Chicken with chickpeas

This past year I had a postdoc visiting from Belgium. Smart guy, he quickly figured out the style of mydinnertoday and thought that I’d appreciate “Great Food Fast” from the “Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living”.  So, he bought one to add to my collection. The recipes, indeed, looked very  promising. Most of them use ingredients that I regularly keep in my kitchen and they are all quick and easy. Today I tried, well with some modifications as usual, one with chicken and chick peas. You can’t have too many chicken recipes.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 or 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast
• 3 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 4 plum tomatoes, each cut in four
• 1 teaspoon white-wine vinegar
• a bunch of chopped parsley

How to make: Wash and dry the chicken breasts. Cut them in cubes and season them with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat two teaspoons oil and cook the chicken at medium-height heat (turn sides). When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the skillet and save it in a plate. Turn down the heat a bit, add one more teaspoon olive oil and cook the garlic for a minute or two. Add the chickpeas and half cup of water. Bring to boil and cook for about 5 minutes or until there’s only a little liquid left. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Add the chicken and the vinegar and cook for another couple of minutes. I served it with mashed potatoes.

Notes and tips: In the Martha Stewart (MS) version. the chickpeas are cooked in a cup of water. I found this quantity excessive. I had to cook for much longer to make it go so I’m giving the recipe with half cup. You can add pitted olives when you add the chicken and vinegar. The dish has a mild flavor and the olives will balance it nicely. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any this time. Finally, MS suggests serving with polenta, which is a fine choice only I’m not too fond of it.