Calabrian Chile Roasted Vegetables + Chickpea Salad

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Calabrian chile paste has become one of the ingredients du jour at pizzerias where pizza is taken very seriously. Hailing from the Calabria region of Italy, this pepper adds a surprising amount of heat to dishes so take note if you are not wildly fond of spicy meals. There is both a sweet and a spicy version of Calabrian pepper, which I learned the hard way. Let’s just say that not paying attention to what I was grabbing out of the pantry led to a soup that was deemed too spicy by someone who won’t travel without hot sauce or red pepper flakes in her bag. 

Cooking the chickpeas with a chile de arbol infuses a subtle heat into the beans, which is lovely but the dish will still work without it. By roasting the vegetables we develop the natural sweetness in the fennel and the onion while increasing the umami flavor in the mushrooms. Both of these tastes provide a wonderful base for the Calabrian chile to really shine.

Ingredients

• 1 c dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 dried chile de arbol (optional)
• 3 tsp salt, divided
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 1 medium fennel bulb, cored and sliced
• 6-8 oz mushrooms (shiitake, beech, maitakes, oysters, etc), sliced or torn depending on the type you select
  
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Calabrian chile paste
• ½ medium head radicchio, chopped
• ½ medium lemon, juiced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Transfer to a medium saucepan along with bay leaf, chile de arbol and 1 tsp of salt. Add water until the chickpeas are covered by about 1 ½ -2”. Cover with a lid and cook over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender, about 25-30 minutes. Drain and set aside. Compost chile and bay leaf.
   
3. In a large bowl add onion, fennel and mushrooms, 2 Tbsp of olive oil, Calabrian chile paste and 1 tsp of salt. Stir to combine and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. The vegetables will have wilted in size and browned slightly.
4. Combine chickpeas, roasted vegetables and radicchio together in a large bowl. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp of olive oil, the remaining 1 tsp salt and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serves 4-6