Thursday, May 17, 2007

Garlic chickpeas with cumin fried fish

Garlic chickpeas with cumin fried fish

This dish reminds of my dear friend Valentina – she is crazy for chickpeas and I’m sure she’d love this.

aaWeekendHerbBlogging

There’s not much left to say about Donna Hay’s recipes – they look good, taste fantastic and are not over the top complicated to put together. Her success is totally deserved – she’s the real deal, in my humble opinion.

What a delicious way to have chickpeas – they were the perfect side for the fish, which was unbelievably easy to prepare and full of flavor, even though I didn’t use the chilli.

This is my contribution to this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging – I keep forgetting to mention that it was created by the lovely Kalyn - this time hosted by Rinku from Cooking in Westchester.

Garlic chickpeas with cumin fried fish
adapted from Off The Shelf: Cooking From the Pantry

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 leeks, shredded
1 tablespoon shredded lemon zest – I used lime zest
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2x 400g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Cumin fried fish:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 small red chilli, seeded and chopped – I didn’t have any at home
4 x 200g firm white-fleshed fish, cut into pieces
salt

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the oil, leeks and lemon zest, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes or until the leeks are golden and a little crisp. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Stir through the parsley and salt.

To cook the fish, heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter, olive oil, cumin and chilli and cook for 3 minutes. Add the fish to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until just cooked through.

Place the chickpeas on serving plates, place the fish on the side and serve with a lime wedge.

Serves 4.

31 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 17, 2007

    Yum--I'm with your friend Valentina--I love chickpeas too. And these look especially tasty, with the lemon zest, garlic, and leeks. The fish looks great, too.

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  2. Cumin is one of my favorite spice, and flat-leaf parsley is my favorite herb... your entry just carries all my favorites!!! *big hug*

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  3. AnonymousMay 17, 2007

    Patricia--I am SO making this meal this weekend! The chickpeas and the fish both sound amazing. And even better, they don't sound complicated. I promise to give you credit when praise is heaped upon me.

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  4. I like chickpeas but I always have it in a salad or in curry. This combination sounds good. This fish recipe reminds me of one that my mom makes. But she also uses tumeric.

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  5. AnonymousMay 17, 2007

    Wooo...garlic chickpeas...it smells very garlicky to me :D, and the cumin fried fish. I know this is goin' to be a darn good aromatic dish!

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  6. Pat, don't you love our Australian chef/food writers? *wink*. I like Donna Hay and other Aussie famous foodies. Really love their approach to food!

    Your fish and chickpeas are beautiful! and the lime & rosemarry chicken was very good. I loved it! :D

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  7. I think I should try something from Donna Hay. This sounds just delicious. Love all these flavors.

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  8. Garlic, chick peas and together! Can't be beat! Then you put in fish! That's got to be a winner and healthy as well. I've been a fan of chick peas for a very long time now.

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  9. Marvelous! I love the combination of fish and chickpeas. They are perfect together.

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  10. AnonymousMay 18, 2007

    Love chickpeas too! :) Everything in this dish just call out to me...all the flavors. Even the fact that it's from Donna Hay ;) Can't wait to try this!

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  11. Ohh I absolutely love chickpeas. I am constantly looking for new recipes that include them. Thanks!

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  12. Canned chickpeas are one of the great convenience foods of the world. I never remember to soak the dry ones ahead of time, so there is always at least one can of chickpeas in my pantry.

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  13. Hmm, cumin fried fish sounds so tempting. And I love your recipes for they're simple but all the more flavourful & tasty.
    I wish I lived nearby you!!

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  14. This sounds really simple but fresh and delicious. It was my first visit and I loved your other recipes too. Amanda

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  15. Cumin and chickpeas???? My favorite combination. I just made yesterday a chickpea soup with lamb.

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  16. AnonymousMay 18, 2007

    It looks great and probably tastes wonderful!!!! Can I have a taste? Never had chickpeas this way!
    Have a great weekend!

    www.mangiachetefabene.wordpress.com

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  17. Hi, Sarah!! Thank you for visiting my blog! I love leeks and I think they paired well with the chickpeas.

    Gattina, I like cumin a lot, too!
    *kiss*

    Terry, I'd love to hear your opinion about it, my friend. And you're right - they're not complicated, not at all.

    Nora, I'll keep that suggestion in mind. :)

    Tigerfish, thank you, sweetie!

