One-pan tomato-y shrimp and chickpeas

Deeply savory, saucy, and scrumptious in 30ish

Hello! Welcome back! Skip all the rambling and scroll right to the bottom of this post for a printer-friendly PDF of the recipe only.

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Tomatoes on toast, beans on toast, fish on toast — these are things that have been dominating my Instagram feed as of late. Every one more delicious and creative than the last, they’ve had me lusting for bites of crusty baguette or perfectly crisped-up sliced bread, preferably slathered with butter and topped with one or the other or maybe even all three.

So I started dreaming up what my ideal version of this meal would taste like. This, of course, evolved as the days passed and my cravings grew, into what eventually became today’s recipe: a very saucy, one-pan shrimp, tomato, and chickpea dish. Meant to be eaten on or with buttered bread, over the course of a luxurious afternoon or evening, preferably with good wine and even better company. Though eaten alone, greedily right out of the pan, is just as good.

Tell me more

The best part about this dish? How incredibly delicious it is. The second? One-pan, right around 30 minutes. My favorite kind of recipe.

We start by frying up shallots in a generous amount of olive oil until they are golden and caramelized, then add a whole lot of garlic to the mix and do the same. This imparts a deeply savory, umami flavor into the oil which permeates the whole dish. From there we add in lots of tomato-y goodness with a trio of tomatoes in the form of sun-dried, paste, and fresh. Lastly, chickpeas, white wine, and shrimp enter the mix and before you know it, you’re left with a hearty but light meal that is everything I love about summer.

Before we start

• The caramelization of the shallots and garlic is what really sets you up for success here. I know the temptation to crank up the heat and get steps like this over in a more timely manner is strong, but trust me when I say that low and slow will serve you so well here. Your kitchen will smell heavenly, and the final dish will be magnificent. Turning up the heat too high runs the risk of burning the shallots and/or garlic, which will add an acrid taste that’s no bueno.

• Opt for cleaned, shelled, tail-on shrimp here. I like to get them at my local fishmonger, where I have them remove the shells and devein the shrimp for me. They charge an extra couple of bucks per pound to do this but I will pay for convenience and quality any day of the week. I find that the ones that they sell with the shells on always look so much plumper and more appealing than the ones that are already cleaned and ready to go.

• Don’t like shrimp? This dish could easily be made vegetarian/vegan by omitting ‘em.

• This over bread was what I had in mind when developing the recipe, but you could just as easily serve it with potatoes, rice, or even toss it through some pasta. Chef’s choice.

• You can easily sub broth for the wine in this recipe. Opt for low-sodium if you do (or be mindful of the amount of salt you’re using to season throughout), and add a splash of vinegar as well (red wine, white wine, apple cider — anything you got that’s not overly sweet, like balsamic) to mimic the acidity of white wine.

The recipe

Cook time: 35 minutes