013Slow-baked chickpeas

Method

Sifnos-style clay pot revithada. Serve warm with crusty village bread, black olives, and salted sardines or feta on the side.

You will need

• Dutch oven or lidded clay baker
• parchment paper
• wooden spoon

1. Preheat a conventional oven to 150°C (300°F). 150°C / 300°F
2. In a heavy clay pot with a tight lid or an enamelled Dutch oven, combine the drained soaked chickpeas, sliced onions, garlic, bay leaves, dried oregano, sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil. 5 min Ready when: Ingredients thoroughly tossed in the oil
3. Pour in enough water just to barely cover the chickpeas by about 1 centimetre, taking care not to drown them. 2 min Ready when: Liquid level just sitting over the pulses
4. Cover the pot tightly with a layer of baking parchment, foil, and the lid to trap all steam, then place it in the lower half of the oven. 2 min · 150°C / 300°F Ready when: Steam is completely sealed in
5. Bake undisturbed for 5 to 6 hours until the chickpeas are entirely butter-soft, the onions have melted into the liquor, and the broth is creamy and golden. 330 min · 150°C / 300°F Ready when: Chickpeas crush effortlessly between two fingers
6. Uncover the pot, stir in the fresh lemon juice, taste and adjust seasoning, then let rest for 15 minutes before ladling into shallow bowls. 15 min Ready when: Broth has settled and emulsified with the oil

Tap a step to tick it off.

Make ahead and storing

Improves substantially on resting; bake the day before and reheat gently over low heat.

Keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days; freezes well for up to 3 months.

Substitutions

• small white beans (fasolia) for dried chickpeas. Cooking time will be slightly reduced, yielding a rich slow-baked bean stew.

Common mistakes

• Adding too much water to the pot. It results in a thin, watery broth rather than the unctuous, emulsified sauce prized in Sifnos.
• Rushing the bake at a high oven temperature. Chickpeas cooked too quickly will burst on the outside while remaining chalky inside.

Regional variants

• Sifnos red revithada (adding a spoonful of tomato paste or sweet red pepper)
• Paros revithada (frequently flavoured with fresh rosemary sprigs instead of bay)

About the dish

Revithada is the emblematic Sunday dish of Sifnos and the wider Cyclades. Historically, housewives sealed dried chickpeas, onions, water, and generous quantities of local olive oil into a clay pot called a skepastaria. On Saturday evening, these pots were brought to the village baker's wood-fired oven, which was cooling down after bread-baking. Left overnight to simmer gently in the residual heat, the pots were collected after church on Sunday, revealing tender pulses immersed in an unctuous, naturally thickened broth.

Found in Cyclades, Dodecanese. Cooked for sunday lunch, everyday, summer, lent.

Cousins elsewhere

• Msabbaha (Levantine). Both celebrate slow-cooked chickpeas with plenty of olive oil and lemon, though revithada is baked until melting rather than mashed warm.
• Zuppa di ceci (Italian). A parallel Mediterranean rustic pulse preparation, though the Italian soup usually relies on rosemary and soffritto.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

554 kcal · protein 18.1 g · fat 28.1 g (saturated 3.7 g) · carbohydrate 60.8 g (sugars 12.2 g) · fibre 11.6 g · sodium 613 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Following the Cycladic tradition of overnight wood-oven baking in unglazed clay pots..

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