Everyday Epicurean

h2. Ingredients.

h3. Stew.

* 4 Spanish sausages (I used some Spanish, Tomato, Garlic and Olive sausages from the Dayboro Butcher, but Chorizo would do) chopped into half inch slices.
* 1 onion, finely diced
* 1 capsicum, finely diced
* 1 small can of chickpeas (300g) – drained
* 1 can of roma tomatoes (400g)
* 11 cloves of garlic (could have had more – wouldn’t hurt anyway) – peeled but whole
* 1 carrot, chopped lengthwise and then sliced.
* 1 desert spoon of Baharat
* 1 teaspoon of salt
* 1 teaspoon of cracked pepper
* juice of one lemon
* 2 cardamon pods
* a little olive oil

h3. Bread.

* 1 small can of chick peas (300g) – drained.
* about 1 cup of plain flour
* about 1 Tablespoon of polenta
* drizzle of olive oil (maybe 1 Tablespoon)
* some water (enough to make a dough that clumps but is only just sticky)

h2. Method.

h3. Stew.

In a tagine, place the oil and onion over low heat.
After a minute or two, add the remaining ingredients (except the tomatoes and lemon juice) and cover.
In about five minutes the sausages should be firm enough, so make a well in the middle of the tagine and add the tomatoes, crushing them with a wooden spoon. Add the lemon juice and mix through, then cover.
Leave to simmer on low heat for about an hour, or until the garlic and carrots are soft.

h3. Bread.

In a food processor (or if your a masochist, a mortar and pestle), crush the chickpeas.
Add the polenta, oil and half the flour and process on high until smooth.
Add some water and process. Add the remaining flour, process, and add water if necessary to obtain a consistency of dough such that it readily clumps in the processor and is only ever so sticky when pulled apart.

Flour the bench and knead the dough into a workable consistency. Roll into a cylinder and cut into about a dozen pieces.

Pre-heat a cast iron frying pan such that a drop of water will dance across the surface. Roll out one piece of dough as thin as possible and place it in the pan carefully avoiding folds.
The bread should form bubble after about 1 min, turn over and cook for a further 30 secs and then place on a rack to cool.
Repeat until you’ve cooked all the bread.

Serve the stew with the bread on the side. Optionally you can add a dollop of yoghurt.