We are a takeout family. I can’t lie to you. But we’re also not made out of money (NYC is expensive, yall!), so sometimes, we have to turn to our kitchen and get to cooking. Though I don’t spend a ton of my time cooking, I do subscribe to New York Times Cooking—I like to look at recipes, alright? It’s called “fantasizing.” I generally do my browsing casually, saving recipes as I go, sometimes with the intention of actually making them.
Fortunately, there are a couple of things that we always have in the house, so when I found the recipe for the Cheesy White-Bean Tomato Bake, I was able to make it quite easily. But it wasn’t until I found the Easy Skillet Cheesy Chickpeas recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking that I found a way to turn the humble chickpea into a substitute for my very favorite NY pizza.
Cheesy Chickpea Tomato Bake
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion large
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 cans chickpeas 15 oz, rinsed and drained
- 1 jar tomato sauce 24 oz
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- ¼ cup boiling water
- ½ pound fresh mozzerella sliced
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 1 bunch fresh basil leaves torn
Instructions
- Chop a large yellow onion into 1 inch chunks. Try not to cry. Set them aside.
- Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof skillet (I use a 12-inch cast-iron) and add the onion to the skillet. Cook them down until the onions begin to caramelize and smell fragrant.
- Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and fry lightly, about 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn anything!
- Add the chickpeas, marinara, and a little water. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Top with mozzarella. I like to cut up the rounds and through the blobs of cheese all over the top. Transfer the skillet to the top rack of the oven and throw on that broiler. It's ready when the cheese is browning and the dish is bubbling—about 5 minutes?
- Remove the skillet from the oven and scatter the ripped basil leaves on top. Serve with warm baked bread.