Chickpea stew with rhubarb and jaggery

Side Vegetarian

Serves 4 as a side

Prep 10 min

Cook 30 min

The Persian approach to cooking—balancing sweet, sour, and savoury—feels like it was made for rhubarb. Inspired by Najmieh Batmanglij’s Food of Life, this rhubarb khoresh is a vibrant take on the classic Persian stew.

Slow-cooked onions, a forest of herbs, and chickpeas create a rich base, while the rhubarb, added at the very end, softens just enough to melt in your mouth while holding its bright pink shape. A touch of jaggery (or any dark sugar) rounds out the sharpness, and it’s best served with buttered rice or soft pita.

It’s also the perfect dish to rescue any tired parsley or mint hiding in your fridge—because every herb deserves a second chance.

Ingredients

120ml	olive oil
1	large onion (200g), finely sliced
4	garlic cloves, finely sliced
20g	ginger, peeled and finely grated
1	jalapeno, finely chopped, deseeded if you like less heat
150g	parsley, stalks finely chopped and leaves roughly chopped
30g	picked mint (left whole)
1 tsp	ground turmeric
1 tsp	ground cumin
1 jar	chickpeas (700g), drained
800ml	chicken or vegetable stock
15g	jaggery or palm sugar finely grated
150g	rhubarb, trimmed, cut in half lengthways then cut into 2.5cm pieces
TO SERVE
	buttered rice
	Fine sea salt and black pepper

Method

Place the oil in a shallow cast iron or saute pan, on medium-high heat. Once hot, add in the onion and cook for 10-12 minutes, until deeply caramelised.
Stir in the garlic and ginger, cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then stir in the jalapeno, parsley, mint, turmeric and cumin. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until dark and wilted, then add in the chickpeas, stock, jaggery, ¾ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper.
Stir well, cover with a lid ( lower the heat to medium if it's bubbling too violently) and cook for 15 minutes, until slightly thickened.
Remove the lid, reduce the heat to medium, smoosh some of the chickpeas with a fork to thicken the sauce slightly, then stir in the rhubarb. Cook for 2-3 minutes until just starting to soften, take off the heat and set aside covered for 5 minutes.
Serve hot alongside some rice.