Don Diego's Sopa de garbanzos con atún

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 500 g chickpeas, dried (soaked overnight)
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 tbsp oil (sunflower oil)
• 1 large onion(s), finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 2 bell peppers, red or green, diced
• 1 stalk(s) leek, cut into rings
• 250 g tuna, from the can, drained
• 120 g rice
• 1 tsp sauce, ají (pepper sauce)
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Rest period approx. 1 day; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 1 hour 25 minutes

Peruvian chickpea stew with highland tuna

In the late 1970s, I visited a German doctor in the Peruvian Andean highlands. He ran a medical clinic there and also rented out a few rooms to curious tourists. The days spent with him were a culinary experience, even though the food supply was quite limited. The Indian cooks had access to fresh produce from the garden and the storable stocks from the in-house mini-market, including dried chickpeas and tuna, which had reached the Andean highlands upstream in their own tin boat – two of the main ingredients for this recipe. Otherwise, everything on the hospital grounds that wasn’t registered as a passing guest or sick person went into the pot, which is how I became acquainted with a guinea pig ragout. But that would be a completely different recipe… After this preface, the soaking time for the chickpeas is largely over, and the soaking water can be drained. Place the chickpeas in a large pot with two liters of water and bay leaves and cook until tender. This should take about 45 minutes if the chickpeas have been soaked. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan and sauté the chopped onion and garlic. Add the diced tomatoes and sauté over low heat for 10 minutes. Then add the diced bell peppers and leek to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes. Finally, add the shredded tuna and mix everything well. Add the contents of the pan to the chickpeas, stir, and simmer for another 10 minutes. The penultimate step is to stir in the (uncooked) rice. Allow it to swell until tender, which takes another 15 minutes. All that remains is to salt and spice the dish with black pepper and peppercorn sauce to your taste, before lining up behind the chef with plates and spoons in hand.