One-pot chickpeas withth carrots and feta eta

You need eed to soak the chickpeas, so plan ahead. If you like, make k the feta without the parsley, cover it with more oil, and keep in a sterilised jar in the fridge for up to a week, for spooning over salads or soups. To make the dish vegan, swap the feta for a non-dairy alternative.

Method

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/ 350F/gas 4, and drain the soaked chickpeas.

Roughly chop the onion, garlic, ginger and green chilli, put into a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped but not pureed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the coriander and pulse a couple of times to mix.

Put the oil in a large, ovenproof, cast-iron pan for which you have a lid on a medium-high heat and, when hot, add the onion mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, for about four minutes.

Add the cumin, cinnamon, dates and tomato paste and cook for a minute more, until fragrant, then stir in the drained chickpeas, carrots, bay leaves, a quarterteaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, a teaspoon and three-quarters of salt, a good grind of black pepper and 1.2 litres of water.

Bring to a boil, skimming any scum from the surface as needed, then cover and bake in the oven for two hours, until the chickpeas are completely softened and the sauce is thick and rich. Remove, stir in parsley, and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.

While the chickpeas are cooking, mix all the ingredients for the marinated feta in a small bowl and set aside.

To serve, serv divide the chickpea mixture b between four or six bowls and, top e each with some of the feta mix and serve s the rest alongside.