RecipeTin Eats x Good Food: North African spiced ratatouille with crispy chickpeas

Name: RecipeTin Eats x Good Food: North African spiced ratatouille with crispy chickpeas
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 5 to 6 as a meal with bread
Cuisine: African
Ingredients: 400g can chickpeas, drained; 1 tbsp olive oil; ¼ tsp cooking salt; ¼ tsp black pepper; ⅛ tsp turmeric powder

RecipeTin Eats

September 5, 2022

Serve this spiced ratatouille with flatbead.Nagi Maehashi

easyTime:30 mins - 1 hourServes:5 to 6 as a meal with bread

Ratatouille is a French Provincial stew made with a medley of summer vegetables. I've given it a North African spin by adding warm spices instead of fresh herbs, and finishing with crispy chickpeas and fresh coriander. Ideally made the day before, this can be served warm or at room temperature, preferably with flatbread on the side for dunking and mopping.

Ingredients

Crispy chickpeas

400g can chickpeas, drained
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp cooking salt
¼ tsp black pepper
⅛ tsp turmeric powder

Ratatouille

2 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, diced
1 eggplant, cut into 1.5cm dice
2 red capsicum, cut into 1cm dice
2 zucchini, cut into 1.5cm dice

Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil
5 garlic cloves, finely minced
3 tomatoes, roughly chopped (including juice and seeds)
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp chilli flakes
⅛ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp cooking salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
6 tbsp tomato passata
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves, plus extra leaves to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
2. To make the crispy chickpeas, toss the ingredients in a bowl then spread on a baking tray. Bake for 35 minutes, shaking the tray every 10 minutes. Leave to cool on the tray.
3. For the ratatouille, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, eggplant and capsicum. Stir then cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes or so. Add zucchini, cover and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes, until the vegetables have softened. Transfer to a large bowl.
4. To make the sauce, roughly wipe the pot clean then heat another 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomato, spices and bay leaf. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add passata and tomato paste, and stir and cook for 5 minutes until the tomato has broken down. Remove the pot from the stove and set aside to cool to room temperature.
5. To assemble, add the sauce and chopped coriander to the bowl with the vegetables. Gently mix then transfer to a serving bowl or platter. Top with crispy chickpeas and sprinkle with extra coriander leaves, then serve.
This recipe features in Nagi's vegetarian feast