Spaghetti, the not so ordinary way – chickpeas, Swiss chard and some Moroccan flavours

 

Hi there!

 

I haven’t made spaghetti in a while, have I? I think the only time I posted a spaghetti recipe on this blog was also the last time I ate spaghetti, insane, don’t you reckon? How could I have not eaten a plate of spaghetti in so long?

 

Well as you know I don’t like ordinary food. I’m never going to be that girl who orders Pizza Margherita or Spaghetti with tomato sauce when having dinner at the local Italian nor am I that girl who makes her self a plate of spaghetti with a barilla sauce when home alone. No, no, that’s not how I roll. I like it extraordinary, I like it different. Especially when it comes to food, not that I am satisfied with the ordinary stuff when it comes to other things in my life, but that’s a whole other story.

 

Nevertheless I do crave spaghetti occasionally and this was the case on the day I came up with my delicious spaghetti with Swiss chard and chickpeas sounds basic doesn’t it. Well I obviously added some lovely spices, which were in this case harissa and cumin as well as some lemon juice and last but not least a few dried apricots. You could say I somehow moroccanised (I know that’s not a word, but if it was that’s what I did to my creation) my spaghetti and made them appear as something not so ordinary and extremely tasty on my plate.

This version of a spaghetti dish was absolutely delicious and I am definitely going to make this again. It is extremely simple, yet tastes amazing, just what you want, especially when cooking during the week. I’d say this is another one I’ll have to add to my weeknight classics.

And guess what, this is actually Vegan and I think a sprinkle of Parmesan would for once not enhance the flavour of the dish but rather distract from the beautiful sweetness of the apricots, the slight tanginess form the lemon and the salty chickpeas. Trust me, keep away from the cheese, just this one time. You’ll thank me later.

 

 

There’s really not much else to be said. This dish is delicious, this dish is easy, so I’d say go on, get cooking!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 300g whole wheat spaghetti
• 440g cooked chickpeas (equals two cans)
• 1kg Swiss chard
• 10 dried apricots
• 1 onion
• olive oil
• 1tbs cumin
• ½-1tsp harissa, depending on how hot you like it
• 4tbs lemon juice
• salt

 

1. Finely chop up your onion, slice the apricot and cut the Swiss chard
2. Heat about 1 tbs of olive oil, then add the onion and fry until it has browned slightly
3. When the onion has browned, lower the temperature then add cumin, harissa and lemon juice, as well as the Swiss chard and cover over medium heat until the leaves of the Swiss chard have wilted this might take up to ten minutes
4. When the Swiss chard has wilted, add your chickpeas and the apricot slices, mix it all through, add about 5-10ml of water and let it cook over medium heat for another ten minutes, salt to taste
5. Meanwhile you can boil your spaghetti. When your pasta is al dente, keep about 4tbs of the water and add it to the sauce, then drain the spaghetti and add it to the sauce as well. Mix it until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Voila, you’re delicious not so ordinary Spaghetti dish is done and ready to be devoured. My mouth starts watering by just thinking of it, well it is actually nearly lunch time, so I am indeed a tad hungry. But still this tastes absolutely divine, believe me.

 

Bisous

Fanny, the foodie