Chickpea-Squash Stew served over Quinoa

Did you know that 2013 has been declared Year of the Quinoa?  As wonderful as quinoa is, it's a bit underrepresented on this blog.  Here's a recipe to change that. 

So colorful and healthy!

Recipe:     
Chickpea-Squash Stew served over Quinoa

• 4 cups cubed (1/2 inch) and peeled butternut squash 
• 1 1/3 cup quinoa
• 2 2/3 cup water
• Pinch of salt
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 onions, diced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup lite coconut milk
• 2 - 14 ounce cans petite diced tomatoes
• 2 - 14 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 green onions, chopped

First, boil the squash in a medium/large saucepan until just tender, about 15 minutes.  Drain, rinse, and set aside.  

 

Meanwhile, cook the quinoa.  Combine the quinoa and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed.  Then remove the quinoa from the heat, fluff with a fork, and cover to keep warm.

 

While the squash and quinoa are cooking, begin to cook the stew.  Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the onions and salt and cook until the onions begin to brown, about seven or eight minutes. Add the ginger and jalapeno and cook for two more minutes, stirring constantly. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Then add the coconut milk, tomatoes, chickpeas, and cooked squash and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is tender, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.

Ladle the stew over the quinoa and garnish with green onions before serving hot.  Yields 8 servings.

Comments:
Taste:            

We all enjoyed this colorful, flavorful dish.  The nuttiness of the quinoa and the heartiness of the squash and chickpeas make this a solid, everyday dish.  Plus, the coconut milk and jalapeno balance each other nicely. 

Accessibility:          

We didn't have trouble finding any of these ingredients at our standard grocery store. 

 Ease of Preparation:          

As long as you're sure to multitask by cooking the quinoa and squash at once, this dish doesn't take too long.  I find that it's easiest to dice the hard squash using a heavy chopping knife. 

Non-vegan friendliness:         

Simon noted that there's nothing missing from this dish; at the same time, he considers it more of a hearty side dish than a main dish.  I really like the aesthetics of this dish, and I'd be confident serving it to non-vegans, especially during fall!       

Koshari

I first had koshari--a popular Egyptian street food--while visiting my brother when he was studying abroad in Cairo.  This traditionally-vegetarian dish combines a bunch of staple foods into one, resulting in a satisfying, though starchy, meal. 

Koshari: So many components, so few vegetables.

Recipe:    
Koshari

• 1 - 14.5 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1.5 cups white rice (plus water to cover)
• 1.5 cups lentils (plus water to cook)
• 1 pinch salt, or to taste
• 1 pinch pepper, or to taste 
• 8 ounces ditalini pasta (plus water to cook)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 - 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter
• 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 small package or can French fried onions

 

First, marinate the chickpeas.  Combine the chickpeas, vinegar, and spices in a container with a tight-fitting lid.  Store the container in the refrigerator while preparing the rest of the dish, shaking occasionally to stir up the chickpeas.  

 

Next, in a small bowl, combine the rice with enough cold water to cover and allow to soak.  After 20 minutes, carefully drain the rice.   

 

Meanwhile, add the lentils to a medium saucepan and add enough water to more than cover the lentils.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring the lentils to a boil and cook until tender (about 30 minutes, depending on the type of lentils you use).  If all of the water is absorbed before they are finished cooking, add a bit more water. 

As the lentils cook, prepare the pasta according to package instructions.  When the pasta is done cooking, drain and set aside. 

As all of these ingredients cook, prepare the tomato sauce.  Heat the olive oil and garlic in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When the oil becomes hot, stir in the onion and sautè for about 5 minutes.  Add the crushed tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.  Reduce the heat to low and allow the sauce to simmer until the rest of the dish is ready. 

Once the rice has soaked for 20 minutes, you can begin to cook the rice.  Melt the vegan butter in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Add the rice to the pot and fry, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes.  (Don't be too concerned if the rice starts to stick--the vegetable broth will deglaze the pan).  Add the vegetable broth while stirring, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook until the liquid has been absorbed (about 18 minutes).

Finally, when all of these components are ready, mix the rice and lentils together.  To serve, spread the pasta over the rice and lentil mixture and top with chickpeas, tomato sauce, and the French-fried onions.

 

Yields 8 servings.

Comments:

Taste:          

This is a really tasty dish with a rich yet earthy flavor.  Ours came out a bit mushy (I think we overcooked the rice by a few minutes), but the chickpeas and French-friend onions add some nice textural variation.  Overall, it was a pretty heavy dish.  

