chickpeas with tomatoes and potatoes

dead simple. dead delicious. this recipe from deborah madison opened my eyes to the wonders of corriander. so much so that i frequently double or triple the amount. i am given to bouts of enthusiastic excess.

this recipe is best if you cook the chickpeas yourself in a little salted water, the broth of which is recycled back into the dish. i usually also omit the oil as the dish is plenty succulent without it.

serve over couscous, either the little grain type or the larger pellet sized israeli type.

chickpeas with potatoes and tomatoes
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion
3 waxy potatoes, diced into chickpea-sized cubes
2 carrots, cut into 1/2" rounds
1 small dried red chili (i've used a bit of chipotle chili with good results)
2 large cloves garlic (4 if you're a garlic freak), mashed with 1 teaspoon ground corriander
1 cup peeled and diced tomatoes (canned please if it's not tomato season!)
3 cups chickpeas or 2 15 oz. cans, rinsed
1/2 cup water or chickpea cooking broth
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped parsley

heat oil and cook onion until lightly colored, five to eight minutes. you can omit the oil in this recipe altogether and steam fry the onions in a little water, adding more as needed to prevent burning. add garlic and cook a few minutes more. add tomatoes and cooked chickpeas. season with 1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper. add water or chickpea cooking broth. cover and simmer gently until potatoes are cooked through. season and stir in parsley and cilantro.