This chickpea stew owes its speed and deliciousness to chorizo. It injects a stack of flavour into the thick sauce, and biting into glorious chunks of golden brown chorizo will probably be the best thing that happens to you today. Let’s put chorizo in everything!!
A quick-to-make chorizo chickpea stew
I know you ordinarily associate the word “stew” with hours of slow cooking. But in today’s dish, it’s a 15 minute simmer and the end result is something that resembles a stew to me. So although we’ve made it in a fraction of the time, I’m sticking with the name!
Despite the speed, you will not feel robbed of flavour by any stretch of the imagination thanks to chorizo, the powerful little flavour packed Spanish sausages that are the hero of today’s dish. (Sorry chickpeas, but it’s true).
We sauté chorizo slices until golden brown before braising in a tomato-based stew sauce for a mere 15 minutes to infuse the sauce with chorizo flavour. Chickpeas add bulk and texture to the dish, and I love how they too absorb the chorizo flavour!
What you need
Here’s what you need for this chorizo chickpea stew:
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Chorizo – The well seasoned cured sausage from Spain is the hero of the dish today (sorry chickpeas!). You get great bang for your buck with chorizo – so much flavour packed into a little sausage. Find them at the deli or in the cured meats section of the fridge.
Alternatives – Any smoked sausage (like kranskey’s, German sausages etc).
Tip – Get extra and make everybody’s favourite smoked sausage and rice, or a big paella!
Chickpeas – We’re just going canned today, for convenience, for this quick ‘n easy meal. Just crack open that can!
Crushed tomato – This is already kind of smushed so it breaks down more easily into a thick sauce compared to, say, diced tomato which has larger chunks. Diced tomato will work too though, you just may want to simmer for a bit longer to let them break down a bit. If you only have whole canned tomato, crush them with your hands or use a potato masher before putting the pot.
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Chicken stock/broth – I like to use low sodium so I can control the salt in this. We do get quite a bit of salt from the chorizo so it really is better to use low-salt stock.
Vegetable stock also works, but chicken stock does give the stew sauce deeper flavour.
Bay leaf, thyme and smoked paprika – Herb and spice flavours for the sauce. Sautéed with the chorizo to bring out toasty flavour before adding the liquids. Great trick to get more flavour into your dishes – toast those herbs and spices!
Garlic – This dish was never going to happen without garlic!
How to make chorizo chickpea stew
Stew-like results with stir-fry speed! OK, fine, that’s a wee bit of an exaggeration. It takes longer than a stir-fry. 😂 But it’s MUCH faster than traditional stews!!!
Sauté the chorizo until golden. Toast the spices for 1 minute. Tip in the chickpeas and tomato then simmer for 15 minutes. Stew. Done!
Sauté chorizo slices in a little oil until beautifully golden and caramelised. Don’t be tempted to shortcut this step! The chorizo tastes so much better when it’s browned, plus we want to coax the tasty highly flavourful oil out of the chorizo so it can flavour everything else in this dish!
Sauté herbs & spices – Once the chorizo is golden, add the bay leaf, thyme and paprika. Toast it for a minute, inhaling deeply to enjoy the smell! It really is so good. (Oh, and we toast the herbs and spices to bring extra flavour out of them. Not just so we can enjoy the smell! 😂).
Add everything else – Add the chickpeas, tomato, chicken stock, salt and pepper, then give it all a good stir.
Simmer for 15 minutes with the lid off until the sauce thickens. Then that’s it! Ready to serve.
Serve with crusty bread for dunking, for a quick ‘n easy meal (suggestion: everybody’s favourite no-knead Crusty Artisan Bread), or flatbreads for scooping.
Alternatively, serve it over a starchy vehicle of choice, such as mashed potato (mashed cauliflower for a low-carb option), couscous or small pasta (like orzo/risoni, orecchiette, small macaroni).
For a quick salad or vegetable side, use whatever greens you have in the fridge, raw or steamed, and toss with my Everyday Salad Dressing. Or browse all vegetable sides to find something that inspires!
Dinner. Done. How fast was that??? And just wait until you taste it! You are going to be amazed how much flavour is packed into that pot of stewy deliciousness for such an easy dish.
Such is the miracle of chorizo. So much power packed into one little sausage.
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Chorizo chickpea stew (fast)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 250g / 8 oz chorizo (2 pieces) , cut into 8mm / 1/3″ slices (Note 1)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (sub normal paprika)
- 1 bay leaf , preferably fresh, otherwise dried
- 400g / 14oz can crushed tomato
- 400g/14 oz can chickpeas , drained (or other beans of choice)
- 1 cup chicken stock/broth , low sodium
- 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Sauté chorizo – Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or small pot over medium high heat. Add chorizo and cook for 3 minutes or until golden.
- Sauté aromatics – Add garlic, thyme, paprika and bay leaf, then stir for 1 minute.
- Add everything else – Add tomato, chickpeas, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Stir, bring to a simmer then lower the heat down to medium low so it is simmering very gently.
- Cook for 15 minutes (no lid), stirring regularly to ensure the base does not catch, until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
- Serve – Discard bay leaf and serve. I love this with hot crusty bread (slathered with butter!).
Notes
Nutrition
Life of Dozer
When Dozer visited One Meal Northern Beaches early one morning before the volunteers started arriving (this was 6 am!). This is where the meals we make at RecipeTin Meals (my food bank) is donated during the week. I have a team of 3 full time cooks (chef + 2 kitchen hands) who make homemade meals from scratch, 5 days a week. Many recipes from this website!
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