Marinated Chickpeas with Slow-Roasted Red Pepper & Feta (Vegetarian)
Rating
Plump chickpeas intermingled with slow roasted red peppers and caramelized garlic in a Greek style dressing tossed with melty feta.
Ingredients
- Chickpea Mixture:
- 720 g (3 cups) cooked chickpeas (from 1+1/4 cup dry)
- 2 large red bell peppers, cut into strips
- ⅓ (or so) red onion, sliced thin
- 15 (or so) garlic cloves, (I'm using peeled garlic), cut in half or quartered if really large but not too thin or they will burn
- 110 g (about 4 oz) feta of choice
- 60 g (about 2 oz) pitted Kalamata olives, sliced
- 10 (or so) cherry tomatoes, sliced
- Marinade:
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1+ ½ Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp dry oregano
- ½ tsp dry basil
- ¾ tsp salt or to taste
- pinch pepper
- ½ Tbsp honey (be sure to whisk to integrate)
- pinch of fresh dill, chopped, for garnish
- Easy Tzatziki:
- 360 g (about 1+ ½ cups plain yogurt), suggest using at least 2% fat
- 1 organic cucumber, peeled, grated and strained (should be at least 1 cup) place grated cucumber in a sieve/colander and use the back of a spoon or your hand to press out moisture/water into sink
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- drizzle honey
- ⅓ tsp sea salt or to taste
- 2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
Instructions
- Cook the chickpeas in a large pot with lots of water until desired consistency is achieved (for this recipe, I prefer the chickpeas to have some texture - not too mushy - so I aim for al dente, it takes over 1 hour).
- Meanwhile heat oven to 300F and prep the marinade by whisking together: olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and honey (making sure all the honey is integrated and not sticking to the bottom). Taste the marinade, making any flavor adjustments.
- Place the cooked chickpeas (ideally still warm) in a large flat base casserole dish and intermingle with tomatoes, onion, olives and half of the feta.
- Pour the well-mixed marinade over top, tossing gently to combine.
- While the chickpea mixture marinades at room temperature, spread the sliced peppers out on a baking sheet with the garlic. Drizzle with 1.5-2 Tbsp olive oil and add a couple shakes of salt, intermingling to combine and then spreading out to roast.
- Roast at 300F for 45 minutes-1 hour until the peppers have softened/wilted and the garlic has browned/caramelized but not burnt - keep an eye out.
- Carefully remove the roasted peppers and garlic and add them to the chickpea mixture, tossing to combine. Serve with remaining feta as a salad, side or tucked into a pita with tzatziki. Garnish with fresh dill, as desired.
- For the Tzatziki: combine the grated and strained cucumber with yogurt and add: lemon juice, garlic, salt, honey and fresh dill, mixing to combine. Taste and make any seasoning adjustments desired.
- Place generous amount of tzatziki in pita with chickpea mixture, wrap in foil and bake at 350F for about 15-20 until warmed through. Enjoy!
- This dish is ideal to enjoy warm right after assembly but the chickpea mixture can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days -- the chickpeas will continue to absorb the marinade/dressing -- to release the juices, simply warm before serving.
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