Chorizo and Chickpea stew w/Meatballs

Not the best picture, sorry, it looks better in person.



Chickpea stew
For the chickpeas:
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 bay leaf
6oz chorizo

For the meatballs:
2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
10 oz ground pork
1/4 cup grated onion
1 small egg, lightly beaten
1tsp coarse salt
1/2tsp fresh ground pepper
olive oil

For finishing the stew:
2tbsp olive oil
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1 medium sized carrot, finely diced
4 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1tsp sweet smoked paprika
3tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley
Coarse salt

Put the chickpeas in a pot, and add cold water to cover by 2 inches, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the bay leaf and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for an hour replenishing the water when necessary.

After an hour, cook the chorizo in boiling water for 2 minutes, and drain it. Add to the chickpeas and continue to cook for a half hour, till the chickpeas are tender, but still al dente, adding more water to maintain the liquid level.

Meanwhile, place the bread in a small bowl, add cold water to cover and let soak for 5 minutes. Drain and squeeze out the excess liquid, then finely crumble the bread. Place the bread, pork, onion, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Gently knead with your hands till combined. If the mixture is too moist to form into meatballs, refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat to 425f

Shape the mixture into meatballs about the size of cherry tomatoes. Arrange on a baking sheet, and bake, shaking the pan once or twice, till they are lightly browned and firm to the touch, about 12 minutes. Set aside.

To finish the stew, Heat the olive oil, add onion, carrot, and half the garlic. Cook till soft, but not browned, about 5 min. Add tomatoes cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the paprika, stir, then stir the mixture into the chickpeas. Cook the stew 15-20 minutes longer till the chickpeas are very tender.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer chorizo to a cutting board, and cut it into 1/2 inch slices, return it to the pot, gently stir in the meatballs, and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Place the garlic, parsley and a pinch of salt in a mortar and mash into a paste, stir into the stew and let it cook 5 more minutes.

This whole process took 2 hours exactly, I know because I got home a little later then I was planning, but made it to the table before it was too late for the boys.

I made one adjustment because I didn't have any slices of white bread in the house, so I used oatmeal instead (thanks for the tip Anthony!) It worked really well. The meatballs came out really light and fluffy.

As with the Albondigas soup I made last week, the boys loved the tiny meatballs, they were just the right size for tiny hands. My husband and I really liked this one too. There were no left-overs.

This one was from The New Spanish Table