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Categories:
regular olive oil Spaghettini bulgar wheat ground cinnamon kosher salt water bay leaves chorizo Amontillado sherry scissors chickpeas cherry tomatoes salt fresh cilantro
Viewed: 55 - Published at: 2 years agoIngredients
- 2 tablespoons regular olive oil
- 2 ounces spaghettini or vermicelli, torn into 1-inch lengths
- 2 3/4 cups bulgar wheat
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 quart water
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 ounces chorizo, cut into coins and then halved
- 1/4 cup amontillado sherry
- 1/2 cup (about 16) soft dried apricots, snipped into pieces with scissors, optional
- 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo) or mixed beans, rinsed and drained in a colander
- 2 (14-ounce) cans cherry tomatoes, plus 1 1/2 cans water
- Salt and pepper
- Chopped fresh cilantro, to serve, optional
- Thaw overnight in refrigerator and reheat as above.
Method
- If ever there were justification for cupboard love, this would be it: a full-on feast thrown together to enormous effect, simply with ingredients that you can more or less keep on permanent standby.
- And, like so many of these recipes, it's pretty well instant.
- After all, if you haven't got time to shop, it's hardly likely you'll be able to spend many hours at the stove.
- I am, anyway, a huge fan of bulgar wheat - think couscous, only more robust - but cooked like this, with some strands of pasta tossed in hot oil first, it really has something extra.
- I was taught to do this, just chatting stoveside, by an Egyptian friend when I was in my twenties, and I've never seen any reason to change the drill.
- He, actually, didn't use torn-up spaghettini but, rather, lokshen, which are the short lengths of vermicelli customarily found in echt chicken soup.
- This is a tradition about as far away from the chorizo-cooking culture as you could get, but the chickpea-studded, tomatoey and paprika-hot stew goes extremely well with the nubbly grain.
- I keep a stock of cherry tomatoes in sauce in the cupboard, but regular canned tomatoes could be substituted easily enough.
- Warm the olive oil in a thick-bottomed saucepan on a medium heat.
- Fry the pasta bits in the oil for a minute, stirring, until they look like slightly scorched straws.
- Then add the bulgar wheat and stir for another minute or two.
- Stir in the cinnamon and the salt, and then pour the water into the pan.
- Add the bay leaves, and bring to a boil, then turn down to the lowest heat, add a lid, and leave for 15 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed.
- Put another thick-bottomed saucepan on a medium heat, add the chorizo pieces and fry until the orange oil runs out.
- Then add the sherry and let it bubble away.
- Add the apricots (if using), along with the chickpeas (or beans) and canned tomatoes, and 3/4 fill each empty tomato can with water and swish it out into the pan.
- Put on a high heat to bubble for about 5 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve with the bulgar wheat and, if there's any to hand, some chopped cilantro.
- Make Ahead Note: The stew can be made up to 2 days ahead.
- Transfer to non-metallic bowl to cool, then cover and refrigerate as soon as possible.
- Reheat gently in large saucepan, stirring occasionally, until piping hot.
- Freeze Note: The cooled stew can be frozen in airtight container for up to 3 months.
