recipe test: Kawa's version of Alison Roman's Chickpea Stew

[fandomonymous]

A disclaimer about recipe tests: This is me writing down streamlines/edits of other people's recipes before I try them, to use in my kitchen with what I have. The principles should be sound but they're not tested at time of writing; what I have in my kitchen may not match yours.

So apparently this stew from the New York Times got really popular. It sounds good, and I have some of the ingredients on hand, so I wanna try it sometime this week. I don't feel like getting past the Times' paywall, so I'm basing my version on this reprint from Tres Americain and these notes from the AV Club. Chickpea frying technique adapted from Food52.



My swaps: halving the entire recipe, shallots over onions, some extra heat and umami from stuff I have on hand, garam masala swapped for some of the turmeric, chile powder over red chili flakes, bulgur wheat over flatbread to use up what I've got.

• A few tbsp olive oil + a drizzle for serving
  
• 3 garlic cloves, mortar and pestled
  
• 3 shallots, chopped
  
• 1 1-inch piece ginger, chopped finely
  
• Salt and black pepper
  
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
  
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
  
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
  
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  
• 1 can full fat coconut milk
  
• 1 cup vegan stock
  
• 1 10 oz pack of frozen chopped spinach/chard/kale/collards (whatever's available; I ended up finding turnip greens, which I think will be interesting)
  
• 1/4 tsp fish sauce
  
• 1/4 tsp sambal oelek
  
• Mint leaves for serving
  
• Yogurt for serving
  
• 1 cup coarse bulgur wheat
  
• 1 cup water
  

Prep: Set water to boil, drain chickpeas, start thawing greens. Take about 1/2 cup chickpeas aside, and more thoroughly dry them with paper towels. Chop garlic, shallots, and ginger.

Grains: Place wheat in a bowl, eyeball in some salt. Add boiling water, stir, let stand while everything else happens.

Crunchy chickpeas: Heat some oil in Dutch oven on high heat. Fry extra-dry chickpeas in oil for about 5 minutes until crunchy and color changes. Fish out with spider and set aside.

Alliums etc: Crank down Dutch oven to medium heat, add a little more oil. Add garlic, shallots, and ginger; season with salt and pepper. Cook until shallots are translucent and starts to brown a bit around the edges, about 5 minutes.

Spices, more chickpeas: Add garam masala, turmeric, chile powder, and the rest of the chickpeas; season with more salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until these chickpeas break down somewhat and get browned. Crush chickpeas against the bottoms/sides as best you can.

Liquids, greens, thickening: Add coconut milk, semi-thawed greens, and stock; add fish sauce and sambal oelek; taste and season further; bring to a simmer, scraping up any bottom fond/chickpea bits. Let cook for at least 30 minutes. [Meanwhile, do whatever dishes are needed.] If it needs to get thicker after 30 minutes, and/or if the bulgur isn't ready yet, let it do so.

Serve: Divide into containers. For today's serving, portion out some wheat, pour stew on top, top with crunchy chickpeas, yogurt, mint, extra olive oil, and a sprinkle of extra garam masala.