Every year, I see patterns in my cooking style. Some years are heavy on flavor variety, while others are heavy on technique. For this year, this brothy chickpeas and emmer dish embodies what I’m going for: not overly fussy but solid on flavor and comfort. This meal, in particular, was accomplished with the help of a few important notes.

Onions and Cook Time

If you look back through the site's archives, I’m a bit ashamed at how many times I call for only cooking onions for a handful of minutes! In some applications, this is okay, but when we’re looking to develop flavor with only a few ingredients, letting the onions cook for longer is key. Cooking for longer doesn’t mean caramelizing; it just means giving them a bit of color.

I let the onions cook for about 20 minutes for these brothy chickpeas. The onions take on a nice golden hue and develop a bit of flavor, and if you accidentally walk away and a few pieces develop some charred bits, that’s fine, too.

Brothy Chickpeas is All About the Broth

The next way we can layer flavor is by ensuring our broth is solid. For me, that’s the liquid I use to cook the dried chickpeas. It’s heavy on onion, and I let the chickpeas simmer until they are pretty tender. If you’re not cooking from dried, drain the canned chickpeas and use a flavorful vegetable broth; store-bought or homemade is fine.

Fats, more Fats.

When you build flavor, meals can feel a bit shallow. Using just a bit more fat can help with this. In the case of these brothy chickpeas, I cook the onions in a thin layer of olive oil, and I use a bit of olive oil in the bean cooking process. You don’t need to go overboard, but I recommend being liberal with olive oil in this meal. 

Print Pin Rate

Brothy Chickpeas and Emmer

2 servings

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion (diced)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups (315 g) cooked chickpeas
• 2 cups (480 g) bean or vegetable broth
• 1 cup (200 g) cooked pearled or whole emmer/farro (or really any good, slightly chewy grain)
• Grated parmesan cheese (for finishing)
• Black pepper (for finishing)

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium braiser or pot. Add the onion and salt, and cook until the onions are golden, for 20 minutes or so. If the onions begin to brown, reduce the heat slightly and continue to cook. I look for when the onions have cooked enough that olive oil begins to pool slightly. Stir in the vinegar, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
2. Add the chickpeas, broth, and emmer. Bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes to let the flavors meld and warm as needed. Add more broth or a splash of water if you find the dish isn’t brothy enough for you. After simmering, remove from the heat, stir in enough parmesan and black pepper to make you happy, and eat. I typically use around ½ cups grated parmesan, with more for topping.

Notes

Vegetables: I left this recipe vegetable-agnostic because it’s solid with so many of them. As you might have noticed, I used a bit of charred/steamed broccoli for one of the images. However, roasted squash, baked sweet potatoes, wilted spinach, cooked corn, or grilled eggplant would all work.