Accessibility: 

This dish makes use of numerous easy to find staple foods.  It would be a great dish to make in the winter when high-quality fresh ingredients are scarce.

 Ease of Preparation:       

There are many pieces to the koshari puzzle, as you can see.  However, most of the ingredients can cook at the same time; or, you could even make the lentils, rice, and pasta a day in advance.  Once all of the components are cooked, the assembly is quite easy. 

Non-vegan friendliness:      

This dish is extremely substantive.  I wouldn't serve this as a one-pot meal, however, as it's quite blatantly missing vegetables of any kind. 

Falafel

As a vegan, falafel balls (Middle Eastern chickpea fritters) play a noteworthy role in my life.  Finding a satisfying vegan meal at a non-vegan restaurant can be challenging, but falafel often saves the day as one of the only vegan-friendly items on non-vegan menus.  I've tried to make falafel myself a few times in the past, but something always went wrong.  The balls would be too crumbly, usually, or it just wouldn't taste great.  Tonight, my luck turned.  We tried a new recipe for falafel and it yielded the BEST falafel I've ever made.  We ate it on pita with toppings, as you can see below.  Yum.

Falafel Balls

Falafel Pita

Recipe: 
Falafel

• 1 can chickpeas
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley (or more cilantro)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup flour
• peanut, vegetable, or olive oil, for frying
• Pita bread and any toppings you'd like

First, pulse together the chickpeas, onion, herbs, salt, red pepper flakes, garlic, and cumin in a food processor until blended but not puréed. (You could also mash the ingredients together by hand or with a potato masher.)  Add the baking powder and flour and pulse to combine.  The mixture should be able to form a small ball and hold its shape, so add more flour if needed.

Then, heat about an inch of oil on high heat in a large skillet or saucepan.  While the oil is heating, form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of golf balls.  Drip a tiny bit of water into the pan to see if the oil is hot: if the water sizzles, the oil is ready.  Place one ball into the oil to test--if it falls apart, add a little flour.  Then place the balls in the oil and allow them too cook for a few minutes before turning them over using tongs.  They should be golden brown.  Line a plate with paper towels and place the cooked falafel balls there when they're done.  

Serve hot on a pita with lettuce/tomato/red onion/hummus/hot sauce/tahini sauce/other toppings.  Yields 20 golf ball-sized balls.  

Comments:

Taste:      

These falafel balls were delicious.  They're crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the flavor is great.  None of the spices are overpowering, though there is a strong onion-y taste.  (You could reduce the amount of onion used, if you prefer.)  Of course, the fact that they are fried surely has something to do with their deliciousness.  I might try baking them next time to reduce the fat content. 

Accessibility:     

We used 1/2 cup cilantro as the only herb in the recipe in order to avoid buying whole bunches of both cilantro and parsley for just 1/4 cup of each.  You could also try using just parsley if that is more appealing to you.   

 Ease of Preparation:    

This is a really quick recipe.  Simon commented that he now understands why people fry things: it's so much faster than baking.   

Non-vegan friendliness:    

The three of us really enjoyed this recipe.  Then again, what's not to like about fried, flavorful fritters?

Saffron-Spiked Moroccan Stew

Time for a guest blog by Simon! Carol was at a talk with the owner/founder of Sticky Fingers on Thursday night, so Rachel and I were left to fend for ourselves. Sometimes when Carol has other plans we make meat-centric dishes, but this dish had to last a few meals for everyone, so we went with the standard vegan. My dad visited last weekend and brought saffron, so we decided to try it out.

Recipe:
Saffron-Spiked Moroccan Stew

• Olive oil for sauteing
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2 large bell peppers (any combination of red and green should be fine)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp ginger (preferably fresh, but dry works too)
• 1/2 tsp saffron threads
• 2 sweet potatoes, cubed
• 1.5 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
• 1-15oz can diced tomatoes
• 1-15oz can chickpeas, drained
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil and saute the onion, peppers, and garlic in a large pot over medium-high until the onions are cooked through.

Stir in the brown sugar, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, ginger, and saffron, stirring for 60 seconds.

Add the sweet potatoes, stock, tomatoes, and chickpeas. Turn to high to bring to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are cooked.

Yields 4 servings.

 Comments:
Taste:      

I wanted to really be able to taste the saffron in this dish, both because I had never tasted it and because I would have felt silly drowning out a costly ingredient. The saffron definitely came through, so the taste rating is mostly a reflection of my taste for saffron. It certainly has a distinct flavor--one that's earthly and floral and that does not compare to most other tastes. The flavor grew on me over time, though I think the recipe could use a bit less so the saffron flavor is the star player but not the flavor ball-hog.

