Chickpea stew with vegetables and harissa

I don’t know if it’s the same for you, but there are days when I crave lots of spoon dishes, stews with loads of flavor… Although I don’t always have as much time as I’d like to make them. Today I’m bringing you one of those recipes that not only makes us enjoy it while we savor it, but also comes together in a flash. A Chickpea stew with vegetables and harissa that you can have ready in under 30 minutes.

How do you feel about that? I know, mind-blown. And to think I used to be the “anti pressure cooker” woman, but there’s nothing like giving these tools that make life easier a chance. This doesn’t mean I don’t like slow-cooked stews—quite the opposite, I’m fascinated by them. But I must admit there are weeks when, no matter how much I want to do it all, it’s just not possible.

For those crazy stretches we all have, I recommend trying this marvel that will really surprise you in terms of flavor and textures. Plus, it’s a recipe we can make vegan if we use vegetable stock and swap the Greek yogurt for a plant-based yogurt.

Where does the magic of this dish lie? Certainly, the entire Set is a real success, but for those of you who don't know harissa, allow me to introduce you to one of the ingredients that can no longer be missing from your pantry.

What is harissa?

Harissa is a chili paste originally from Tunisia. Chiles arrived in Tunisia during the Spanish occupation in the 16th century and, from that moment on, began to play an important role in its cuisine.

In fact, it’s considered one of the main Tunisian condiments, since it’s used in many of their preparations such as stews and soups, or to season meat and vegetables.

The word harissa comes from Arabic and means "break into pieces" or "to pound".

The process of making harissa paste can vary depending on the region where it’s made. The base of this paste consists of chiles, garlic, salt, and olive oil. From there, you can add other elements that bring lots of aroma and flavor, such as cumin, cilantro, onion, tomato… You can even add smoked chiles to provide a more intense, pleasant aroma.

This chili paste is also used in Middle Eastern, Israeli, and Moroccan cuisine.

Making the chickpea stew with vegetables and harissa.

As I mentioned above, this recipe won’t take us more than 30 minutes to be ready to enjoy. Many times, if we organize well and make use of kitchen tools like the pressure cooker, we can enjoy wonderful, healthy recipes while investing little time in the process.

We’ll have the chickpeas cooked in 12-15 minutes depending on their size. In my case, I used the same pressure cooker to sauté the vegetables, but if you want to get a head start, you can sauté them in a separate pan while the chickpeas cook.

Once we have this ready, we just need to add everything to the pressure cooker and… 5 minutes of cooking! While we set the table and prepare a thing or two, this incredible stew will be ready. Like I said, no more excuses for eating well ;)

Ingredients for 4 servings

For the chickpea stew:

• 400 g Pedrosillano chickpeas, cooked (160 g dried chickpeas, approximately)
• 1 large sweet onion, cut into pieces
• 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 eggplant, cut into approximately 2.5 cm cubes, skin on
• 1 red pepper (the roasting kind), cut into large pieces
• 300 g baby potatoes, unpeeled and cut into quarters
• 250 g homemade tomato sauce (recipe at this link)
• 750 g chicken and vegetable stock
• 3-4 teaspoons harissa
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• pinch of ground cinnamon, about 1/8 teaspoon
• 2 dried curry leaves (if you have fresh ones, even better)
• 10 dried apricots
• juice of half a large lime
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• light olive oil

To serve:

• unsweetened Greek yogurt or crème fraîche
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• slices of avocado

Preparation

Prepare the chickpeas.

1. Fill a large bowl with water and add the chickpeas along with a pinch of salt. Soak overnight; the ideal time would be 8-10 hours.
2. The next day, drain very well and rinse with plenty of cold water. Set aside.
3. In the WMF Perfect Premium pressure cooker, cook the chickpeas with enough water to cover them without surpassing the maximum fill line you can see inside the pot.
4. Close the pot lid, turn the lid dial to position 2 and set over high heat.
5. Once the cooking ring rises to the first green ring, set the timer and cook for 12 minutes. It’s important to monitor during cooking so that the green ring neither rises nor falls; it should stay in that position.
6. Once the cooking time is finished, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the heat source.
7. Release the steam and open the lid.
8. Pour into a colander, drain, and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
9. Set aside.

Sauté the vegetables.

1. In the same WMF Perfect Premium pressure cooker, add a good glug of olive oil, enough to generously coat the base.
2. Set over medium heat and let it come up to temperature.
3. Add the onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, which we’ll crush with the side of a knife, and sweat for 5 minutes more. It should not take on a very golden or toasted color.
4. Add the red pepper along with the eggplant, a little salt, and black pepper. Sauté until the vegetables become slightly tender, not overly so.

Finish cooking the chickpea and harissa stew.

1. Add the baby potatoes cut into quarters or halves, depending on their size, along with the harissa, the tomato sauce, the spices, and the stock.
2. Put the lid on the pot, turn the lid dial to position 1 and set over high heat.
3. Once the cooking ring rises to the first green ring, set the timer and cook for 5 minutes. It’s important to monitor during cooking so that the green ring neither rises nor falls; it should stay in that position.
4. Once the cooking time is finished, remove from the heat briefly. Release the steam and open the lid. Check that the potatoes are tender and, if not, leave over the heat for 2 minutes more (in my case it took exactly 5 minutes).
5. Add the cooked chickpeas along with the chopped dried apricots and the lime juice, stir lightly, and leave over low heat, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt or spices if necessary.

Serve.

1. With the help of a ladle, serve the chickpea and harissa stew in deep plates or bowls. In my case, I used these plates from Revol.
2. Serve with a little unsweetened Greek yogurt or crème fraîche. Sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro and a few slices of avocado.
3. Serve right away.

Notes

• In my case I used the Pedrosillano chickpea variety, it’s possible that a larger chickpea will require a longer cooking time, around 15 minutes. Ideally, check their tenderness to avoid overcooking.
• It’s important and necessary to soak the chickpeas overnight to soften them and reduce the cooking time. Moreover, this activates enzymatic activity, making them much easier to digest.
• In the Salmon moqueca, I shared how to make a wonderful tomato sauce. In my case I used that recipe, but you can use the one you usually make at home.
• The stock we use can be chicken and vegetable, or just vegetable if we prefer. I always recommend using homemade stock, but if that’s not possible, you can use store-bought stock.
• I recommend not skipping the harissa paste, it adds a wonderful touch of heat as well as incredible flavor.
• In this type of stew, I like to keep the skin on the eggplants, but you can remove it if you prefer.
• Baby potatoes provide a wonderful texture, nothing like regular potatoes. Plus, there’s no need to peel them because the skin is very thin and pleasant to eat.
• If you don’t like any of the spices, you can omit it, although I recommend keeping them whenever possible.
• The dried apricots can be omitted or replaced with another dried fruit, such as prunes.
• We can keep it refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I don’t recommend freezing it due to the presence of potato; this ingredient does not handle freezing well.

As you will already post, I can’t wait to see your photos of this Chickpea and vegetable stew with harissa. I give you my word it will surprise you. In addition, we can serve it as a main course, a one-dish meal, or to accompany another preparation.