Another Chickpea Experiment

With my stock of chickpeas replenished, and a surplus of veggies in the fridge's bin, I came up with a tasty ragout for dinner last night.

Started out by briefly sauteeing three fresh wild garlic heads in a minimum of olive oil. (The fresh garlic came courtesy of forager extraordinaire Sam Consylman, who was selling them at Livengood's stall at the South & Passyunik market Tuesday afternoon.) After the sliced garlic turned translucent over medium heat I added two small zucchini cut in fork-sized chunks (purchased from Rineer's at Rittenhouse Market Saturday), turned up the heat a notch, and cooked until they turned slightly brown. At that point I added half a medium diced yellow bell pepper; after another minute half a chopped hothouse tomato (seeded), a quarter cup of water (how much water to add is a judgment call, based on the choice and state of the veggies), seasonings (salt, pepper, oregano) and three-quarters cup of cooked, drained chickpeas went into the mix. Heat reduced to medium-low, covered, and cooked for about 10 minutes or so until thoroughly heated. I uncovered and turned the heat to high to drive off most, but not all, of the remaining liquid.

Served in a soup bowl, it was quite filling, tasty and satisfying.

It's an infinitely variable recipe depending upon the vegetables available and the herbs and spices to which you are partial. As the summer harvest progresses I'll be trying it again with other veggies.