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Chard and Sausage with Crispy Spiced Chickpeas
This one-pot meal was inspired by a recipe in “Autentico” by Rolando Beramendi, who, in turn, borrowed the recipe from Trattoria Cammillo in Florence, Italy. We particularly liked the color that rainbow chard brought to the dish, but any variety works. To separate the leaves from the stems, cut along each side of the center vein.
4
Servings
Tip
Don't coat the chickpeas with cornstarch without first drying them thoroughly with paper towels. Excess moisture will cause the oil to splatter and prevent the chickpeas from crisping.
30 minutes
Ingredients
-
15½
ounce can chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry
-
2
tablespoons cornstarch
Directions
-
01In a medium bowl, sprinkle the chickpeas with the cornstarch, then toss to coat. Transfer to a mesh strainer and shake to remove excess cornstarch.
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January 25, 2023
Super easy and delicious!
Been building the repertoire of quick weeknight meals to have ready in a short amount of time with hungry toddlers and this one fit the bill. I had a little trouble with the chickpeas but likely didn't dry them enough so they didn't fry up as well. Notes for next and definitely a new favorite!
January 14, 2023
Quick, easy, delicious balance
I love the flavor combinations of this dish. The peperoncini was an excellent balance to the sausage and fennel. I added roasted butternut squash and the sweetness really melded well. Highly recommend!
July 1, 2023
Easy weeknight meal
I make this often when my csa gives me chard. I don’t fry the chickpeas - I could never get them crispy when I followed the recipe. Instead, I just bake them in the convection oven with some olive oil spray until they get crispy.
The pepperoncini was a really nice addition with the sugar. I didn't have too much chard left so I used with cabbage and ong choy since I had leftovers. I used the amount of salt called for, except I didn't salt the chickpeas because I decided to try it first. I wonder if it would help to balance the salt if the recipe listed the amount of chopped chard in cups rather than bunches since that can be arbitrary.
Hi Tricia -
The pepperoncini is there to add some tartness and heat so a combination of jalapeño and pickle brine *might* do the trick. Or, if you're willing to put in an extra 10 minutes of work and an hour or so in the fridge, you could quick pickle some jalapeños. Good luck!
Best,
The Milk Street Team
Good recipe...better with some tweaks.
Made last night - enjoyed it very much, but next time I'd cut back on the salt by a third -- it was REALLY salty in certain bites. And I think to make it a bit more balanced a meal for my palate, I'd double (at least) the chard. This afternoon for lunch I sauteed some more chard I had in the fridge and used that as a base for the last serving...it really hit the spot.
I'm rather desperate for a substitute for fennel seed, realizing nothing that will taste exactly like it. The fennel in Italian sausage is the maximum my family will endure as none of us care for the flavor of fennel/anise/licorice. For some recipes I use caraway seed, though that changes the flavor profile a lot of course. Anyone have any ideas? To make this an even swap, if it's useful for you, I substitute mint for cilantro as a finishing herb for family who can't tolerate the flavor of cilantro - it's only polite as apparently these flavor tolerances are genetic in origin. Thanks all, happy cookery!!
Hi Athena -
Our recommendation for a substitute will be somewhat recipe-specific. In this particular recipe we would probably recommend cumin seeds. Depending on the other flavors in the dish, you could also try dill seed, tarragon, or, as you mentioned, caraway.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
I got rainbow chard from my CSA this week and have never cooked it before. I threw this together in a few minutes and my husband and I both loved it. My only mistake was that even though I thought I thoroughly blotted my chickpeas, too much cornstarch stuck to them and it was hard to get them crispy. I need to dry them even more next time before I start.
Also, I saw a lot of people commenting on the salt. One of the key things I have found for all Milk Street Recipes is that they always use Diamond Crystal Salt (I saw this in the "pantry" section at the front of my cookbook). That brand of salt isn't sold near me, but I ordered it online and it makes all the difference. The crystals are huge and now I can add the salt they recommend to each recipe without anything getting too salty.
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A great way to use chard! It became excessively salty with the salt on the chick peas and the peperoncini with brine. I will cut back on all added salt and omit the peperoncini completely next time.