Are You Overrun with Tomatoes?

Try Provencale Chickpeas in Tomato Sauce

One of my favorite cookbook authors is Geraldene Holt. She wrote the seminal classic on country cooking called ‘French Country Kitchen’. This is a variation of her recipe for white beans in tomato sauce.

Chickpeas stewed in tomato sauce is a popular flavor combination in Provence. I added chunks of homemade espelette sausages I had leftover from a sausage-making experiment. You could use spicy Italian sausages or even Moroccan merguez.

Chickpeas in a Tomato Sauce, by Francois de Melogue

Chickpeas in Tomato Sauce

PREP: 10 minutes | COOK: 1 hour 50 minutes | SERVES: 4

cooking chickpeas (see notes)

• 1 cup raw chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 quart cold water plus more for cooking

Tomato Sauce

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 sweet onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic mashed
• 28 ounce can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped basil leaves
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil