This dish is the perfect thing to eat on a cold, rainy dish. I made these chorizo-stewed chickpeas because I wanted this hearty, comforting stew. What I love from a textural contrast standpoint is that there are smoky chorizo bits and nutty, creamy chickpeas, swimming in a slightly spicy broth. That when paired with a juicy roasted chicken thigh with crispy skin, and you honestly have a real winner there! What I love about this recipe is the play on chicken and chorizo for two different proteins. Technically there’s three since chickpeas count as a source of protein, being a legume and all, but it also acts like a starch in this case, soaking up the chorizo stew that we’re making here. For the chicken, we basically cook it low and slow, in the pan the entire time, just to really render out the chicken fat – that’s being used to sweat out and toast spices in the stew itself, just to reuse the product, since chicken fat is DELICIOUS. While the chicken is rendering, we can work on the stew, by cooking off all of those aromatics in a mixture of chicken and chorizo fat, and imparting all of that flavor into the chickpeas. This is a really hearty dish, and one that can make a day with miserable weather slightly less sad.

For the chicken thighs:
4 chicken thighs, skin on and bone-in
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika

Pat the chicken thighs dry. Generously season the exterior of the thighs with salt, pepper, and paprika. Place the thighs, skin-side down, on a nonstick pan. Place the pan on a medium flame, and allow the thighs to cook, skin side down, for 15 minutes. At this point, drain and reserve any rendered chicken schmaltz(fat) to use in the stew. Continue to cook the chicken on the skin side for another 10 minutes. Then sear the thighs on the flesh side for another 5 minutes to finish.

For the chickpea stew:
6oz chorizo, diced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp fennel pollen
2 tsp dried chili flakes
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp chicken schmaltz
2 white onions, peeled and cut into thin slices
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4oz tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/3 cup golden raisins

In a pot, start by rendering out the chorizo until crispy. Remove the chorizo and with the chorizo fat, add the cumin, paprika, oregano, coriander, fennel pollen, chili, bay leaf, and chicken schmaltz. Toast the spices and herbs in the fat before adding in the onion and garlic, stirring everything on low heat until the onions are tender. Add to that the tomato paste, stock, chickpeas, and raisins and bring everything to a simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Right before serving, stir back in the chorizo bits.

For garnish:
Cilantro blossoms