Harissa Chickpeas with Tomatoes & Greens

Ingredients

• 2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 250 ml hot vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 200 g kale, thick stalks removed, roughly chopped
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 onions, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 6 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 2 tbsp rose harissa
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 6 pitta breads
• 10 g mint leaves

Method

1. Warm the olive oil in a heavy casserole over medium-low heat. Add the onion with a generous pinch of salt and cook for 12 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and catching gold at the edges. Salt early; it pulls moisture out and gets the onions sweet rather than scorched.
2. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds, just until fragrant; no more.
3. Stir in the harissa, cumin and ground coriander. Toast the spices in the oil for a full minute until fragrant and the harissa has darkened a shade.
4. Tip in the chopped tomatoes with the caster sugar and a splash of the vegetable stock. Simmer for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the chickpeas and the rest of the hot stock. Simmer gently for 15 minutes until the sauce thickens around the chickpeas and they've drunk in the smoke and heat. The surface should look glossy, not watery.
6. Stir the kale in a handful at a time, letting each wilt before the next goes in. Cook for 5 minutes until the leaves are tender but still vivid green; overcooked kale goes khaki and sulphurous.
7. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice. Taste, season with salt and pepper, then taste again. It should land smoky, tangy, and sturdy enough to hold a spoon up.
8. Spoon into bowls, add a spoonful of yoghurt, then scatter over the coriander and mint. Serve with the warm pitta breads.