Life has been pretty busy for both of us lately, between reopening Chanteduc to cooking class students for the first time since January 2020, and for Emily moving house and with that everything that a new life in a new town brings. It’s at times like these you need those go-to recipes that are nourishing and comforting, and don’t require too many hard-to-get ingredients. This eggplant, chickpea and tomato stew delivers on all fronts – you can throw this together from staple from your pantry store cupboard, eggplant being the only essential fresh ingredient. This is inspired by a recipe for Ruz eb Maya (chickpeas and rice) from The Gaza Kitchen, a beautiful and essential cookbook filled with recipes and stories from home cooks across the Gaza Strip. Our version adds eggplant, making the most of it before it disappears from the market stalls in late autumn and wild Sardinian oregano. We like to serve it with a think dollop of yogurt-tahini sauce, but it is equally satisfying served as a simple stew with no garnish at all.
NOURISH NOTES : Chickpeas have a small carbon and land-use footprint but a rich nutrient profile – high in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidant polyphenols which protect us against disease – making them a favorite Nourish ingredient. When we cook with a diverse range of unprocessed ingredients like whole grains, pulses and local seasonal vegetables, we support a healthier food system as well as our own gut health and digestion (our microbiome loves all that fibre and diversity).
Eggplant, Chickpea and Tomato Stew
4 servings
Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 large fresh garlic cloves, halved, green germ removed if present, and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon of dried oregano (preferably wild Sardinian oregano), plus more for garnish
1 large aubergine, sliced in half lengthways then cut into cubes
1 tablespoon tomato concentrate
4 large tomatoes (about 650g), roughly chopped (making about 3 cups) or 2 cups (500 ml) tomato passata
3 cups (750 ml) vegetable stock
1/3 cup basmati rice (preferably semi-wholegrain)
1 ½ cups (275 g) cooked chickpeas
Yogurt-tahini sauce
½ cup (125 ml) thick sheep’s milk yogurt
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Method
1. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil of low-medium heat. Add the onion and sea salt and sweat — cook, covered, over low heat—until soft and translucent but not browned, about 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and sweat for a further 2–3 minutes.
2. Add the aubergine and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and toss to coat. Turn the heat up to medium and fry the aubergine until golden and beginning to soften, stirring often to avoid burning the onions and garlic.
3. Add the tomato paste, toss to cover the vegetables and cook for a further 30 seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes, stir to combine and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until thick and jammy. Add the stock, rice and chickpeas, stir to combine, cover and leave to simmer until the stew has thickened and the aubergine is soft and on the cusp of falling apart – about 25 minutes.
4. To make the yogurt tahini sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Thin out with a tablespoon of vegetable stock or water.
5. Serve the stew with a generous dollop of Yogurt-Tahini sauce and a dusting of dried oregano.
This is an original Nourish the Planet recipe, part of a collaborative series by Patricia Wells and Emily Buchanan.
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