Moroccan Chickpeas With Chard

By Melissa Clark

Updated February 28, 2024

  • Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
2½ hours, plus overnight soaking
Rating
5(2,135)
Comments
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An array of aromatic spices, along with chopped dried apricots and preserved lemons give this chickpea stew a complex, deep flavor, while chard stems and leaves lighten and freshen it up. Served with couscous or flatbread, it’s a satisfying meatless meal on its own. Or serve it with roasted chicken, beef or lamb as a hearty side dish. If you can find rainbow chard, you’ll get the best color here, but any chard variety (red, Swiss, yellow) will work well.

Featured in: A Moroccan Stew With Spice and Sweetness

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil

  • 2 Spanish onions, chopped

  • 1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded if desired, chopped

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

  • 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste

  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika

  • ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin

  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

  • Pinch of cayenne

  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 1 fennel bulb, diced (save fronds for garnish)

  • 1 very large bunch chard, stems sliced ½-inch thick, leaves torn into bite-size pieces

  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced

  • 1 large turnip, peeled and diced

  • 1 pound dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in water to cover or quick-soaked (see Tip)

  • ⅓ cup diced dried apricots

  • 2 tablespoons chopped preserved lemon, more to taste

  • ½ cup chopped cilantro, more for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

52 grams carbs; 346 calories; 6 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 11 grams fat; 11 grams fiber; 585 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 15 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Add onion and jalapeño and sauté until limp, 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper and cayenne and sauté until they release their fragrance, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and sauté for another minute, until darkened but not burned. (If tomato paste looks too dark too quickly, lower heat.)

  2. Step 2

    Add fennel, chard stems, carrot and turnip and continue to sauté until vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes. Add chickpeas and water to barely cover.

  3. Step 3

    Return heat to high if you lowered it and bring to a simmer. Partly cover pot, lower heat to medium low, and simmer for about 1 ½ to 2 hours, until chickpeas are softened. Add more water if needed (this should be like a stew).

  4. Step 4

    Add chard leaves, apricots and preserved lemon to pot and continue simmering until chard is tender, about 5 minutes longer. Season with more salt if desired, and serve garnished with cilantro and reserved fennel fronds.

Tip

  • To quick-soak chickpeas, bring them to a boil in water to cover by 1 inch. Turn off the heat and let soak for 1 hour. Drain.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
2,135 user ratings
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Comments

Englishman in Brooklyn

Superb: delicious, healthy, economical. The recipe yields a great deal of food and it freezes well. Lots of opportunities to substitute here while staying true to the spirit of the dish: Try this with spinach if you've no chard; sub squash for turnip, etc. if you don't have preserved lemons on hand, simmer a diced lemon in a little olive oil, salt and sugar until it caramelises; stir in near the end of cooking.

Jen in Astoria

Folks, as an FYI: You can cook dried chickpeas in bulk and then freeze them, for the convenience of canned minus the downsides. Also, after soaking my dry chickpeas overnight, I just put em in my Zojirushi rice cooker on the brown rice setting, water just to cover, and let em do their thing while I'm at work....

Lucy

Use canned chickpeas. Dried ones were still not quite tender after 2 hours. Use modified version of Mark Bittmans recipe for preserved lemons. Dice organic lemon and mix with 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Let stand at room temperature for a few hours. Sunsweet brand apricots were wonderful.

Nik B

By soaking the chickpeas overnight with salt and baking soda per Serious Eats, they cook in less time. And are less gassy.

Allegra

This is a massive quantity! Half the recipe works well. Chard is a tender green and doesn't freeze well and is best when consumed within 1-2 days of cooking.

SF Home Chef

Cooked the chickpeas in an InstantPot in advance, 55 min, 10 min NR so they still had a bit of crunch (did not soak). For the stew, I sautéed everything in IP per the recipe, added chickpeas and water to cover, and deglazed the bottom. Pressure cooked 15 min, followed by quick release. Finally, added the chard, apricots and preserved lemon and let it sit about 10 minutes. DELICIOUS!

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