Revithada

I stumbled across this dish whilst thumbing through a plant-based Greek cookbook. I put the book back on the shelf but not before this recipe caught my attention.  A traditional dish from the island of Sifnos (and others) its a delicious chickpea stew with earthy herbs like rosemary, thyme or sage and plenty of olive oil.  

Ingredients
serves 4

500g chickpeas
5 red onions, finely chopped
15g rosemary (or thyme), finely chopped
2 bay leaves
200ml olive oil, plus a little extra to drizzle
1 lemon, zest and juice
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
1 tsp black pepper

Method

Soak the chickpeas overnight in water and a tablespoon of salt.

Pre-heat the oven to 160C

In either a heavy bottomed oven proof sauté pan (with a lid) or a casserole dish you can cook on the hob, heat the olive oil to a medium-high. Add the onions. Stir thoroughly then turn the heat down a medium-low. Continue to stir until the heat reduces. 

Place a lid over the pan and gently cook the onions for at least 15 minutes until they are completely soft and caramelised. Check regularly to make sure its not catching. 

Add the finely chopped rosemary, some lemon zest, the bay leaves.  Stir into the onions and cook for a minute longer. 

Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then add to the onions. 

Pour in about 750ml of water. Add more or less by eye. You're looking for a soupy consistency. 

Cover with a tight fitting lid, turn up the heat to bring to a boil. Remove from the heat then place in the pre-heated oven. Cook slowly for two hours. 

Check about half way and top up the water if it appears to have reduced too much, if the lids not tight enough. 

Fifteen minutes before the end, remove a ladle full of the chickpeas and place into large bowl. Mash the chickpeas into a puree with a fork. Then return to the stew, stirring it into the chickpeas giving it a creamier consistency. Remove the bay leaves. Add most of the juice of one lemon and season with 3 teaspoons of salt and one teaspoon of black pepper. 

Return to the oven for the final 15 minutes of cooking.  

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. 

Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Ladle into four bowls. Drizzle over some good quality extra virgin olive oil. Serve with a warm flatbread.