Chickpea and Morcilla salad
Nothing says autumn to me more than a bowl of chickpeas, sweet pine nuts and silky morcilla served as a warm salad for lunch. Thanks to Kate Preston at Casa Delfin (Passeig del Born, 36) home to some of the best-value Catalan cooking in town for this dish. Kate recommends having this for brunch or supper with a poached egg over the top and lots of crusty bread on the side. It also goes exceptionally well with oven-baked salt cod loin.
Serves four as a side or two as a main.
INGREDIENTS
- 500 g chickpeas, cooked (if you used jarred, rinse well)
- 2 Figueres onion, finely chopped
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 Tbsp raisins (soaked for 30 mins in 2 Tbsp brandy)
- 4 Tbsp pine nuts
- 100 g morcilla (or butifarra negra), cooked and crumbled
- 1 tsp smoked pimentón
- 1 tsp fennel or anis seeds
- Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
- 3 slices stale white bread, crusts removed
- 3 Tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped
To make the croutons
Preheat an oven to 180ºC. Place 3-4 slices of white bread (crusts removed) on a baking tray. Drizzle over with 2 tbsp olive oil that has been infused with a clove of crushed garlic. Toss well and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Remove from the oven, cut into 1cm cubes and set aside to cool.
To make the salad
Sauté the onions, garlic, fennel seeds, pine nuts, and raisins in brandy juice in 2 tbsp olive oil until the onion starts to melt and turn translucent. Add the crumbled morcilla, chickpeas and pimentón and sauté for another five minutes or so to let the flavors come together. Scatter with parsley and the croutons before serving.