07.07.08: Nigella's chickpeas with accompaniments

She says: this one is jockeying for the provocative title of Easy Dish o' the Year: Nigella's chickpeas with cumin seeds, sherry and rocket teamed up with some pearled spelt, ho-made rose harissa, and a rather perfectly soft-boiled egg, if She does say so. A virtuous salad of leaves, lime-infused beetroot, avo and radish stood contentedly in the shadow of its more glamourous, protein-packed neighbor.

SHE SAYS: Now we know for sure: the non-organic chickpeas take on a far more velvety texture than organic ones - maybe the nons are more processed and therefore softer to begin with? Whatever the reason, non- is nicer and wins out in this recipe. The plump beads of spelt added interesting texture, they were much more impressive mixed in than tasted right out of the pot - v. barley-like. My rose harissa is delish with its obvious floral notes, but doesn't pack the garlicky heat of 'regular.'

HE SAYS: In the last two days we've gone legume crazy and I like it, I like it a lot. As She says the bog standard chickpeas far outclassed their too posh to push organic kind ( a little un-pc to admit out loud in this day and age but I don't care. We recycle, so there). The spelt was delish, much more moist then the brown rice which we usually have with it. The egg on top is an ongoing indulgence but adds to the chewy gooey texture and tastes mmm-mm good. I can't imagine it without now. The rose harrisa took the place of my normal few shakes of hot sauce and so infused the bowl with equal parts heat, fragrance and zing.