Sizzled chickpeas with black pudding and eggs
I was scrolling through my phone notes this week and found a message I’d left among the shopping and to-do lists early one Tuesday morning. It was 8am when I wrote it so I would have been on my way to work. “Something with black pud and the good chickpeas!!” it said. I can’t really account for why I was thinking about black pudding and chickpeas so early in the day, nor why I felt the need to make such an urgent note. Since then, though, a recipe has been percolating.
In my mind’s eye I could see a one-pan situation, with soft unctuous bits and crisp sizzled bits. Maybe some lemon, definitely some thyme. An earthy dish with very few ingredients, which you could send in a new direction with the addition of a spice (fennel seeds perhaps, or smoked paprika). It could just as easily accompany a roast chicken and a sweet-sharp salad as a couple of eggs and a hefty side of toast for brunch. I can already tell this it’s going to be in heavy rotation through the autumn.
Oh, and when I say “the good chickpeas” I mean the jarred kind which, while more expensive than tinned, are absolutely worth every penny. I buy Bold Bean chickpeas but the Brindisa Navaricco ones are gorgeous too.
Overview
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
30 mins
Serves
2 (generously)
Ingredients
olive oil, for frying
1 onion, finely sliced
110g (or 2 modest slices) black pudding
3 thyme sprigs
1 x 700g jar of chickpeas with its liquid
1 large lemon, juiced
a splash of sherry vinegar (or wine vinegar)
3-4 chard leaves, finely chopped
2 eggs
a little good olive oil to finish
Method
Step 1
Set a wide frying pan with a lid over a low-medium heat with a glug of oil. Add 1 finely sliced onion and a big pinch of salt. Put the lid on and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the onions are beginning to soften.
Step 2
Break 110g black pudding into large pieces and add to the pan along with 3 thyme sprigs. Don’t move them around – you want the pieces to hold their shape. Cook for 2 minutes with the lid off.
Step 3
Pour 1 x 700g jar of chickpeas and its liquid into the pan. Add the juice of 1 lemon, a splash of sherry vinegar, a little salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. Turn the heat up. Put the lid on and cook for 5 minutes. Then take the lid off and cook for a further 3 minutes. The liquid should have thickened a little.
Step 4
Scatter 3-4 finely chopped chard leaves over the pan and leave for 2 minutes. Stir briefly, then make two wells in the pan of chickpeas and crack 1 egg into each. Pop the lid on and cook for about 4 minutes, or until the whites are just set. Drizzle good olive oil over the pan and sprinkle a little salt on the eggs. Take to the table and serve.
