Make Ahead
Chickpea and Fennel 'Risotto'
- Serves 2 as a starter or 1 as a small main
Author Notes
I was looking for a quick, filling and healthy mid-week supper when I suddenly had the idea of using the cooking technique for a traditional risotto but applying it to chickpeas and this is how this chickpea fennel 'risotto' was born. The result was aboslutely fantastic - an incredibly flavourful soup that was easy enough to prepare on a weeknight and the recipe of which I have already shared with the rest of my family. —Sophia R
What You'll Need
Ingredients
-
8 ounces
chickpeas, cooked (or drained contents of 1 can of chickpeas)
-
1/2
medium-sized fennel bulb, thinly sliced
-
1
small onion, thinly sliced
-
1
clove of garlic
-
1/2
glass dry white wine
-
0.75 liters
vegetable stock
-
1 bunch
parsley, chopped
-
2 ounces
parmesan cheese, grated (you could use other hard cheese, like pecorino, as well)
-
2 tablespoons
olive oil (plus extra for garnish)
Directions
- Start by frying the sliced fennel, onion, garlic and fennel seeds in the olive oil on medium heat until the fennel and onion are translucent. Be careful not to brown the onion and the garlic as they will taste bitter otherwise. Add the chickpeas.
- While the fennel, onion, garlic and fennel seeds are cooking, gently heat up the vegetable stock and keep it on a low flame.
- Pour the white wine over the fennel, onion, garlic, fennel seeds and chickpeas and stir until the wine has evaporated.
- Add the vegetable stock one ladle at a time, waiting for the stock to be almost fully absorbed before adding the next ladle, stirring continuously between each addition.
- Once the chickpeas are soft and have started breaking down (ca. 15-20 minutes), the 'risotto' is ready. Add enough stock so that the chickpeas are barely covered. (Note, you may not need the full 0.75l of stock).
- Remove the garlic clove. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Distribute the 'risotto' between two deep plates, garnish with the chopped parsley, a drizzle of olive oil and grated parmesan cheese.
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Contest Entries
Hi, my name is Sophia and I have a passion (ok, maybe it is veering towards an obsession) for food and all things food-related: I read cookbooks for entertainment and sightseeing for me invariably includes walking up and down foreign supermarket aisles. I love to cook and bake but definitely play around more with sweet ingredients.
Current obsessions include all things fennel (I hope there is no cure), substituting butter in recipes with browned butter, baking with olive oil, toasted rice ice cream, seeing whether there is anything that could be ruined by adding a few flakes of sea salt and, most recently, trying to bridge the gap between German, English and Italian Christmas baking – would it be wrong to make a minced meat filled Crostata?
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