While the weather continues to be miserable and chilly, I crave comfort yet I am slowly starting to look out for Spring (I know, it’s a few more months yet). So in honour of Spring, I concocted a simple lemon chickpea stew that I thought I should share with you. This lemon chickpea stew is still super cosy yet the flavours of lemon and dill are a bit of a wink to sunnier days ahead.

What I am hoping you will like about this super simple yet nutritious stew is that it features only a few ingredients and hardly any process. It’s perfect for a busy midweek meal or a lazy weekend one. Aside from fresh dill, this lemon chickpea stew recipe relies on cupboard staples such as shallots and garlic, canned chickpeas and a jar of half finished preserved lemons that might be hiding at the back of your fridge too – it did hide at the back of mine. It’s very simple to put together and perfect for meal prep too.

I tend to serve it with slices of toasted sourdough to mop up the creamy sauce with and if I am feeling particularly hungry, or just came back from the gym and need extra plant protein, I will quickly pan-fry a couple of my favourite vegan sausages and serve them on top of the stew. This lemon chickpea stew has been well received in my house and I hope it will get a standing ovation at yours too.

MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS

CHICKPEAS: I wanted this lemon chickpea stew to be easy and quick to make so I used canned chickpeas in this recipe, but you can cook your own from dry of course. You will need two cans worth of chickpeas, which is 480 g or 17 oz drained chickpeas. If you aren’t a chickpea fan, you can use another type of pulse. White kidney beans (cannellini beans as they are known in the UK) or butter beans would be an excelled choice.

SHALLOTS: Shallots are onions milder cousins. I used two banana shallots in this recipe, you can use regular shallots or a small onion instead. The key is to dice it finely and allow it to cook slowly in a bit of olive oil until soft and translucent. If it catches a little that’s not a problem, but the aim is not soften them and not to brown them.

GARLIC: Garlic is such a fundamental savoury cooking ingredient. While the recipe calls for raw garlic cloves, which then get pan-fried gently, I also often add an entire head of roasted garlic cloves in step 4 for a deliciously mellow garlic flavour. I encourage you to do the same if you have any roasted garlic on hand. It is an easy want to add beautiful depth of flavour.

NUTRITIONAL YEAST: Nutritional yeast is a staple vegan seasoning that makes things taste cheesy. It is widely available these days and my favourite brand is Marigold, it is sold in big supermarkets. If you haven’t been able to find it, you can add a tablespoon or two of white miso. Just be careful with salt as miso itself is very salty.

PRESERVED LEMONS: Preserved lemons are a specific variety of lemons with delicate skin that are preserved in salt. They are lemony and salty and make a great addition to soups, pastas and stews. I used two and a half lemons to give this stew delicious lemon flavour. It’s important to dice them very finely so that their flavour disperses easily and evenly. If that’s too much work you can simply blend them in a blender with some liquid that is destined for the stew. If you cannot find these, replace them with lemon zest and a tablespoon or so of fresh lemon juice.

SOY MILK: I used soy milk to turn this lemon chickpea stew into a stew. I like soy milk in this context as it’s creamy and adds extra protein, however, you can use another unsweetened plant milk if you prefer. If you are out of plant milk, why not dilute a tablespoon or two of tahini with some water instead – it will add a delicious nuttiness and richness to this simple dish.

HERBS: I love adding fresh herbs to my food as they have the powder to transform something good into something truly delicious. Here I used two types of herbs, hardy thyme leaves to make the stew with and fresh dill to sprinkle in at at the end. You can replace fresh thyme with dried thyme (about a scant teaspoon as herbs are more potent when dried), but I would recommend using fresh dill if you can.

HOW TO MAKE IT?

1) PAN-FRY AROMATICS

Grab a medium pan and sautee diced shallots and garlic until translucent. Season, add fresh thyme, nutritional yeast and finely chopped preserved lemons. Alternatively, you can blend the lemons (be sure to deseed them first) with soy milk and some of the chickpeas.

2) ADD MOST CHICKPEAS

Add most of the drained chickpeas (save half a can for the next step) to the pan. Stir everything well and season again.

3) ADD BLENDED CHICKPEAS

Blend remaining chickpeas with soy milk until smooth. You could also add deseeded lemons to the blender at this point if you want to save yourself some work. Add the mixture to the pan and allow everything to bubble gently for 10 minutes or so. Adjust the seasoning and you may also want to add a touch more plant milk to obtain the consistency you like. Divide between bowls, sprinkle with fresh dill and drizzle with chilli oil. Serve alongside some pan-fried vegan sausages and quality bread.