Vigil Potaje

As we don't want traditions to be lost, today Luisa (author of Cooking with my Carmela ) brings us the recipe for Lenten stew, a dish that is traditionally served on Fridays during Lent and that, with the cold weather that is still with us this year, you will surely appreciate having nice and warm. Enjoy!

As Easter approaches, we cannot help but think about the typical recipes that have always been with us at home during these holidays. Among them, Lenten stew, which many of you will know as chickpea and cod stew.

To make this recipe you will need salted cod, so it is best to simply soak it a day beforehand (and remember to change the water).

As for chickpeas, you can obviously cook them at home and make a 100% homemade recipe. However, if you want to use already cooked chickpeas (and we all know that we are in a hurry), I recommend that you buy quality ones and wash them well before adding them to the stew.

Many of you may remember this recipe with another magical ingredient, spinach. You won't go wrong if you want to include it in the list of ingredients. I would also like to mention that the stew is often prepared with an initial sauté of onion and garlic. My version is quicker but I assure you that it is very tasty!

I cannot finish without saying that this type of recipe is worth doing in a cast iron pot : they retain heat very well and you are using a 100% natural material. All this allows you to lower the heat and let the chup chup do its job for a while, without worries and with a great tasting result! Happy Easter!

Le Creuset Evolution round cocotte and Seigaiha porcelain bowls from Tokyo Design Studio .

Ingredients

• 500gr of chickpeas, you can also use them cooked
• 400gr of desalted cod
• 1 onion
• 2 green peppers
• 1 head of garlic
• 2 red tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 pinch of hot paprika (optional)
• 1/2 glass of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• 750-800ml of water approx.

Preparation

1. Soak the cod, together with the chickpeas*, for approximately 24 hours, changing the water every 8 hours.
2. The next day, put all the ingredients in a cocotte and cover with water, everything must be covered: add the oil, the chickpeas, the crumbled cod, the chopped tomatoes, the chopped peppers, add the paprika (if you want, apart from the sweet you can add a little bit of the spicy one); finally, the whole head of garlic. Add salt, carefully since the cod already adds its saltiness.
3. Cook for about 30 minutes if using cooked chickpeas or 1 hour and a half if using soaked chickpeas.
4. After this time, set aside and let rest until serving time.

These stews are much better from one day to the next, because the flavours have settled. So, it is a great dish to prepare in advance.

Seigaiha porcelain bowl by Tokyo Design Studio

Tips

• If you use cooked chickpeas, do not soak them in step 1, and add them directly to the cocotte along with the rest of the ingredients (with step 2).
• When the cooking is finished, remove a few chickpeas, put them in a glass and blend them with a little of the cooking broth. Add this puree to thicken the stew.
• It can be frozen without any problems.