Langoustines with Chickpeas and Cumin Recipe

Ingredients

250g dried chickpeas olive oil
1 onion, very finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 level teaspoon cumin seeds
500ml water
100ml extra virgin olive oil
16-20 raw langoustines 
Lemon juice, to taste a handful of chopped coriander leaves

Method

1. Soak the chickpeas in plenty of water overnight, so that they will soften and cook properly, then drain and rinse.
2. Take a large pan and heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion, garlic and cumin seeds and sauté gently for a few minutes until the onions and garlic have softened. Add the drained chickpeas and pour in the water (don't salt it, as salt will toughen the skins of the chickpeas and make them wrinkly). Bring to a vigorous boil, then turn down the heat, skimming off any frothy scum, and simmer for around 2 hours, until the chickpeas are tender. As they cook, they will soak up the water and swell up, so add more water if necessary. Drain, return to the pan and stir in the extra virgin olive oil.
3. Preheat the grill.
4. Bring another pan of salted water to the boil, and have a bowl of iced water ready. Put the langoustines into the boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Drain immediately and refresh in the iced water. It is important to stop the cooking quickly at this point, otherwise the langoustines will turn disappointingly cotton-woolly in texture and lose flavour. Take off the heads and peel the tails.
5. Drizzle the tails with a little more olive oil, and flash quickly under the grill just to heat them through.
6. Season the chickpeas, add a little lemon juice and chopped coriander, and stir through. Serve in bowls, with the langoustines on top.