Chickpeas with smoked fish

October 20, 2024

Anecdote

On our last night in Athens back in September, I left a meal at Atlantikos with about five mosquito bites dotted across my back but also a very fully belly, it seems everybody was gorging that evening.

The restaurant specialises in seafood and in addition to getting the usuals of grilled sardines and fried calamari, another dish caught my eye. It was simply called 'chickpeas with smoked fish'. The chickpeas took on so much smokey flavour, we kept going back in with bread to mop up the juices.

When we got back to the hotel, I added a reminder in our shared Note to recreate the dish when we got home.

Ingredients

Serves: hearty 2

  • 570g chickpeas (I love Bold Bean's queen chickpeas as they are larger and creamier)

  • 140g smoked mackerel fillets (two small) broken into chunks

  • 2 small brown onions (or one large), I sliced one and finely chopped the other for different textures

  • 5 long mixed peppers (I used Sainsbury's sweet crunchino ones but mainly because the fun colours caught my eye)

  • 5 garlic cloves sliced

  • 1 grated tomato

  • 75ml white wine (feel free to eyeball)

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 2 small lemon peel

  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

  • 1 tsp paprika

  • 1 tsp oregano

  • 3 or 4tbsp olive oil (extra for pepper grilling)

  • sea salt to taste

Garnish (optional):

  • wedge of lemon

  • chopped parsley

Recipe

I made this dish the day ahead to let the flavours mingle. I always find any kind of stewed chickpeas tastes better the next day so would highly recommend doing this.

  1. Roast or grill the peppers on high heat with a good drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt. You're just looking to get them slightly charred here. Once cool enough to handle, chop into large chunks and retain any olive oil or juices that have come out

  2. In a pan on medium high heat, sweat the onions. When the onions start to release moisture, add in the garlic

  3. When the onions are softened, add in the paprika, oregano, bay leaves and lemon peel. Give it a good mix to cook off the paprika slightly

  4. Pour in the wine and let the alcohol cook off

  5. Add in the chickpeas and simmer for a few minutes. I like to keep a bit of the jarred chickpea liquid to add to the pan but not all

  6. Add in the grated tomato, mackerel chunks and peppers (and any roasting liquid), topping up with water until just covered. The mackerel will likely be a bit salty so factor that in when adding salt

  7. Cover and simmer on a low heat for around 45 minutes, topping up with a bit of water if it's reducing too quickly

  8. Garnish and serve with a hunk of soft bread