Chopped Chickpeas Sandwich With Roasted Red Peppers, Black Olives, Lemon Confit, and Parsley

By Jaclyn

Ingredients

• Marinated Chickpeas:
• 2 cups marinated chickpeas
• 8 slices bread
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers
• 4 tablespoons pitted and chopped Nicoise olives
• 12 slices lemon confit
• 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups dried chickpeas, or 4 cups drained canned chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, quartered
• 1 celery stalk, cut in half, plus 1 cup finely diced celery
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and halved
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup finely diced red onion
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 garlic gloves, crushed and peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped peperoncini, or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, or 1 tablespoon dried Sicilian oregano
• 1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Zest and lemon juice from 1 lemon
• Lemon Confit:
• 12 lemons
• 5 shallots, peeled and minced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2/3 cup kosher salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 About 4 cups extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

Step 1

Marinated Chickpeas:
1. If using dried chickpeas, soak the chickpeas in water overnight and drain.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the yellow onion, celery stalk, and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables begin to color. Add rosemary and the thyme sprigs to the vegetables. Add the chickpeas (soaked dried or canned) and enough water to cover by 2 inches.
3. Bring to a gentle simmer and reduce the heat to medium-low. Season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 1 1/2 hours, until the chickpeas are soft.
4. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside to cool completely. Drain, discarding the vegetables and herbs.
5. In a bowl, combine the red onion and vinegar, and set aside for 15 minutes.
6. Drain the onion and transfer to a large bowl. Add the diced celery, garlic, peperoncini, chickpeas, remaining 2 sprigs of rosemary, oregano, parsley, remaining 1 cup oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, making sure to turn the mixture a couple of times while marinating.
7. Allow the salad to come to room temperature before serving. Keeps well if refrigerated up to 3 to 4 days.

Lemon Confit:
Plunge the lemons into a pot of boiling water (this softens any outer layer of wax). Drain, rinse, then wipe the lemons clean.
Dry the lemons, then slice them very thin. Discard the ends and remove and discard the seeds.
In a small bowl, combine the shallots with the garlic. In another bowl, mix the salt with the sugar.
1. Arrange a layer of lemon slices in the bottom of a medium container with a lid, making sure not to overlap the slices. Sprinkle the lemons first with a little shallot mixture, then with some salt and sugar mixture. Repeat, layering lemons in stacks and sprinkling them with the shallot and salt mixtures until the final lemon slices are topped with the last of the salt and shallot mixtures. As you carefully layer the lemons, layer in stacks.
2. Cover the container and refrigerate for 3 days, flipping the stacks halfway through the process, allowing all the lemon to cure evenly.
3. Remove and drain the lemons in a strainer for 15 minutes or so. Discard the liquid. Pack the drained lemons tightly in a jar or other clean container and top off with oil, making sure to cover all the lemons. The confit can be used immediately or kept in the refrigerator for at least a month.

SANDWICH:
1. In a food processor, coarsely chop the marinated chickpeas, until they're spreadable but still chunky. Evenly spread the chickpeas over 4 of the bread slices.
2. Top with the roasted peppers, olives, lemon confit, and parsley, in that order, and season with pepper.
3. Top with the remaining 4 slices of bread, cut into halves, and serve.