“Stew” and “August” seem so wrong in the same sentence but let me assure you that this summery Chickpea Stew feels perfectly right, right now!

Yes, you’re supposed to serve it warm (although you could of course eat it cold, standing in front of the fridge, not that I, ahem would know anything about that) but it’s light and full of seasonal veggies and will not in any way weigh you down.

Plus it comes together really easily on top of the stove which means you won’t be adding too much heat to your kitchen either.

And I don’t know about you—maybe it’s just knowing that fall is only a few weeks away, but I’m starting to crave some warm-weather food and this vegetarian/vegan pot of goodness kind of bridges the gap.

It’s wonderful just as it is, with something starchy like rice or pasta, to sop up the juices—

Or topped with a little drizzle of sour cream. YUM!!

All of a sudden “stew in August” is seeming mighty tempting, right?!

Chickpea Stew

Makes 5-6 servings

Prep Time: About 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large red onion, cut in half and sliced into thin, half moons

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 bell peppers, seeds and ribs removed, sliced thinly (I used one red and one yellow)

• 2 generous tablespoons tomato paste

• Kosher salt

• 3 medium zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces

• One ten ounce container grape tomatoes (you can use more—that’s just the size I had)

• Two 15-ounce cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• ¼ cup water

• 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• Sour cream for serving (optional)

• Rice, pasta or something starchy to sop up the juices (optional, but not really)

The Recipe

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large heavy pot with a lid (I used a Dutch oven). Add the onion, garlic, peppers, tomato paste and a large pinch of salt and let cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, until the veggies start to soften up.

2. Add in the zucchini, tomatoes, chickpeas, water and another pinch of salt and give everything a bit stir. Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a boil. Then cover the pot, lower the heat to medium-low and let everything cook for another 20-25 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the things are breaking down tender and the mixture looks like a stew. Remove from the heat, stir in the vinegar and season with more salt if necessary. Serve immediately with something starchy and top with a bit of sour cream if you like.

Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from Simply Julia by Julia Turshen. I tinkered with proportions and ingredients. Cut the oregano, added a package of grape tomatoes and subbed in a little sour cream for the parsley-lemon sauce she suggests serving with it—not that it needs any sauce at all—it’s super on its own.