“Cocido is the national dish of Spain,” says Camorra. “This is the version Mum used to make in the summer. You’d crush up the chickpeas, put in the garlic and have it like a salad. It goes really well with a wide range of dishes. The most important thing here is getting really good chickpeas; my preference is for Ord River chickpeas from Western Australia. When you cook them, cover them with hot water from the tap – no salt – let them soak overnight, come back, drain that water off, cover them again with hot water from the tap, put in some carrots and onions and bay leaves, cook them slowly and then let them cool down in the liquid so they puff up as much as possible.” You’ll need to begin this recipe a day ahead.
Ingredients
Method
Main
1.Combine chickpeas, carrot, onion, head of garlic and bay leaves in a large saucepan with enough tap-hot water to cover generously. Bring to the boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium and cook until chickpeas are tender but not losing their skins (1¼-1½ hours) and set aside to cool in cooking water.
2.Meanwhile, blanch tomatoes until skins split (30 seconds-1 minute), refresh and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel, remove seeds (discard), finely chop and set aside.
3.Strain chickpeas (reserve 100ml cooking water and vegetables; discard bay leaves). Transfer chickpeas and reserved cooking water to a food processor. Peel and coarsely chop cooked carrot and add to food processor. Squeeze cooked garlic from skins (discard skins), add to food processor and process until smooth (2-3 minutes). Add oil, extra garlic and 2 tsp sea salt, process until smooth and emulsified (1 minute), transfer to a large serving bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature. Serve chickpea purée cold but not chilled, topped with tomato, a drizzle of extra oil and a small sprinkle of salt.
