My fondness for the chick-pea almost verges on a culinary mania. It's a curious thing to be obsessed about, perhaps, given that it is such a modest little pulse. For my money, however, it is the king of the pulses, the white truffle of the bunch, which is probably why so many recipe ideas using chick-peas occur on these pages (already this year we have had a terrific hummus and some smart chick-pea pancakes).
The following chick-pea gratin came about in this way. I had some blue cheese from Christmas which needed finishing, and some fennel and tomatoes. I made a tomato and fennel tart with blue cheese crumbled on top, but the fennel and tomato mixture, with its freshness and sweetness, struck me as something that might lend itself to cooked chick-peas. The idea of cooking the chick-peas with extra vegetables as a gratin comes from Spanish cookery. As with any chick-pea recipe, you can use tinned chick-peas, but they won't be just as good.
Gratin of Chickpeas with Fennel and Tomato
200g (8oz) chick-peas, soaked overnight, or for at least six hours
1/2 a large onion
1 bulb fennel
3 cloves garlic
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of dried thyme
1 strip of kombu
Olive oil
200g (8oz) tinned tomatoes
2 handfuls dry breadcrumbs
Cook the chick-peas in plenty of water (without salt) along with some aromatics - an onion studded with cloves, a bunch of parsley, a carrot, a dried bay leaf and a strip of kombu seaweed (available from any healthfood or wholefood shop, and many supermarkets), which helps the peas to cook uniformly.
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the chickpeas are ready, which may be about 1 1/2 to two hours. When cooked - still just slightly firm to the bite - strain off the cooking liquid and reserve, and discard the aromatics.
Heat the oven to 200C (400F, gas 6). Slice the onion and fennel finely, and saute in olive oil in a large frying pan, until both are translucent and tender, adding the pinch of cinnamon and thyme just as they are ready. Stir, then add in the tinned tomatoes and a little of their juice, breaking them up gently. Simmer until the flavours come together, then add the cooked chick-peas and stir. Add a few spoonfuls of the chick-pea cooking liquid. Take off the heat, and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the surface of the pan. Drizzle olive oil over the top, then place the pan in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes.
I served this with a parsley brandade (garlic and parsley pounded together in a pestle with some salt, a little mashed potato and olive oil added to make an emulsion) and it was good food for cold weather.