Gypsy Chickpea Hotpot with Pears

Ingredients

250g dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight
1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 French shallot, thinly sliced
250g pumpkin, diced
250g potatoes, roughly diced
1 very ripe tomato, quartered
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 pinch saffron threads
3 bay leaves
4 pears, cored and quartered
1 small eggplant, roughly diced
250g green beans, thinly sliced
Chopped parsley, to serve

Method

Drain the chickpeas and put in a large saucepan with the stock. Bring to the boil and
simmer for about 1 hour until the chickpeas are tender.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the shallot, pumpkin and potatoes and fry
until golden, stirring often.

Stir in the tomato and paprika and cook for 2 minutes. Add the saffron and bay leaves.

Add the potato mixture, pears and eggplant to the chickpeas. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and add just enough water to keep everything moist.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Stir in the green beans and remove from the heat. Leave for 15 minutes for the
beans to cook in the heat of the hotpot. Sprinkle with parsley to serve.

Credits: Miguel Maestre from 'The OzHarvest Cookbook 2012'