Colombian Chickpea Stew. Esta receta también está disponible en español.
Legumes are absolutely essential to Colombian food. So far I’ve written about the two, in my opinion, most popular ones: frijoles (Colombian Beans) and lentils. But there is a good third place for the humble but delicious chickpea.
Colombian Chickpea Stew
Chickpeas are prepared in different ways. Often they come with sausage (chorizo) or with ground beef. Vegetarian versions can contain vegetables like carrot or red pepper. Traditional hogao (tomato-onion sauce) and cilantro give the stew the rich and hearty flavor.
This recipe is super easy, only using chickpeas, hogao and cilantro. When using a pressure cooker, you can prepare this dish in less than an hour! It is vegan, gluten-free and contains a good source of plant-based protein.
Ingredients
- Dried chickpeas
- Cilantro
and for the hogao (tomato-onion sauce):
- Tomatoes
- Scallions
- Garlic
- Salt and pepper
- Cumin
- Vegetable oil
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Instructions
If you have a pressure cooker, my advice would be to use it. Much less cooking time, plus the chickpeas will have a softer texture.
- Let chickpeas soak in water for at least 12 hours
- Boil chickpeas in a pressure cooker or normal pot. The time really depends on the chickpea, the soaking and the pot. In a pressure cooker between 30-60 minutes. In a normal pot 1 to 3 hours
- Prepare hogao according to instructions
- Add hogao to the cooked chickpeas, mix and let simmer for 20-30 minutes until all the flavors have combined and you have a sauce-like consistency. This is also the time to season well
Quick and Easy Colombian Chickpea Stew
For this recipe I use dried chickpeas, which is the common way to do in Colombia. In some places you can find canned chickpeas, but often you can’t and other legumes are even impossible to find canned. But, if you have acces to canned chickpeas and you are in a hurry, you could use them. Just place the chickpeas in a pot with some water or vegetable stock and add the hogao. Let simmer for about half and hour and that’s it!
Serving suggestions
Eat these chickpeas for lunch or dinner. Combine them with white rice, patacones (Fried Green Plantains) or potato, and with a salad or some vegetables. If you eat eggs, serve with a fried egg on top.
Links
Patacones (Fried Green Plantains)
Do you love Colombian food? Click here to find more recipes of Colombian vegetarian food!
Colombian Chickpea Stew
Equipment
- pressure cooker or normal cooking pot
Ingredients
- 500 g dried chickpeas, soaked in water for at least 12 hours
- chopped fresh cilantro, to taste
- 1/2 recipe hogao (tomato-onion sauce), see link in text above or make 1 recipe and use leftovers for serving
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place soaked chickpeas with water in pressure cooker and cook for until ready (about 30 mins). When using a normal pot, bring to a boil, turn low and cover with a lid. Let simmer until soft, which can take between 1 - 2,5 hours. Stir and check regularly
- While chickpeas are cooking, prepare hogao (tomato-onion sauce) according to the instructions
- When chickpeas are cooked, add hogao, chopped cilantro, plenty of salt and pepper to the pot. Add some water if the chickpeas are almost dry. Stir and let simmer for 20-30 for the flavors to combine. The stew needs to have a sauce-like consistency.Serve with white rice, patacones, or potato, and with vegetables or a side salad. For the egg-eating vegetarians, a fried egg on top tastes delicious as well!
