Erica Drum is an Irish TV chef, an evangelist for food who says: “Food is life – it’s certainly a huge part of mine.” One lesson she learned from her parents, she says, is “that love and food go hand in hand. When I was growing up, they had friends and family over for dinner every week”.
Her debut cookbook, Dinner, is brash, confident and no-nonsense, with the cheeky subtitle “Meals to Match the Day You’re Having”. Recalling her childhood growing up outside Dublin in a busy home with three siblings, Erica says: “I have vivid memories of what I now call ‘dinner decision fatigue’… us four kids would regularly ask our mum what was for dinner before we had even finished our breakfast”.
Dinner’s target audience is busy people on a budget, all those “needing some inspiration while juggling the million other things life throws at you”. The recipe she shares here is a favourite one to clear out cupboards, from the chapter labelled “Winner Winner Weeknight Dinner” (others include “Crappy Day Dinner” and “Date Night”). She promises that “it is one of the easiest in the book”.
Words by Jane Ferguson
Photography: Jo Murphy
Photo: Jo Murphy
Erica’s hearty chickpea and chorizo stew
This is completely interchangeable with any veggies or beans. The chorizo can be swapped for bacon or ’nduja or omitted entirely, and you can use oil instead of butter to make it vegan. Add more hearty veg like potatoes or swede to bulk it up, or serve it with rice or crusty bread instead of couscous.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
200g dry-cured chorizo, diced
2 medium onions, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 pepper (any colour) or courgette, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp chilli powder or flakes (optional)
2 x 400g tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
500-750ml vegetable or chicken stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Toppings (optional, recipes below)
Salty soy almonds
Tzatziki or yogurt
To garnish
Chopped fresh coriander or mint
To serve
Couscous (details below)
Method
Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan on a medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook for 5 mins, until it has started to release its oil. Add the onions and carrots and cook for 5 mins. Add the pepper or courgette and the garlic and cook for 5 mins more.
Add the smoked paprika and chilli powder or flakes (if using) and cook for 30 secs, stirring so the spices don’t stick and burn. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 mins. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Divide the stew among four wide, shallow bowls and top with the soy almonds and tzatziki or yogurt. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander or mint and serve with couscous.
Salty soy almonds
Makes 100g
Heat a dry frying pan on a medium heat. When it’s hot, add 100g flaked almonds and toast, stirring, for 2 mins, until they have turned a dark golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat, then add 2 tbsps light soy sauce and mix it in fast. It will sizzle and hiss, but that’s OK. Let the almonds cool and absorb all the soy sauce before putting them in an airtight container. They’ll last for a week or two in an airtight container at room temperature but are so addictive they probably won’t last the day!
Tzatziki
Makes 500g
Cut 1 cucumber down the middle lengthwise, then use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds. Grate the cucumber, then put it in a sieve to strain off any excess water before putting in a mixing bowl with 250g Greek yogurt, 1 small minced garlic clove, 1 bunch of finely chopped fresh mint and the zest and juice of ½ lemon. Mix to combine, then season with salt and pepper. Chill in the fridge for at least 20 mins. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over the top. This will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Quick couscous
Serves 4
Put 200g couscous in a heatproof bowl with 1 small bunch of chopped spring onions, a large handful of raisins (optional), the zest of ½ lemon, 2 tbsps olive oil and some salt and pepper. Pour over 250ml boiling hot veg or chicken stock, stir and cover the bowl immediately with a plate or lid. Leave it for 5 mins to let the couscous absorb the stock, then fluff up with a fork. Stir in 1 finely chopped bunch of fresh parsley and serve.
Dinner by Erica Drum is published by Blasta Books, (RRP £15; to order it at a discount go to the Nerve Bookshop)