Roasted chickpeas with sweet pepper and Za'atar

I think every girl knows those days in which you feel everything you'd like to do requires too much effort. When it happens to me (usually once a month...) I sit on the sofa, complaining about my uselessness, thinking of all the wonderful things I could do to make my day a successful one and feeling utterly sad about my lack of energy. Even reading a book or knitting a sweater won't do, because my mind is a total blur and focussing makes my head hurt. Eating is one of the things I feel I could commit myself to, but helas, lunch doesn't cook itself. So what to do? Of course, there are a lot of recipes that are quick and satisfying, like pasta or a pilaf, but I think there are few dishes so comforting as roasted chickpeas. Just remember to always keep some canned chickpeas in the cupboard and of course basic ingredients such as olive oil, tomato paste and onions. You can add any kind of vegetables you want or be creative with the spices you add! This version of roasted chickpeas is with long sweet peppers, a red onion, Za'atar and parsley, but eggplants are also very suitable for this dish. Just keep in mind that each kind of vegetable has its own cooking time, so where 20 minutes should do for the sweet peppers, the eggplants require half an hour, in which case the chickpeas will be crunchier. When I make the eggplant version, I usually add a little bit of water, because I don't like my chickpeas to be too dry. Ingredients, serves 2-3 - 2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I use the ones in a glass jar, because I use the jar for jam or chutney) - 4 long sweet peppers, cut in half (lengthwise) and then in 2 cm pieces (crosswise) - 1 large red onion, chopped - 1 tbsp of tomato paste - extra vergine olive oil - about 1 tbsp of Za'atar - a little bunch of parsley, chopped - salt and ground black pepper Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius. Arrange the chickpeas, peppers and chopped onion on a baking tray. Season with salt and black pepper, drizzle over a couple of spoons of olive oil, add the tomato paste and mix everything thoroughly with your clean hands. Finally, sprinkle the Za'atar over the chickpeas and cook in the oven for 20 minutes (30 minutes when using eggplant, don't forget to add a bit of water). Before serving, garnish the dish with some chopped parsley. Buon appetito!