Chakchouka aux poix chiches

We had a big jar of dried chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans; pois chiches in French) that had been in the kitchen cabinet for quite a while. We decided to cook them. I simmered them for four or five hours in a big pot of water on the stove. Chickpeas are something we like to eat with North African couscous, a stew containing tomatoes, eggplant, turnips, zucchini, onions, and other vegetables that is served with couscous grain. We usually use canned chickpeas.

Then I started searching the internet for other recipes using chickpeas. It didn't take long. The first recipe I found looked so good that I didn't look further. It's called chakchouka, and I had never heard of it before. It's chickpeas cooked with diced tomatoes and sliced bell peppers (red and green), with spices like cumin, paprika, caraway, and fenugreek. After doing some reading, I learned that chakchouka is essentially that mixture of tomatoes, peppers, and spices, with different ingredients including meats, eggs, and chickpeas added to the mix or served alongside.

We had a package of boudin blanc sausages in the refrigerator, and we hadn't yet figured out what we were going to make to have with them. I had bought the sausages a few days ago just because they looked good. And, I thought, why not eat the boudin blanc with chickpeas cooked in a tomato and pepper sauce. It would be sort of like North African beans and franks. Walt cooked the sausages separately, on the barbecue grill. The grilling season has begun here, with warm, sunny weather (which is about to end now, according to forecasts).

The texture of the fat boudin blanc sausages resembles the texture of frankfurters (saucisses de Strasbourg or de Francfort in French, and also called knacks in Alsace). These were made with chicken, but they can also contain some veal or pork, along with bread, milk, cream, eggs, onions, and cornstarch (Maïzéna in French, a.k.a. fécule de maïs), all pureed together, flavored with a pinch of nutmeg, stuffed into sausage cases, and then poached in chicken broth made with lots of vegetables. You could substitute other sausages made with chicken or turkey. Or pork or beef, of course.

If you think you see carrots in my chakchouka, you do. It's because the day before making it I had heated up some chickpeas with onions and carrots sauteed in olive oil to have as a side dish with grilled chicken thighs. I decided to add what was left of those and cook everything in the tomato and peppers sauce.

Here's an ingredient list for the chakchouka with chickpeas. It's easy because it's fairly free-form — as long as you put in onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and peas or beans (red beans would be good....) Vary the spices as you see fit. I added fenugreek because I like its taste. Cook it on the stove or in the oven. Let the chakchouka mixture dry out and thicken up as much as you want it to.

1 Tbsp. carraway seeds
1 Tbsp. cumin (seeds or powder)
1 Tbsp. paprika (smoked or not, hot or mild)
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (or hot red pepper flakes)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup water (use some or all of the chickpea cooking liquid)
¾ to 1 lb. of cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed (home-cooked or one large can)
¾ to 1 lb. diced tomatoes(fresh or canned — I used a jar of tomato puree)

The Larousse Gastronomique describes chakchouka this way: Plat traditionnel de la cuisine arabe et maghrébine. Ce ragoût de poivrons, de tomates et d'oignons cuits dans de l'huile est assaisonné de piment, de harissa et de sauce tomate. On y casse éventuellement ensuite des oeufs ; quand ils sont cuits, on poudre le plat de menthe sèche. Les poivrons peuvent être remplacés par des petits pois, des fèves, des pommes de terre ou un mélange de courgettes et d'aubergines. On agrémente souvent la chakchouka de merguez grillées ou de tranches de viande séchée.

Garnish these spicy beans with chopped fresh cilantro, parsley, basil, or mint at the table. They would be good with merguez sausages, which are made with lamb and beef (no pork). They would also be good as a vegetarian dish, and one way of serving them is with eggs. Cook the beans until the sauce thickens. Make little depressions in the chakchouka with a spoon and drop a raw egg into each. Continue cooking until the egg whites have set but the yolks are still runny. Here's a link to a recipe in French, with photos.