Chickpea & Chard Eggs

One of the first dishes I came up when I was a teenager was chickpeas on toast, which involved frying drained tinned chickpeas in butter with some sort of spice (coriander & cumin seeds, usually) and lots of diced garlic, and then dumping the lot on top of buttered granary toast (it had to be granary). I’d make it on Wednesday afternoons, after I’d made my weekly surreptitious trip to the college library (going to the library was not a cool thing to do, but someone had to read all those Margaret Drabbles).

I still love chickpeas on toast and I really think I was onto something with it now – the garlic brings out the nuttiness of the chickpeas, and the fact that it’s so simple means that you can really enjoy the flavour of each of the ingredients. I’d recommend it for days when you’re not at your best, as it’s the best comfort food going and very quick to make. With a few tweaks & additions and a little gussying up, it also works as a very fine brunch option too.

CHICKPEA & CHARD EGGS with nduja & herbs

Serves 4

4 eggs

2 tins of chickpeas, drained

25g butter

Large handful of chard, stems removed & roughly chopped

2 heaped tbsps nduja (or finely diced chorizo)

1 large clove of garlic, diced

Herbs of your choice

Olive oil

Fry the garlic in the butter over a medium heat. Add the chickpeas & nduja and continue to fry till the chickpeas are well coated. Season with salt, pepper and any spices you’re using. Add the chard and continue to cook until it wilts. Make 4 wells in the chickpea mix and break the eggs in. Dot each yolk with a little more butter and cover the whole pan with a lid. Cook until the egg whites are firm but the yolks are still soft. Top with herbs, black pepper, parmesan shavings & a little olive oil. Serve with toast & lots of garlicky yogurt on the side.