Chickpea chard stew

One of my new year’s resolutions this year was to organize my huge pile of recipes (a habit I learned from my mom…thanks mom!). And that led me to thinking about actually trying to make some of the recipes I so carefully save…so I’ve decided to start a recipe-sharing blog. This isn’t going to be a Julie and Julia endeavor, just a (hopefully) fun way to share some yummy recipes. This is also my apology for being the weak link in the recipe exchange emails that I never do.

So here’s what I’m cooking this week…it’s been great for lunches!

Chickpea chard stew
Serves: 4
Source: a magazine that I don’t know the name of (I’ll do better with this part next time)

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced shallots (I used 3 and it was a little less than a cup, also added garlic and some peppers)
1 fresh thyme sprig
1/4 teaspoon plus pinch salt
1 bunch chard, stems removed, chopped
2 cups diced plum tomatoes (I used 1 can of diced tomatoes)
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
3/4 cup vegetable stock
pinch dried cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shallots, thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover and cook, stirring a few times, until shallots are translucent, about 6 minutes.

2. Mix in the chard, tomatoes, chickpeas, vegetable stock, and cayenne; cover and simmer 10 minutes.

3. Remove thyme and season stew with the lemon juice. Add the pinch of salt and the black pepper to taste.