Basic Chick pea Recipe- Algerian Pantry Item

I'm finding some great bargains on slightly soft tomatoes, less than 50 cents per pound for vine ripened tomatoes that are getting late in the season. They're not exactly overripe just a little too soft for salads. They are perfect for making fresh salsas and tomato sauces.

I grated 2 pounds of tomatoes on the side of a box grater and discarded the skin. I didn't strain out the seeds, you can if they bother you. I cooked 1 pound of chick peas that I had soaked overnight in water for about 2 hours, drained and added my fresh tomato puree. And cooked the chick peas in the tomato sauce seasoned with salt for another 30 minutes. I wanted very tender cooked chick peas and a simple base to make other dishes from.

I made a big batch for freezing. I portioned the chick peas into small sandwich bags, wrapped the bags in parchment paper to keep them from freezing together and tossed them in a large zipper lock bag.

The first recipe I made is a breakfast or light lunch dish of spicy chickpeas with sunny side up eggs. I sauteed a finely chopped small shallot and a finely chopped serrano pepper for 5 minutes in olive oil, then added 1 cup of my basic chick peas in tomato sauce, seasoned with spices (I used a 1/4 teaspoon ras el hanout) and cooked for about 5 minutes. I spooned the spicy chick peas around two eggs cooked sunny side up and garnished with fenugreek leaves.

I'll be cooking with my basic chick pea recipe over the next few days to make things like chick peas and pasta (what the Italians call pasta e ceci) and a chick pea and spinach dish (what the Spaniards call garbanzos con espinacas, a dish noted for it's Moorish influences).