-
1
Wash your hands.
-
2
You dont want to give everyone swine flu, do you?
-
3
Soak chickpeas overnight, or use the quick-soak method, which starts with boiling water and lasts for about an hour.
-
4
Add some salt to the soak water, and let sit for a few more minutes.
-
5
Massage chickpeas vigorously to remove as many skins as possible.
-
6
Skim these off and discard.
-
7
I recommend spending no more than 10 minutes on this task.
-
8
Drain, rinse, and allow to continue soaking while you prepare the rest.
-
9
Turn your crock pot on high and put in the olive oil.
-
10
Chop onions Ree-style (root to tip, trim ends, peel, slice both ways) and add to the oil.
-
11
Stir, cover, and allow to heat for about 30 minutes.
-
12
Add drained chickpeas, tomato, herbs (to your taste, but at least a teaspoon of each) and garlic, and stir again.
-
13
Begin heating about 6 cups of water to a boil in a separate container (an electric kettle comes in handy here).
-
14
When boiling, add enough to cover all ingredients in a crock pot plus a little more.
-
15
Cover, and resist the urge to peek for the next few hours.
-
16
At serving time, stir in a little salt and the lemon juice and remove the bay leaves.
-
17
In serving bowls, drizzle on a little more olive oil as a garnish.
-
18
Alternative preparation: soak chickpeas as above, removing the skins if you have time (it really does turn out better if you do).
-
19
Dump everything in the pot except the lemon and salt.
-
20
Turn crockpot on high with a little extra water, and leave the house for many hours.
-
21
Stir in lemon and salt prior to serving.
