Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
900 g ready-to-use chopped Swiss chard or spinach
1 kg veal knuckle
5 cups water
250 g chickpeas, soaked overnight
6 cloves garlic, peeled
Freshly ground black pepper
6 free-range eggs, in the shell, washed
Approximately 300g small new potatoes
Sea salt
Harissa, to serve
|
Cooking instructions:
Place the oil and greens in a large heatproof casserole. Cover and wilt over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove and add the meat. Pour in enough water to cover. Bring to the boil and skim the scum. Add the drained chickpeas, garlic and wilted chard. Bring to the boil again. Add a twist or two of pepper, but no salt. Add the eggs and potatoes. Simmer on a very low heat, covered, for about 3½ hours, adding a little more water if necessary. Alternatively, leave overnight or all day in the oven at the lowest heat. Cook until the meat is meltingly tender and the chickpeas soft, but not mushy. When nearly cooked, add about 2t (10ml) of salt. Check seasoning. If there seems to be too much liquid, turn into a large baking dish and bake uncovered in a low oven until lightly coloured. Serve with harissa.
Cook’s note: This is a meal-in-one so no accompaniments are required. Rather end the meal with a refreshing orange-anddate salad perfumed with rose-water.
Per serving: 3075kJ, 73.16g protein, 32.59g fat, 26.51g carbs TASTE’s take: Claudia Roden’s cookbook, The Book of Jewish Food (Penguin Books), is an excellent source of North African dishes, as many Jews lived in these countries and adopted the local dishes. This Algerian dish, also popular in Tunisia, was traditionally prepared on the Sabbath. |