A little something healthy to get you through the December holiday season.
This is a great variation on chickpea spinach curry. We ate this as a stew accompanied by a salad but you could also serve it on mashed yams, rice, or as a wrap.
This recipe is from Rouxbe Cooking School which has great vegan and vegetarian recipes and beautiful instructional videos.
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1 whole lemon
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes*
2 cups cooked chickpeas (1 – 15 oz can)
1/2 tsp chili flakes (or to taste)
1 tbsp coconut oil**
1/2 lb fresh spinach*
1 – 14 oz can coconut milk
1 tsp ground ginger
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1/2 bunch cilantro (to garnish)
To prepare, first dice the onion and mince the garlic and ginger. Next, zest the lemon. Juice the lemon and reserve for later. Measure out the sun-dried tomatoes. *Note: If using sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, make sure to drain them first.
Lastly, drain (if using canned) and measure out the chickpeas. Rinse. Gather the chili flakes and coconut oil. *
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat and then add the oil, followed by the onions and a good pinch of salt. Let the onions sweat for about 10 minutes or until translucent. Once soft, add the garlic and ginger and let cook for another minute or so. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest and chili flakes. Let cook for another minute or so.
Next, add the chickpeas and stir to coat in the tomato mixture. At this point, turn up the heat slightly and sort of fry the chickpeas a bit. Keep an eye on them though so they don’t scorch. You just want them to have a little color. This should only take a few minutes.
Once the chickpeas are heated through, turn the heat down slightly and start to add the spinach, a handful at a time.
*Note: If using baby spinach you can add it as is. If you are using regular spinach, you will need to chop or tear it up a bit.
Once the first bunch of spinach has started to wilt, add in the next handful. Continue until all of the spinach has been added.
To finish the dish, add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Stir to combine and then add the ground ginger and a bit of the reserved lemon juice. Taste for seasoning. Add more lemon juice, salt and/or pepper as needed.
Once everything has heated through, serve immediately. The spinach will start to lose its color and it won’t look as nice. Serve it with brown rice or any grain of your choice. Garnish each plate with a healthy serving of fresh cilantro and enjoy!
Notes
You can add additional spices to this dish. For instance, if you are in the mood for curry flavors, try adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of curry powder or a nice masala mix. When adding spices, add them after the ginger and garlic. For added texture, you could also add ingredients such as water chestnuts or nuts at the end. Feel free to experiment to see what delicious combinations you come up with.
Check out the video on how to prepare this right here.
Thanks to Rouxbe for this great dish and to Dave for making it while I was away skating:)
http://rouxbe.com/recipes/4801-coconut-braised-chickpeas-w-spinach-sun-dried-tomatoes/text
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