes, or until their skins are browned.

Cut the sausages into short lengths using a pair of scissors or a sharp knife. Tip off any excess fat and return the vegetables to the pan. Add the vinegar, stand back, and stir briskly to loosen any sediment on the bottom of the pan. Now stir in the tomato paste, tinned tomatoes, Tabasco, white wine, cumin, and paprika.  Allow to bubble for two minutes, then tip in the chickpeas.

Drain the potatoes and add to the pan,  along with a ladleful or two of boiling water in which you cooked them - just enough to create a rich gravy.  Turn down the heat and simmer for five minutes, adding more boiling water if necessary.  Season with pepper and  add a little more salt  if needed.  Serve hot, topped with chopped fresh parsley or coriander, and a dollop of tzatziki.

Serves 6-8
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19 comments:

Gabriel said...

This is perfect for our dinner tonight. My husband will really love this. I like the twist of this dish. Thanks

Marisa said...

Great weeknight meal - we all need those meal stretchers from time to time!

Aletta said...

I love the idea of cooking with well flavoured good quality sausage. I had great pizza at Nonna Lina the other night that had frankfurters and caramelised onion on it. Surprisingly delicious.

Jane-Anne said...

Megan: bit stupid posting spam comments here, isn't it? I'm only going to delete them. Not that you're going to read this, but I feel better.

Kara said...

I had great pizza at Nonna Lina the other night that had frankfurters and caramelised onion on it. Surprisingly delicious. thanx for sharing.

Samantha said...

This spicy Indian chickpea stew mixes Pakistani spices with the chickpeas to create a wonderful entree. Make spicy Indian chickpea stew when you want something really flavorful, and serve it with basmati rice on the side.

Michelle said...

Sounds wonderful - thanks so much! You rock, we will wait for you next recipes.

Kristen said...

Fantastic dish! I made them twice, and we loved them! Excellent as a main vegetarian dish with little brown rice on the side, or a pita bread.

Victoria said...

I like the mix of spices in this! The cumin, chili, and lemon are fantastic together. Nice and easy to put together, too. I only used one can of chickpeas but used the full amount of remaining ingredients to get a dish that was really flavorful... I absolutely loved it!

Diane said...

Sauteed onion with a jalapeno pepper and 5 small cloves of garlic. Really delicious! Also, used ground cumin as I do not have cumin seeds.

Lynn said...

I like your idea on preparing foods. Thank you for sharing the recipes and I'm looking forward to read more on your next post.

Jane said...

Well, I had great pizza at Nonna Lina the other night that had frankfurters and caramelized onion on it. Surprisingly delicious.thanx for the recipe.

Jillian said...

So delicious food i love it i want to cook like these someday and make experiment thanks for sharing ;-)

Jean said...

I just want to say that i really like your blog, interesting as well as informative for me, thanx for the share, looking forward.

c said...

This recipe was great! I just made it tonight for my commune and everybody loved it! Its healthy too which is an added plus. I didn't use any garlic salt but I put in tons and tons of cayenne pepper. Mine only took about 1/2 an hour to cook in the oven and would have been burnt to a crisp by 40 minutes.

Brittany said...

Sauteed onion with a jalapeno pepper and 5 small cloves of garlic. Really delicious! Also, used ground cumin as I do not have cumin seeds.

Becky said...

I had great pizza at Nonna Lina the other night that had frankfurters and caramelised onion on it. Surprisingly delicious, looking forward.

sadie said...

Well, I made them twice, and we loved them! Excellent as a main vegetarian dish with little brown rice on the side, or a pita bread.

Allison Clark said...

Sounds wonderful - thanks so much! You rock, we will wait for you next recipes.