Sometimes I throw things together not expecting much and without realising it I’ve invented something totally delicious. This is exactly what happened earlier this week. I’ve had a jar of Belazu zhoug paste in the cupboard for a while – I picked it up a while ago because it looked interesting but had no real idea what I’d used it for. Turns out, it’s perfect for chickpeas with spinach!
What on earth is zhoug paste?
So I had to google this. It’s a herby spicy paste made with green chilli, parsley, coriander and cloves which originated in Yemen and is often used in Israeli street food. As you might know, I love a good food origin story and Zhoug’s popularity in Isreal is a good one. According to Belazu it “became huge in Israel in the early 1950s, in the aftermath of “Operation on Wings of Eagles,” where 50,000 Yemenites were airlifted into Israel away from political persecution. They shared their cooking skills and a fresh approach; the rest is history”.
Ingredients (serves 2 as a side dish or 1 as a main course)
- 1 tin of drained chickpeas
- 2 plugs of frozen spinach or a handful of fresh spinach
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 1 small white onion
- Dash of olive oil
- 5-6 olives sliced
- 2 tbsp zhoug paste
- 1 tsp harissa paste
- Salt & pepper to season
Method
- Take your onion and garlic and slowly fry them on a medium heat in the olive oil for 1-2 minutes until starting to soften.
- Add the zhoug paste and harissa paste and stir for 5 minutes.
- Add the olives and chickpeas plus the spinach if using frozen. Allow to cook for around 20 minutes on a medium-low heat. You’re really just warming things through at this point.
- If using fresh spinach add it in the last few minutes and stir it whilst it wilts into the rest of the ingredients.
- Once hot and fragrant, it’s ready to serve. Season to taste and away you go! The zhoug really is the star of the show here.
Zhoug paste sounds like something I would love! I’ll definitely be making this. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, these chickpeas look magnificent! And that paste sounds delicious and definitely something I would love to give a try.
Spontaneous meals are the best most of the time. Thank you for the inspiration!
I’ve had this dish (without the spinach) in a middle eastern restaurant. Sounds inspired and definitely worth a try!
I’m hugely interested in the stories of food too, so I enjoyed learning about the Yemeni background to the popularity of this in Israel. I have a jar so I’ll be experimenting soon!
Not a huge fan of chickpeas but I love zhoug! Wonder if this could work w/ lentils though?
I was JUST about to google it, so I am glad you saved me the trouble 😉
This sounds so good. Anything with chickpeas is always right up my alley 🙂