Chickpeas in Tomato Sauce
How long to cook chickpeas?
Dry chickpeas soak in cold water overnight, then the water is drained and they boil in fresh water until soft, which takes about half an hour. After that, the cooked chickpeas simmer under a lid over low heat for 12–15 minutes in a tomato sauce made from fried onions, 1 tbsp of tomato paste and a cup of crushed tomatoes simmered for 15 minutes beforehand.
Ingredients
2 servings
- Chickpeas (dried) 1 cup (160 g)
- Onion 2
- Tomato pulp 1 cup
- Tomato paste 1 tbsp (17 g)
- Olive oil 1 tbsp
- Sugar 1 tsp (5 g)
- Salt, dried oregano, chili to taste
- Parsley for serving
Step-by-step recipe
Chickpeas
Since chickpeas in tomato sauce cook quickly, the chickpeas themselves must be ready to eat by the time they go into the sauce.
If you are using dried chickpeas, soak them in cold water the evening before.
In the morning, drain them and boil in fresh water until tender, which takes about half an hour.
Canned chickpeas make things much easier: just open the can and drain the liquid. Do whatever suits you.
Tomato sauce
The dish uses tomato pulp. In season, use ripe red tomatoes, peeling them and removing the seeds. Canned tomato pulp works too, and it is always available.
Chop the tomatoes. They do not have to be puréed: peeled canned tomatoes can simply be crushed by hand, which gives a rough, chunky purée. Fresh peeled tomatoes can just be chopped with a knife.
Peel the onion and cut it into thick strips.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Fry the onion over low heat, stirring, until soft and nicely browned, about 10 mins.
Fried onion like this has a pleasant, sweetish flavor.
Add the tomato paste to the onion, stir and fry for 3–4 mins.
Pour the chopped tomatoes into the pan, add salt, chili to taste, dried oregano and 1 tsp of sugar (5 g). Stir the tomato into the onion.
Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for about 15 mins, stirring from time to time.
If you like, add more salt and other spices. What matters is that you like the taste of the sauce.
Simmering and serving
Add the boiled chickpeas to the tomato sauce and stir. Simmer under a lid over low heat for 12–15 mins.
If the sauce is a little thin, take off the lid, turn up the heat and let the excess liquid evaporate, stirring.
Herbs are not usually added to the sauce itself – it is better to add some when serving.
Sprinkle with fresh parsley when serving, either whole leaves or chopped. The chickpeas in tomato can be eaten hot or cold.
As an appetizer, serve with fresh bread, which is delicious. It is also a great vegetarian main dish and a sauce for pasta: just boil some pasta, preferably a short kind (penne, rigatoni, tortiglioni), and toss it with the chickpeas in tomato.
The sauce keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. To serve, just reheat it in a frying pan or in the microwave.
Calories and macros
435 kcal
Serving ≈ 350 g
- Protein19 g19% of kcal
- Fat12 g27% of kcal
- Carbs53 g54% of kcal
100 g126 kcalProtein 5.4 gFat 3.5 gCarbs 15.5 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.