It’s finally here. The chill we expect to arrive mid-September may be late, but it has come. The best part about the first weeks of cold is the slow, steady transition from fresh, summery nibbles to hearty, warming winter fare. While my mind and belly are not quite ready for heavy braises of winter, I welcome a quick, cozy stew to get me in the mood.

Enter Mina Stone’s spicy chickpea stew. The recipe is easy and painless, but has enough depth and complexity in its flavors that anyone could be tricked into believing you’d spent hours laboring over your stove. As with any stew, this continues to get tastier as the days pass, so make a big batch and revisit it every day or so for dinner. Zursun’s garbanzo beans are perfect for this dish. They’re smaller than the average bean and pack more flavor and a tender texture that is truly irresistible. I keep these well stocked in my pantry just for this recipe, but they’re also amazing for hummus or pasta e ceci.

Mina recommends serving with a dollop of plain yogurt, which is delicious, but I’ve found another source to create a creamy, thick texture. The tomato base has an uncanny resemblance to the base of shakshuka, so it felt almost necessary to stir in an egg yolk upon serving. Being that a yolk is chiefly fat, it melted into the tomato easily and created a thicker, creamier texture in seconds.

You’re in charge of stew, so add whatever your heart desires. But make it often, it’ll go perfectly with your favorite wool socks and over sized sweaters.

Mina Stone’s Spicy Chickpea Stew
Serves 8-10

• 16 ounces dried chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 jalapenos, finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Egg yolks or Greek yogurt, for serving

Soak the chickpeas in plenty of water overnight, or for at least 6 hours. When you are ready to make the stew, drain the chickpeas in a colander and rinse them well. Leaving them in the colander, dust the chickpeas with the baking soda (which serves as a tenderizer) and then toss them to incorporate the baking soda, using your hands. Let the chickpeas sit for 30 minutes and then rinse them very well, 3 or 4 times, in order to remove all the baking soda.

Place the chickpeas in large, heavy pot filled with enough water to barely cover them. Bring the chickpeas to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 20 minutes. The chickpeas will start to give off a white froth. Skim this 2 or 3 times, and then don’t worry about it.

Cover and simmer until the chickpeas are very tender but not falling apart, about 30 to 40 more minutes. Meanwhile, generously drizzle some olive oil into a medium saute pan. Add the onions, garlic, and jalapeno to the pan. Saute over medium-high heat until everything is just starting to soften, about a minute or two. Add a generous pinch of salt and then add the bay leaves, cumin seeds, coriander, hot red pepper flakes, and chopped parsley. Saute the onion mixture until it is soft and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and stir, cooking sauce for another 5 minutes.

When the chickpeas are done, remove enough of the cooking water so that the top layer of chickpeas is dry (think 2 inches of water below the chickpeas). Add the onion/tomato mixture to the chickpeas and give a good stir. There should be just enough liquid to barely cover the top of the chickpeas; add more water if necessary. Simmer for about 30 minutes so that all the ingredients meld together. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed. Serve with an egg yolk or a spoonful of Greek yogurt in every bowl.

Recipe adapted from Mina Stone: Cooking for Artists.

Some ingredients serve one perfect purpose. Not bitters. As the excitement over expertly crafted cocktails continues to skyrocket, a variety of bitters are slowly making their way into my home and kitchen. If there’s an open bottle of bitters lying around, you can bet I’ll start playing with it in my food. I’ve had a few missteps in the beginning, but I can safely say I’ve got my sealegs now and am prepared to share my first bitters recipes.

Bitters are great in the kitchen. I crave complexity and depth in everything I make, so bitters are a natural addition to my pantry. Aroma and flavor—it’s all in that little bottle that packs a powerful punch. Though it’s not a new idea to introduce bitters to your cooking, it’s still sparsely used in cookbooks and cooking magazines. The easiest place to start is with Addition. Here are Matt’s words about Addition:

“Addition Cocktail Spice is just what the name implies: spice for cocktails. The company’s products are similar to bitters in terms of aromatic potency, but have no bittering agents. While most are simply single-ingredient tinctures, try hunting down better ingredients and getting a better extraction than the spice geeks at Addition.

Some of these spices, such as the Pink Pepper and Turmeric, are useful primarily as aromatics, since they have big noses but subtle flavor. Others, such as the Black Pepper and Piri Piri, offer a lot more heat and flavor than they do aromatics. Still more spices, like Cardamom, Garlic, Rosemary, and Thai Chili, have a big impact on both nose and mouth.”

Cardamom, you say? That is relevant to my interests, especially with the cold weather blowing in recently. I yearn for the comfort of warm baking spices, and cardmom is one of my favorites. Since Addition’s tinctures offer a singular, strong flavor, I wanted to add this to a tart with a perfect crust and a fun, flavored pastry cream. I settled on mixing chestnuts and cardamom, I’m calling it my Sayonara Summer Tart. We’re welcoming in the cold seasons here, friends, and this is the tastiest way to do so. Sweet tart pastry dough is the base for a lightly sweetened combination of pastry cream and chestnut cream, with a generous helping of Addition Cardamom, for comfort’s sake.

Chesnut and Cardamom Tart
Serves 8-12

Sweet tart dough:

• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Mix well, stirring and folding until there are no dry patches. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight, until firm. Roll dough out and press into a 10-inch tart shell pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until it begins to brown.

Chestnut pastry cream:

• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup chestnut cream (substitute pureed chestnuts and sugar simple syrup if unavailable)
• 1 teaspoon Addition Cardamom Cocktail Spice

Mix the sugar and egg yolks together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and cornstarch to the the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste.

Bring the milk just to boiling. Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the egg mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 – 60 seconds until it becomes thick. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the chestnut cream and Addition tincture. Spread over cooled tart shell. Serve at room temperature.

Shop the market for bitters