Ingredients

• 1 cup or 14-ounces dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup pitted green olives
• Handful chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 8 slender carrots, with tops
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• 2 teaspoons cumin seed, lightly crushed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup or 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 lemon, halved
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 (4-ounce) halibut fillets
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. For the chickpeas: Soak the chickpeas in a bowl of cold water overnight. Drain and rinse, then put in a pot with the onion and bay leaf. Cover the beans, just with water. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, until very tender, about 45 minutes. Drain the beans, discarding the onion and bay leaf.
2. Heat the oil in a saute pan, and gently fry the garlic, 30 seconds. Add the chickpeas, salt, and pepper, to taste, to heat through. Crush a bit, here and there, with a potato masher, leaving some chickpeas whole. Remove from the heat, and stir in the olives, parsley, and lemon zest. Add lemon juice, to taste. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, and serve as a base for the fish or chicken.
3. For the carrots: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
4. Slice the carrots lengthwise, leaving a bit of green top attached, for looks. Toss on a baking sheet with the olive oil, crushed cumin seed, and salt and pepper, to taste. Roast until tender and golden-edged, about 30 minutes, depending on their size. They should be slightly crinkly and golden-edged.
5. For the halibut: Melt the butter in a saucepan, and cook until lightly brown and foaming. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, and set aside.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Season the fish with salt, and pepper on both sides, place the fish in the hot pan, and fry 4 minutes. Flip, and cover to finish, 4 to 6 minutes. Serve the fish with some brown butter dribbled over.
7. For plating: Spoon a small pile of the crushed chickpeas and olives on the plate. Add the fish to the plate and top with the roasted carrots.