Vigil Potaje

As we do not want traditions to be lost, today Luisa (author of Cooking with my Carmela ) brings us the recipe for vigil stew, a dish that is traditionally served on the Friday of Lent and that surely, with the cold that still accompanies this year, you will appreciate having a very warm drink. To enjoy!

As Easter arrives, we cannot stop thinking about the typical recipes that have always been with us at home during these dates. Among them, the vigil stew, which many of you will know as chickpea and cod stew.

To prepare the recipe you will need salted cod, so it will be convenient to simply put it in a soak a day before (and remember to change the water).

As for the chickpeas, logically you can cook them at home, and make a 100% homemade recipe. Despite this, if you want to use already cooked chickpeas (we already know that rush is with us all), 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 incorporate them into the ingredient list. Also comment that many times the stew is made with an initial frying of onion and garlic. My version is faster but I assure you that it is the tastiest!

I cannot finish without commenting that this type of recipe is well worth making in an iron pot : they retain heat very well and you are using a 100% natural material. All this allows you to lower the power of the fire and let the chup chup do its work for a long time, without worries and with a great flavor result! Happy Easter!

Evolution Le Creuset Round Cocotte and Seigaiha Porcelain Bowls from Tokyo Design Studio .

Ingredients

• 500gr of chickpeas, you can also use them cooked
• 400g of desalted cod
• 1 onion
• 2 green bell 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, along 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 the water, everything has to be covered: add the oil, the chickpeas, the crumbled cod, the chopped tomatoes, the chopped peppers, add the paprika (if you want, apart of the sweet you can add a little of the spicy); finally, the whole head of garlic. Let's salt, carefully since the cod already provides its point of salt.
3. Let cook for about 30 minutes if we use cooked chickpeas or 1h 1/2 if we use soaked chickpeas.
4. After that time, set aside and let rest until serving time.

From one day to the next these stews are much better, because the flavors have settled. Thus, it is a great dish to prepare in advance.

Seigaiha Porcelain Bowl from Tokyo Design Studio

Tips

• In case of using cooked chickpeas, we will not soak them in point 1, and we will add them directly to the cocotte along with the rest of the ingredients (with point 2).
• When the cooking is finished, remove a few of the chickpeas, pour into a glass and blend with a little of the cooking broth. Add this puree so that the stew thickens.
• It can be frozen without problems.