    Anh, Aussies rock! :)
    I've been meaning to buy one of Bill's books too.
    I'm so glad to know that you liked the chicken, dear!! Thanks for telling me!

    Kalyn, I think you can use some of her recipes and adjust them to South Beach. She adds an Asian touch to some of her food, I don't know if you like that.

    Tanna, I think it has many good flavors and healthy tones, too. My mom used to say (when I was little) that fish makes you smart. ;)

    Sher, thank you, dear!

    Joey, I know you're a big Donna fan - like me! ;)
    Good to have you back, sweetie!

    Jenjen, I hope you like it! Thank you!

    Lydia, for this dish I cooked my own chickpeas, but I forgot to soak them so I had to use a pressure cooker. :)

    Valentina, I try to vary because if it were up to my husband's food all you'd see was beef, beef, beef. :)
    Thank you, sweetie! I appreciate your kind words!
    I'd love to have a neighbor like you, you bet!

    Hello, Amanda! Thank you for your visit and for the lovely comment! I hope you visit me again!

    Rose, that soup sounds delicious - I heard this morning that next week is gonna be a very cold week. That soup would be the perfect dinner!

    Verena, help yourself, sweetie! Have a great weekend, too!

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  18. I will! I just did infact. Thank you for your lovely comments on my blog and I will be back again I'm sure of it. Amanda

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  19. OK, girl, you've got my attention here. I adore chickpeas, and fish is a staple for me. I'm also a chili fan, so I'm going to make this one with the chili. This looks so easy and soooo very, very good!!!

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  20. Pat, I like Bill Granger, too. His best book, in my opinion, is the first release - Sydney Food. I have cooked quite a bit from it and really like the results.

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  21. Mmm, that is a delicious pairing, looks yummy too! I'm always looking for new ways with chick peas, must dig this book out again.

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  22. Oh my.. the chickpeas with the leek, garlic and lemon sounds AMAZING! And that fish?? *swoon*

    This will be made by me.. oh yessss it will. =)

    xoxo

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  23. I adore chickpeas and would eat this dish without the fish! But I bet it's just perfect with it!

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  24. I definitely plan on trying this combo - it would never occur to me to put chickpeas and fish together, but it looks great!

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  25. hey i'm crazy for chickpeas too...but one thing u may not know about it is that if u over indulge then u'll be farting your way to the high skies...hahaha...not thats not very lady like...but i had to tell you this !

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  26. Sounds like a beautiful combination and gorgeous photo!

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  27. Amanda, I'm glad you did! Thank you! You have a wonderful blog!

    Toni, I know you love chilli - I want to make this dish again with chilli. It's easy, you're right, sweetie!

    Anh, thank you for the hint - I really respect your opinion and this will be very helpful!

    Kelly-Jane, I really like that book. :)

    Lis, I hope you like it, my dear!

    Freya, they were great together!

    Mallow, thank you for stopping by! I really appreciate it.
    It's pretty simple but the result is great!

    Kate, I had a huge laugh with your comment! Good to know that, tks for telling me! :D

    Truffle, thank you! You're too kind. :)

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  28. It's not four cheese pizza but... it does have a nice light feel to it... you make it sound nice and simple too, I'll definitely try it sometime :-)

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  29. Oh perfection! So delicious and simple. This one I'll be trying!

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  30. AnonymousMay 23, 2007

    Patricia--I finally got around to making this tonight. A big hit with everyone! I also didn't have a chili pepper, so I added about a half teaspoon of cayenne pepper that gave it just a bit of heat. I served a fruit salad of mango, strawberries and banana as a side. It played wonderfully with the intense flavors of the two starring dishes. Thanks for the great recipes!

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  31. Hi There,

    Due to the fact I expected carb-limited guests, I substituted Shirataki (the kind made with some tofu) that had been rinsed and then boiled for a minute or two for the garbanzo beans. Delish. And happy guests.

    I don't usually use cumin except in a few indian recipes I have. This was a nice way to prepare fish. I used scrod as it was on-sale, however I think the dish deserved sablefish (or the 2x times the price marked up "black cod" which is sablefish just more expensive).

    PS: Cut the Shiratki noodles with kitchen shears a couple times to facilitate mixing. They are long and rubbery, cutting them makes the dish meld better.

    PPS: I didn't have the vaguely described "chili pepper," so I used a couple shakes of dried red pepper flakes (with seeds.)

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