Olive Oil Braised Chickpeas with Feta

First Meal Prep Monday of the year! Today's Meal Prep is low key, but still healthy and totally delicious. We've got olive oil braised chickpeas with feta, roast eggplant, hardboiled eggs, and a little cherry tomato and cucumber salad.

The braised chickpeas come by way of the fabulous Joy The Baker. These popped up in my Facebook feed a little while ago, and went straight to the top of my to-do list! You sauté a little onion in lots of olive oil, then add chickpeas, thyme, capers, salt and pepper, cover the dish and cook it gently in the oven until bubbling hot and softened. Once cooled, you add some smoked paprika and crumbled feta. (I used the feta I made myself, *smug*). You can serve it with crusty bread as an appetiser or as part of a sharing meal, but it also is good left in the fridge to be picked at over a few days - perfect for meal prep.

Olive Oil braised chickpeas

I also took Joy's suggestion of serving it with hardboiled eggs. Delicious, easy, and protein-packed!

Hardboiled Eggs

The roast cubed eggplant was so I'd have an extra vegetable, but I never really need an excuse to eat roast eggplant. I chopped these up and roasted them in olive oil on a separate shelf in the oven while the chickpeas were braising. Efficiency.

Roast eggplant

And I added a simple salad of cucumbers and sweet little cherry tomatoes, for freshness and contrasting crunch. I just dressed these with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and a sprinkling of chives. I didn't use any acid (although red wine vinegar or lemon juice would be nice), because the chickpeas were already so boldly flavoured, and I just wanted to keep this one simple.

Cucumber and cherry tomato salad

And that was it! Super simple to put together, so many vegetables, lots of vegetarian protein, all in one easy to eat and delicious package. I'd definitely suggest setting aside a couple of hours on a Sunday to put this together - it's well worth it!

Packed up!

Olive Oil Braised Chickpeas with Feta

Recipe (slightly) adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup finely diced onion

2 x 400 gram tins chickpeas, drained

1/4 cup capers, rinsed

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 cup crumbled feta

Smoked paprika, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Heat a splash of the olive oil in a pan that can go from stovetop to oven. Add the onions and cook over a medium heat until softened. Remove from the heat and add the chickpeas, capers, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cover the pan with foil and place in the oven.

Cook for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven, remove the foil and allow to cool slightly. Add the feta and sprinkle with smoked paprika.

Roast Eggplant Cubes
Chop 1 eggplant into 2-cm cubes. Place in a baking dish with 1/8 chopped onion and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Roast in a 190C oven for 20 minutes, or until softened and golden brown. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Hardboiled Eggs
Place 4 eggs into a small saucepan of cold water. Bring to the boil, then turn off the heat and clamp on a lid. Allow to sit for 8 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Once cool enough to handle, peel the eggs.

Cucumber and Cherry Tomato Salad
Chop 1 cucumber into small cubes and place into a bowl. Chop 250 grams cherry tomatoes in half and add to the bowl. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and a sprinkling of chopped chives.

Have you made this recipe? Leave a comment below! Tag me on Instagram @sarahcooksblog and hashtag #sarahcooksblog