braised chickpeas with smoked dashi yoghurt

This is a simple dish we ran at our restaurant in Kew. We’ve got a beautiful wood-fired oven there at we use to braised the chickpeas in, to really impart flavour to the dish. Serve simply with some pita bread or crusty bread as a 'mezethe'.

Author

Travis McAuley, Hellenic Republic

Servings

6

Ingredients

• 300g thick Greek yogurt
• 1 cup hickory wood chips
• 1 tsp. dashi powder
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• 1 cup Mount Zero Australian Chickpeas
• 500ml chicken stock
• 1 leek, trimmed and washed, roughly sliced
• 1 brown onion, diced
• ½ cup Mount Zero Frantoio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
• 3 sprigs thyme
• ¼ bunch flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Place some aluminium foil in the bottom of a heavy based pot. Place the smoking chips on top of the foil.
2. Line a colander (size that sits flush on the pot) with a piece of Chux cloth. Place the yoghurt in the colander.
3. Using a blowtorch, light the smoking chips, place the colander on top of the pot and wrap with cling film. Leave to infuse for 1 hour.
4. Remove yoghurt from the pot and refrigerate until cold. Once cold, add the dashi and the lemon juice and stir until dissolved. Season to taste.
5. Soak the chick peas in cold water overnight. The next day, drain and place into a pot with 2lt of cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer until tender.
6. Once cooked, strain and place into a bowl and toss with a splash of the extra virgin olive oil. Cover with cling film and keep aside.
7. Heat a medium saucepan over a medium to high heat. Cook the leek, onion, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and thyme until completely soft and starting to caramelise.
8. Add the chickpeas and the chicken stock. Cover with a lid and lower heat. Simmer gently for 30 minutes.
9. Remove the lid, increase the heat and reduce down until the stock thickens. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
10. Spoon yoghurt onto serving dish. Toss a small handful of shredded parsley through the chickpeas and season to taste. Spoon the braised chick peas over the yoghurt.