chickpea

Spicy Plant-Based Potato and Chickpea Stew from SkinnyMs.com (Vegan)

January 14, 2014 by Veronica Grace

I have another great recipe to share with you from SkinnyMs.com that is right up your alley! Sometimes I just cannot decide what I would rather go for at night – potatoes or chickpeas… Well good news! This recipe has both so it’s hearty, filling yet still incredibly healthy and whole food based. Really you can’t go wrong and what’s even better is that is’s quick and easy to make.

I am still freezing my butt off in Canada and all I can think of is making warm easy meals that can do away with my chills. You know the ones you get when you spend all day working on your computer 🙁 Although I looove having a slow cooker, sometimes I am just not that organized in the morning so having fast stove top recipes REALLY is a lifesaver. Just toss it together and voila! A one pot wonder!!

So now that I’ve got you all excited and hungry you have try this recipe and let me know what you think! P.S. Did I mention it’s gluten free as too 🙂

Spicy Plant-Based Potato and Chickpea Stew (Vegan)

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon curry powder, preferably hot
2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes with juices (I use Muir Glen Organics)
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed (you can also try yams or sweet potatoes!)
2 cups homemade vegetable broth (or low sodium)
2 15 ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish

Stove top Directions: (Provided by LowFatVeganChef.com)

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions {and dry sauté or use a little water}. Cook until the onions are soft. Add the garlic and spices and cook for another minute until very fragrant.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to a medium heat and cook for 15-25 minutes (depending on the size of your potatoes) or just until the potatoes are tender.

3. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Garnish with cilantro.

Slow Cooker Directions: (Provided by SkinnyMs.com)

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions {and dry sauté or use a little water}. Cook until the onions are soft. Add the garlic and spices and cook for another minute until very fragrant.

2. Transfer this mixture to your slow cooker and add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and cook over low heat until potatoes are tender and slightly thickened.

3. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Serve topped with the chopped cilantro.

{This recipe was edited to omit the oil used in cooking to be in line with my reader’s preferences}

Thank you to SkinnyMs.com for allowing me to share this recipe with you!

Creamy Plant-Based Coconut Kale and Chickpea Curry Recipe (Vegan)

November 5, 2013 by Veronica Grace 18 Comments

I had a really bad craving for a creamy plant-based chickpea curry recipe – BUT I still wanted to make sure it wasn’t too decadent so this turned out to be a wonderful compromise. I usually make an all tomato based chickpea curry aka Chana Masala, but I wanted to step out of the box a little, not to mention I had a ton of kale sitting in the fridge. I thought about serving it on the side, but you know what? Kale goes extremely well in a creamy curry sauce too so in it went into the curry!

I used light coconut milk in this recipe, but I do limit the frequency I use coconut milk in my recipe due to the higher fat content. If preferred you can use another plant based milk instead, I just really enjoy a hint of coconut flavour in this curry.

There’s also a special spice mix I blended up which was a nice change from regular old curry powder or garam masala mixes. I like trying something different! So if you can find these whole spices give it a try and use a coffee grinder and make your own spice mix it’s really fast and easy too (not to mention cheaper to make your own spice mixes once you’ve bought your whole spices).

This was a fun recipe to make and it’s definitely going into my regular repertoire, the leftovers were fantastic for lunch the next day too!

(Vegan) Creamy Coconut Kale and Chickpea Curry

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 large onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons (roughly) fresh ginger chunks, peeled and minced
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 16 oz can light coconut milk (or substitute another plant based milk)
2 1/2 tbsp spice mix (recipe below)
4-5 tbsp brown sugar or maple syrup *or as desired
1 tsp salt *or to taste
6 cups fresh cooked or 3 15 oz cans of chickpeas, drained
1 bunch of kale destemmed and chopped

Directions:

1. In a large deep skillet, wok or pot sauté the onions, garlic and ginger dry or in a little water or vegetable broth for 5-6 minutes until translucent and fragrant.
2. Add tomatoes and cook until softened about 10 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and onions to a food processor or Vitamix along with coconut milk and blend until pureed.
4. Add remaining ingredients and simmer together until the kale is softened. Taste test and adjust seasonings as desired.
5. Serve with rice or Indian flat bread.

Spice Mix

3 tsp whole cumin seeds
3 tsp whole coriander seeds
2 star anise
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1 green cardamom pod
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp roasted or regular cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a dry skillet toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, star anise and black pepper corns until fragrant. Be careful to not burn them and remove once lightly toasted and fragrant.
2. Add to a spice grinder with remaining spices and combine until powdered.
3. Store in an spice jar and use as desired in curries.

What’s your favourite curry recipe and what do you serve it with?

Vegan Quinoa Chickpea Pilaff

November 26, 2012 by Veronica Grace 18 Comments

Quinoa is all the rage now, and so are quinoa salads and pilaffs. There are hundreds of ways to season quinoa and you don’t have to just eat it plain on the side. If you find cooking quinoa properly still a challenge, check out my post How To Cook Quinoa Perfectly to make sure your next batch turns out amazing.

This time I decided to mix things up and make my quinoa a little different. A heartier side filled with chickpeas, carrots, onions and celery. This would work as a warm side dish, a cold salad, or you can make it a meal by adding some sautéed tofu, tempeh or soy curls on top as well.

To get those pretty colours I used both white and red quinoa in this dish. Feel free to use either, I just like the look of multicoloured quinoa for some variety. This recipe makes a lot so it’s great for leftovers you can keep in the fridge or freezer for a quick meal or snack later on as well.

Quinoa Chickpea Pilaf

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups quinoa (I used 1 cup white and 1/2 cup red)
3 cups/709.76 ml low sodium vegetable broth
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 15 oz./425g can of chickpeas
2-3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or GF tamari)
2 tsp roasted cumin (ground)
1/2 tsp roasted coriander (ground)
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
2 tsp Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute (or other salt free seasoning mix) *optional

Directions:

1. Sauté the onions, carrots and celery in 1/2 cup of broth for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute and add the chickpeas.

2. Add remaining broth to a medium pot, quinoa, seasonings and saucepan ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low (about 3 on the burner) and cook covered for 25 to 30 minutes until quinoa is cooked. (If you put it on very low, or 1, it probably won’t have enough heat to cook the quinoa because of the other ingredients.)

3. Stir as required to prevent sticking at the bottom.

4. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Have you ever had a quinoa pilaff? What’s your favorite way to season quinoa?