Can I Use A Different Sherry For Chickpeas With Rocket and Sherry?

Our answer

Nigella's Chickpeas With Rocket (arugula) And Sherry (from Nigella Express) is a quick side dish and the sherry forms a slightly thickened sauce around the chickpeas and wilted greens. So the sherry is an important flavour component of the dish, along with the cumin. Cream sherry is a dark, sweet sherry that is usually made from blending a dry sherry (such as Oloroso) with a very sweet sherry (such as Pedro Ximenez).

If you have other sherries around the you could use a dry sherry and add a pinch or two of soft dark brown sugar instead. You may need to taste the dish a couple of times and adjust the sweetness to your own taste. For preference we would suggest using a dry Oloroso or Amontillado sherry. Otherwise another sweet fortified wine such as a sweet Marsala or a sweet Madiera would be the closest substitutes. Again if you only have the dry versions of Marsala or Madiera then use one of these with a pinch of sugar, as above. All fortified wines keep well in the storecupboard and so it is useful to have a bottle around for cooking.