spicy, fennel-y chickpeas with feta fried eggs

a dinner party side turned lunch-y, brunch-y main

last week, when i should have been writing this newsletter, i instead had a small dinner party. my mom and some mutual friends were in town, so i planned a cute little make-ahead menu to suit. perhaps surprisingly, one recipe stood out to all at the table: “frizzled chickpeas with feta and oregano” from alison roman’s nothing fancy. canned chickpeas get fried up to a crisp in plenty of olive oil with onion and fresh oregano before being garnished with thin slices of feta to serve.

this is my little homage to that stunningly simple recipe, turning it into a light lunch-y, brunch-y main with caramelized fennel and fennel seeds, plenty of chili flakes, and a gentle reminder that “putting an egg on it” is never a bad idea.

that being said, the “feta fried” part of the egg is just an added bonus, feel free to use a regular fried egg (as i did in the photo featured here) or even a jammy boiled egg. to balance the richness of all the oil and the runny egg yolk, a spritz of lemon juice or a spoonful of tangy dairy like labneh or yogurt is a must. leave off the egg and the chickpeas make a satisfying side that would also be delicious at room temperature, tossed through grains or lettuces as a hearty component to your favorite salad.

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serves 2

for the chickpeas

1/2 fennel bulb

1 small red onion

1 clove garlic

400 grams canned chickpeas

75 ml olive oil

1 teaspoon chili flakes

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

salt and black pepper

for the feta fried eggs

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

40 grams feta cheese

2 eggs

to serve

small handful chopped fennel fronds, fresh dill and/or mint

lemon wedges, labneh or plain yogurt

1. halve, core and thinly slice the fennel. peel and thinly slice the onion and smash the garlic clove, discarding the papery skin. drain and rinse the chickpeas.

2. add the olive oil to a large frying pan over medium-high heat; it seems like a lot of oil, and that’s because it is, we want enough to fry the chickpeas and get them crisp. once the oil is hot, add the onion and fennel and season with salt and pepper. let cook until the onion and fennel have gone soft and are starting to brown around the edges, about 5 minutes.

3. add the chili flakes, fennel seeds and chickpeas to the pan and season with more salt and pepper. reduce the heat to medium and let the chickpeas fry (be careful, they will sputter a little bit), stirring occasionally, until they’re slightly crisp and turn a deep golden brown in places, about 10 minutes. if the pan is ever looking dry, add a tablespoon more olive oil.

4. in the meantime, add the butter for the eggs to a small nonstick pan over medium heat, then crumble in the feta in two rough circles. once the feta has started to melt, crack the eggs in the center of the feta circles, season with black pepper and fry until the whites have set and the feta has gone crisp and golden, about 3-5 minutes. if you don’t like runny egg yolks, flip them and let cook another minute on the other side.

5. divide the crispy, fennel-y chickpeas evenly between two rimmed plates or bowls. top each plate with an egg and garnish with some herbs. serve with a spritz of lemon juice or a spoonful of labneh or yogurt.