Every once in a while, I come across an obsession-worthy recipe. The first time I made spaghetti carbonara, I made it three nights in a row. And when I mastered madeleines, I baked batch upon differently flavored batch for a full week and a half. My latest obsession is this hearty vegetarian stew, a liberally adjusted version of Deborah Madison's original.
But before we get to the recipe itself, let's talk Madison. Do you like to eat? Then you need Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison's masterpiece of a cookbook. Even people who claim to be in the "I don't care for vegetables" camp adore this book. It is simply divine.
(By the way, who are these people who don't care for vegetables? Have they never had cucumber salad? Snap peas with butter and salt? Ripe, in-season TOMATOES? But I digress.)
My friend Louisa has been a devotee of Madison's for a while now, and she's the one who pointed me to this particular dish. Based on a traditional Spanish stew of garbanzo beans, spinach and a touch of tomato, Madison serves hers up with a dollop of easy-as-can-be garlic aioli (If you've never made homemade mayonnaise before, clickety over to Queenie for a primer.); Louisa suggested adding the egg, and she was right.
She was also, in my ever-so-humble opinion, right about upping the onion, garlic, paprika and tomato components. Because, when it comes right down to it, nothing ever got worse because you added more onion, garlic, paprika or tomato to it, amirite?
The best part about this stew? It takes about 30 minutes to make, start to finish, and most of that is just letting the thing simmer on the stove. The other best part? It gets better after a day or two in the fridge, so it's the perfect thing to make ahead of time, or to make for lunch all week long. You might think you'd get bored, but of this? You won't. Trust.
Chickpea, Tomato and Escarole Stew
Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 pinches red pepper flakes
2 tsp. paprika
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes, with their juices
1 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch escarole, cored and washed (but not dried), bitter outer leaves discarded
Garlic mayonnaise (recipe follows)
Heat a wide saute pan over high heat. Add the oil and heat through, then add the onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, paprika and half the parsley. Saute the mixture for 2 minutes, then lower the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and beginning to color.
Add the tomatoes, crushing them in your hands into reasonably-sized pieces as you do. Add the chickpeas, season with salt and pepper, and cover. Simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook the escarole (in batches, if need be) in the water clinging to its leaves until it has cooked down and is nice and tender. You can add a bit of salt to the pan to help the process along, if you like.
Add the escarole to the stew and stir to distribute evenly. If you're serving immediately, taste for seasoning and spoon into pasta plates. Top with a healthy dollop of the garlic mayonnaise and - if you like - a fried egg.
If you'd like to save the stew for later, let it cool to room temperature, then cover tightly and place in the refrigerator. Keeps beautifully - keeps getting better, really - for four days at least.
Serves four.
Garlic Mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard (I like Maille)
1 tsp. sherry vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil
Sprinkle the salt over the minced garlic and let sit for several minutes. Once the garlic has soaked the salt, use the flat side of your knife to mash it into a paste. Place the paste into a small-to-medium, heavy-bottomed bowl. Add the yolk, mustard and sherry vinegar. Whisk to combine.
Pour the oil into a liquid measuring cup (with a spout) and add to the yolk mixture drop by drop, whisking constantly until the mixture begins to emulsify.
Whisk in the remaining oil in a thin, constant stream, whisking all the while. If the emulsion breaks, top adding oil and just whisk until things come back together, then resume adding the oil.
Salt the mayonnaise to taste.
The mayonnaise will keep for two to three days, covered tightly, in the fridge.
Makes approximately 3/4 cup of mayonnaise.
Monday, February 14, 2011 at 07:00AM 
