Carole Food.

Creamy Tuscan Chickpeas

I usually make this dish with salmon, but chickpeas make a great cost effective and quick alternative. However if you did want to add some pan fried salmon in, it wouldn’t go amiss! This dish is really easy and quick, it comes together in about 20 minutes. It’s also super nutritious with lots of fibre from the chickpeas, and vitamin C from the tomatoes. 

The cream cheese balances out the richness and acidity of the tomatoes, but if you don’t like cream cheese then I’ve suggested some substitutions below. 

What ingredients do you need for this dish (includes possible substitutions)? 

Onion: brown or red onion can be used.

Cherry tomatoes: any sweet small tomato will work here (e.g. plum tomatoes).

Garlic: use as much or as little as you like! 

Sundried tomatoes: provides the main flavour base for the dish.

Tomato paste: gives a deeper tomato flavour and colour to the dish.

Chickpeas: can be substituted with your favourite pulse! Butter beans would also be delicious. 

Stock: use vegetable or chicken stock here.

Cornflour: used to thicken the sauce slightly (this cannot be substituted for plain flour). 

Spinach: spinach is great to throw into a dish to increase it’s nutritional value (it’s a good source of vitamin C and iron!). But if you don’t like it feel free to omit this. 

Parmesan: adds umami and seasoning to the dish.

Cream cheese: gives a creaminess to the sauce! This could be substituted with mascarpone or creme fraiche.

Lemon: adds freshness to the finished dish. 

What to serve this with? 

This would be great with a side salad or some vegetables, or if you want some carbs it would be delicious with some small cubes of roasted potatoes or a bit of crusty bread. 

Instructions 

Fry the onion and cherry tomatoes 

In a medium sized frying pan over a medium heat, add 1-2 tbsp of oil then the onion and cherry tomatoes. Cook until softened. Stir often. 

Add the garlic, sundried tomatoes and tomato paste 

Add the garlic, sundried tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir regularly. 

Add the chickpeas, stock and cornflour 

In a small bowl make your cornflour slurry by mixing the cornflour with water. Pour in the chickpeas, stock and cornflour slurry into the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes. 

Add the spinach 

Add the spinach and cook until wilted. 

Stir in the parmesan, cream cheese and lemon 

Stir in the Parmesan, cream cheese and lemon. Taste for seasoning and enjoy!