An easy vegetarian side dish or hearty lunch. Classical Roman chefs wouldn’t have used sugar, but grape molasses (pekmez) or honey.
Ingredients:
1 large leek
¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp Apicius Roman blend, ground
1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped
2 cups chickpeas, cooked
Salt to taste
¼ cup pekmez* or 3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp vinegar
Method
Wash the leek and cut into ½ inch (1.5 cm) slices.
Heat a pot on medium. Sauté the leek in the oil for around 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and spices. Toss in the pan for another minute.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.
Adjust the flavours to your taste with the salt, vinegar and pekmez.
*Pekmez is made from concentrated grape juice, still used in Turkey (it can be found under the name “grape molasses”). In Italy, it’s called vino cotto.
