Spanish chickpea stew with roast peppers

I LOVE making stews using the beautiful flavours of Spain. The heavenly combination of paprika and roasted peppers provides a rich colour as well as phytochemicals (plant chemicals) that lower inflammation, which can contribute to the development of diseases such as cancer. This dish also contains high amounts of the antioxidant lycopene, released from the tomatoes with longer cooking. This simple, quick dish takes very little effort and every mouthful is nutritious. Serve the stew with sourdough bread, if you wish, to soak up the juices. SERVES 2 (WITH LEFTOVERS)

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 anchovy fillets in oil, drained, finely chopped (optional) ½ small red onion, finely diced 2 tsp sweet paprika ½ tsp or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes (according to taste)

150g roasted red peppers from a jar, finely chopped 150g celery stalks, thinly sliced 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed 200g plum tomatoes, chopped 200ml vegetable stock Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 tbsp full-fat Greek yoghurt (optional), to serve

15g basil leaves, roughly torn, to serve

HEAT the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic, anchovies (if using) and onion and fry for 2 minutes until softened, then add the paprika, chilli flakes, red peppers and celery. Cook for another 5 minutes before adding the chickpeas, tomatoes and vegetable stock. Season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Divide the stew between large bowls and serve with a dollop of yoghurt, a drizzle of oil and torn basil leaves.

DOCTOR’S ORDERS: Adding 25g thinly sliced chorizo to the pan with the garlic and onions is an amazing way to introduce spicy, deep, earthy flavours without using too much meat. Chorizo is a processed meat, but there are good-quality chorizo producers that do not use potassium nitrate or other preservatives — I always opt for those.