Herby chickpeas with yoghurt

I absolutely love chickpeas and trying new ways of serving them. Usually I go for the tinned variety as that is the most convenient option, but lately I’ve been buying dried chickpeas, cooking them in large batches and freezing them to use for hummus and dishes like this one. It’s not too much of a faff if you do a big batch each time, and works out to be more cost effective. Chickpeas have a rather earthy flavour with a touch of nuttiness, and I love cooking them with lots of spices, particularly cumin and chilli. These spicy and herby chickpeas can be served as a simple side dish or lunch alongside a salad.

You will notice that in this post I have photographed the dish with some beautiful placemats and these are made by The Jay Smith Collection in Cape Town. Aside from being a pretty addition to your table, these placemats are made from plastic bottles and sewn by previously unemployed seamstresses. They’re also fully washable and there are runners, cloths and aprons (as pictured above) in the range too. They are absolutely gorgeous! This post is not sponsored, but I simply had to tell you about them. You can have a look at their website to find out more.

Enjoy the recipe!

HERBY CHICKPEAS WITH YOGHURT

Servings: 4 as a side dish
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For the chickpeas:

15ml (1 tbsp) butter
10ml (2 tsp) olive oil
400g chickpeas (cooked from dried, or canned)
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
½ red pepper, cut into small pieces
2.5ml (½ tsp) chilli flakes
2.5ml (½ tsp) cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
30g spinach (about a handful), shredded
salt and pepper
5ml (1 tsp) lime juice
5g parsley, chopped
5g coriander, chopped

For the topping:

100ml plain yoghurt
5ml (1 tsp) olive oil
salt and pepper

1.) Heat the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the chickpeas to the pan and fry for a few minutes until the skins start turning golden.

2.) Add the spring onions, red pepper, chilli flakes, cumin, garlic, spinach and seasoning. Sauté for 2 minutes to warm through. Add the lime juice and half of the parsley and coriander, then remove from the heat. Check the seasoning.

3.) To make the topping combine the yoghurt, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Top with the remaining herbs and serve with the chickpeas.