Mediterranean Chickpeas

Publication day was Tuesday. May 14, 2024. "What the Seasons Do" by Ryan Gallagher, published by Bozeman Mountain Press, on shelves and available for order and in the world.

I woke at four-thirty and couldn't get back to sleep, which hadn't happened in years. Not anxious — more like the feeling before something begins that you've been preparing for and which has arrived and is now simply present. I made coffee and sat on the porch in the dark and thought about the morning I sent the proposal to Sarah, about the first chapter I ever finished, about the five a.m. mornings and the November deadline and the galley proofs on the passenger seat. All of it led here. The here that is just a Tuesday in May with the coffee hot and the stars still visible and a book with my name on it in stores from Billings to Missoula.

Sarah called at eight to say the Montana Booksellers Association had selected it as a Featured Debut for May, which she explained meant a recommendation to all member stores in the state. Forty-seven stores. She said: "This is very good news." I told her I didn't entirely understand what it meant. She said: "It means people will find it." That's all I wanted. That it be findable.

I told Patrick at breakfast. He had a copy in front of him — he'd been re-reading the dedication page again, which I noticed and didn't mention — and he looked up and said "well, it's out." I said yes. He said "how does it feel?" I told him it felt like dropping something large and hearing it land. He nodded, as though that was exactly what he'd expected me to say. Maybe it was.

Linda texted at noon: "Reading it right now. Derek would have loved it. I love it." Margaret called in the evening and cried a little and then apologized for crying and I told her she was allowed. Cole texted a photo of a copy at the Lewistown library. Tom didn't call or text. He sent a postcard. It said: "I told you." That's the whole thing. I told you.

Pasta with butter and herbs for dinner, simple and certain, the same meal I've made on evenings when I needed to feel that I had done something right. I ate it at the kitchen table with the book in front of me. May, and the book is real. May, and I am thirty-eight years old and the seasons have done their work.

I’ve made versions of this dish on the evenings that mattered — not the loud ones, but the ones that arrive quietly and ask you to just sit with them. After a day like May 14th, with the coffee and the stars and Patrick and the postcard that said everything in three words, I didn’t want anything elaborate. I wanted something warm and certain, something that smelled like a kitchen that had been used well. Mediterranean chickpeas — olive oil and garlic, tomatoes going soft, the lemon cutting through at the end — is exactly that kind of meal. It doesn’t celebrate loudly, and that felt right.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 cans (15 oz each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, with juices
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Crusty bread or warm pita, for serving

Instructions

Warm the oil. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 60 to 90 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant but not browned.
Build the base. Add the drained chickpeas to the skillet and stir to coat them in the garlic oil. Cook for 3 minutes, letting the chickpeas begin to toast slightly at the edges.
Add tomatoes and broth. Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juices and the vegetable broth. Stir in the oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.
Simmer. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, then reduce to medium-low. Cook uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces and the sauce thickens slightly around the chickpeas.
Finish with greens and lemon. Add the fresh spinach in two handfuls, stirring each in until just wilted, about 2 minutes total. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
Serve. Spoon into shallow bowls and top with crumbled feta and fresh parsley. Serve warm with crusty bread or pita alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Mediterranean Chickpeas — The Meal That Marks the Days When You’ve Done Something Right