Crock Pot Revithia

Wash your hands. You don’t want to give everyone swine flu, do you?

Soak chickpeas overnight, or use the quick-soak method, which starts with boiling water and lasts for about an hour. Add some salt to the soak water, and let sit for a few more minutes. “Massage” chickpeas vigorously to remove as many skins as possible. Skim these off and discard. I recommend spending no more than 10 minutes on this task. Drain, rinse, and allow to continue soaking while you prepare the rest.

Turn your crock pot on high and put in the olive oil. Chop onions Ree-style (root to tip, trim ends, peel, slice both ways) and add to the oil. Stir, cover, and allow to heat for about 30 minutes. Add drained chickpeas, tomato, herbs (to your taste, but at least a teaspoon of each) and garlic, and stir again.

Begin heating about 6 cups of water to a boil in a separate container (an electric kettle comes in handy here). When boiling, add enough to cover all ingredients in a crock pot plus a little more. Cover, and resist the urge to peek for the next few hours.

At serving time, stir in a little salt and the lemon juice and remove the bay leaves. In serving bowls, drizzle on a little more olive oil as a garnish.

Alternative preparation: soak chickpeas as above, removing the skins if you have time (it really does turn out better if you do). Dump everything in the pot except the lemon and salt. Turn crockpot on high with a little extra water, and leave the house for many hours. Stir in lemon and salt prior to serving.