Sunday, March 30, 2008

AEB Classics #66: Spicy Sojo-Style Chick Peas

chick pea stew fig. a: finished product

Okay, maybe we're taking this a little far by calling these "Sojo-style," because our investigation into how your typical Sojo-ite prepares his or her chick peas has hardly been scientific. Alls we know is that south of St-Joseph, where we live, not only are chick peas cheap and plentiful, but there's also plenty of good Portuguese chorizo to be had, so we've taken to preparing them in unison.

If there's a better Iberian-style chick pea dish being served anywhere in town, we've yet to find it.
.

Spicy Sojo-Style Chick Peas

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 tsp hot smoked paprika
3/4 lb - 1 lb extra-spicy Portuguese chorizo, chopped into 1/2" hunks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 14-oz can chopped tomatoes
2 cups chicken or pork broth, preferably homemade
4 cups cooked chick peas or 2 19-oz cans chick peas, drained
salt and freshly ground black pepper


Heat the olive oil in a large cast-iron pan over medium heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the onions and sauté them for 5-10 minutes. Add the celery and red bell pepper and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add the paprika and the chorizo and stir for 4-5 minutes, then add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Pour in the wine, turn the heat up to medium-high and cook until the wine has evaporated. Then add the tomatoes, the broth, and the chick peas and stir. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the broth has reduced by about half. Adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with lots of crusty bread and a salad.


SA & Fils (4701 St. Urbain, 842-3373) is a good source for Portuguese chorizo. They stock it in three varieties: mild, spicy, and extra-spicy.

aj

3 comments:

Mark Slutsky said...

Some day this week I'm going to help ensure that these ARE the typical Sojo-style preparation.

Anonymous said...

Cor blimey! I have had such a lovely time today browsing through your wonderful site. Had already started chickpeas intending them for hummous but have used them very happily for this recipe with ham instead of chorizo as I didn't want to go out shopping. Used a teaspoon of this to give heat .....
2 cups of red and green chilies
1 large red capsicum/pepper
white vinegar to cover
2teaspoons of cumin
Chop chilies, pepper and simmer away in vinegar and cumin until nice and tender. Blend the chilies with as much or as little of the vinegar as you would like...we are making a tabasco type sauce here with utmust simplicity.
My hubby is a Mtl Nord guy and we love this city and hearing about it as we are Down Under these days.
Merci!
Sue

aj kinik said...

hi MS,
any luck?

hi sue,
thanks for sharing--I make my own hot sauce from time to time, but I like the sounds of your method--I'll definitely have to give it a spin--Glad you found us...