Green Chickpea Stew with Ricotta

Here is a recipe from my latest book Lunch Well. A bowl of chickpeas for lunch might not be your thing....but i promise you, when you add all the elements together it's a fresh zingy nutritious stew

You can used dried, canned or jarred chickpeas in this dish, but my personal preference is to use a jar, as I think they are super tasty. If you do't have any ricotta, then use any other soft cheese instead.

Photograph taken by Kirstie Young

Makes 2

100g kale, leaves ripped off spine 40g spinach leaves 10g parsley, stalks included 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 white onion, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, grated

700g jarred chickpeas or 2 cans 425g

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon 1 red chile, seeded and finely chopped 2 heaped tbsp ricotta 1 tbsp grated parmesan salt and black pepper bread for serving

Blanch the kale, spinach, and parsley in a large pan of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and submerge in cold water for a few minutes. Squeeze out the water and blitz in a blender with 1 tbsp of olive oil Season and add a little water if it needs loosening.

In a pan, cook onion in the remaining olive oil for 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chickpeas and their bring, and the green sauce and cook for 8 minutes. Season with salt. Pour into a bowl, add the lemon juice, zest, chile, and ricotta. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve with bread.

TIPS: Use any bean you like here. no beans? Swap with a whole wheat pasta shape. This sauce is also delicious over small potatoes. Check out this recipe on my instagram feed.