Guest chef Justine Schofield’s chickpea and fish stew recipe

This recipe, a slow-cooked chickpea stew with lovely chunks of white fish added at the end, is a simple favourite of mine.

Delish: fish braised with chickpeas. Picture: Rob Palmer

I love cooking with dried chickpeas – the results are far better than using the canned option. This recipe, where they’re served with lovely chunks of white fish, is a simple favourite of mine. I particularly like cooking chickpeas in the slow cooker as they become super creamy with steady, even cooking. Be sure not to season until they’re cooked, otherwise the outer shell will harden and they'll take much longer to soften.

Fish braised with chickpeas

300g (1½ cups) dried chickpeas

80ml (¹⁄³ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

1 fresh or dried bay leaf

4 garlic cloves, chopped

4 anchovy fillets, chopped

1 tomato, quartered

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Juice ½ lemon

600g monkfish fillets (or other white-fleshed fish), skin removed, pin-boned, cut into 3cm pieces

2 store-bought roasted capsicum fillets, drained and sliced

2 flat-leaf parsley sprigs, chopped

Soak the chickpeas in plenty of water overnight, then drain and rinse well. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and bay leaf and cook, stirring regularly, for 10-12 minutes until the onion is softened with a little colour. Add the garlic, anchovy, tomato and oregano and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the chickpeas to the pan and stir to coat in the onion mixture, then pour in enough water to submerge everything by 4cm (about 2-3 litres, but this will depend on the capacity of your pan). Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low, cover and cook for about 2 hours, until the chickpeas are soft and creamy.

Generously season the chickpea stew with salt and pepper. Using a potato masher, mash some of the chickpeas to thicken the sauce, then stir through the lemon juice.

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Turn the heat off and add the chunks of fish to the chickpea stew. Cover and allow the residual heat to poach the fish for 8-10 minutes. Top with the capsicum strips and chopped parsley and serve. Serves 4

Slow cooker method: After sauteeing the onion, bay leaf, garlic, anchovy, tomato and oregano, tip the onion mixture into the slow cooker, add the chickpeas and pour in enough water to cover everything by 2-3 cm. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8-9 hours. After seasoning, lightly mash to thicken the sauce and stir through the lemon juice; season the fish and place on top of the stew. Cover and cook on high for 10-12 minutes or on low for 20 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through. Serve topped with the capsicum and parsley.

The Slow Cook

Edited extract from The Slow Cook by Justine Schofield (Plum, $39.99). Photography: Rob Palmer