16.12.08: Chickpeas with cumin and sherry

Wearied by a ridiculous pre-xmas work sched, she turned to our fave chickpea recipe for ease and comfort, topping it off by boiling an egg and placing it neatly on top, next to the dollop of ho-made harissa. A pear, avo and mulled wine spiced beetroot salad saddled up for the ride.

SHE SAYS: A pretty good batch, if I do say so myself. Sometimes I let the cumin seeds cook a little too long, but this time they were perfectly toasty, without that slight bitter taste of blackening. I'm liking the holiday beetroot with its heavy-on-the-allspice m.o., and vote to make it our exclusive beetroot add-on for the season.

HE SAYS: The homemade harissa and boiled egg do a perfect job of elevating the flavas of this dish beyond what you would expect, adding an exotic saltiness and creamalicious element to the proceedings. The mix of the avo, pear and limited-edition beetroot satisfied all my salad fixin' tasty requirements too.