With a great culinary tradition, the island of Sifnos boasts several outstanding local recipes. Among them is the simple yet delicious revithada (chickpea stew), traditionally made in a skepastaria (a clay pot with a lid, made by local potters with this dish in mind). You can, however, use any oven dish, made of clay or any other material, that has a lid, preferably a heavy lid to prevent any steam from escaping. Chickpea stew is an all-weather dish and is usually served at room temperature.
Method
Preheat oven to 140° – 150° C.
Rinse chickpeas thoroughly. Pour into the oven dish, add the onions, the oil, the bay leaves, and the salt. Add water until all ingredients are covered.
Cover the dish and cook for about 4 hours, until the chickpeas are soft and the stew has thickened. Check frequently as it cooks and add warm water if needed. Additional water might be required if the lid isn’t airtight and steam escapes.
Remove chickpeas from the oven, season to taste and set aside, letting the dish cool, ideally to room temperature.
Serve with a squeeze of lemon.
Ingredients
Portions: serves 6-8
1 kilo peeled chickpeas, soaked in water overnight (for at least 8 hours) until they swell
2 onions, sliced, not diced
200 ml olive oil
2 bay leaves
Sea salt, freshly ground pepper
A tip
In the summer, serve each dish with a spoonful of katiki cheese, some cubed raw tomatoes and some finely chopped fresh basil leaves.
This recipe was previously posted in Greek at gastronomos.gr.