Accessibility:        

Most people do not have saffron around, and it is rather expensive ($15 a teaspoon or so). That being said, it is available in most grocery stores, so you wouldn't need to go out of your way. The rest of the ingredients are pretty typical, and if you don't have or want to buy saffron, I think the dish with the other ingredients would be pretty good as well

 Ease of Preparation:   

Though the preparation does not include any fancy cooking techniques, there is quite a bit of chopping involved. We doubled the recipe, and the total onion/pepper/sweet potato chopping probably took 45 people-minutes.     

Non-vegan friendliness:  

This dish fits into the typical vegan-style one-pot meal. I do not think it's really missing meat, and the sweet potatoes and chickpeas provide a variety of textures. However, it is lacking a bit of substance, and even after a full bowl I found myself raiding the fridge for a bite or two to satisfy my hunger.

Guest blog complete!

Chana Masala

On Tuesday, in honor of St. Valentine, Simon and I made some delicious Indian food.  (Never mind the regional incongruity...)

Cooking Chana Masala

We made a version of Chana Malsala, the tomato-based chickpea dish that I always order when I'm at an Indian restaurant. 

Recipe:
Chana Masala

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 - 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• black pepper, to taste
• crushed red pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter

First, heat the oil and garlic in a skillet over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onions become soft and begin to brown.  Next, reduce the heat to medium and add the curry and tomato paste.  Stir and simmer for about 2 minutes.  Then add the chickpeas, water, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and simmer for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Finally, add the crushed red pepper and margarine, stir and simmer for about 5 more minutes, and serve over rice. 

Yields 2 or 3 servings.

Comments:
Taste:      

I love this dish.  Simon rightfully points out that it's a pretty one-dimensional dish; but, while there may not be tons of ingredients involved, the flavor is still really nice.  The lemon juice brightens up the flavor so it's both spicy and light.

Accessibility:        

These ingredients are all pretty standard and inexpensive.       

 Ease of Preparation:   

This is a simple recipe to prepare.  It doesn't take long to make (especially when using canned chickpeas).  If you're serving it over rice, you should be able to start the rice first and prepare this dish while the rice is cooking.         

Non-vegan friendliness:   

This dish holds its own.  Compared to some other vegan dishes (or other Indian dishes), it has a pleasantly substantial mouthfeel.  You can really take a bite of Chana Masala, while that might not be the case with lentils, for instance. 

Spicy Potato Curry

Tonight I made an old favorite--Spicy Potato Curry.  It was about time we made some more Indian food!
  

Smooth and spicy.

Recipe:
Spicy Potato Curry

• 2 potatoes, cubed
• 2 sweet potatoes, cubed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 5 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 - 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 2 teaspoons salt (or more to taste)
• 1 - 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 - 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 15 ounces frozen peas
• 1 - 14 ounce can coconut milk

First, cook the potatoes.  Place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with water, and add 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Bring to a boil over high heat; then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer until tender (about 12 minutes).  Drain.

While the potatoes are cooking, add the oil and garlic to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, stir in the onion and cook for about 5 minutes or until onions become tender.  Stir in the spices, ginger, and salt and cook for 2 more minutes.  Finally, add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 10 minutes before serving.  

Yields 6 servings.  

Comments:

Taste:     

This is a consistently great curry recipe.  The spiciness blends nicely with the smooth coconut milk to create a deliciously layered flavor.  I really like the way the peas sort of pop when you bite into them, providing a bit of a crunch to every bite.   

Accessibility:        

This recipe includes fairly basic ingredients.  I like to use both sweet potatoes and regular potatoes, but you can use just one or the other if you like.  Feel free to add other vegetables, as well. 

Ease of Preparation:   

This dish doesn't take too long to prepare and there isn't too much chopping involved.  Once you get the potatoes going you can chop and prepare the remaining ingredients, so the timing works out well.     

Non-vegan friendliness:   

Rachel described this as an Indian version of chili--mainly because it's so hearty.  This is a very satisfying dish and I'm confident that non-vegans would love it, too.   

Hearty Chili

Even though it's a balmy 52 degrees outside, it's always nice to get cozy with a big bowl of warm chili.  I've made this Hearty Chili recipe a few times before and it never disappoints.  It's chock full of veggies, beans, and the secret ingredient: "soy crumbles."

Hearty Chili topped with crushed tortilla chips

Recipe:
Hearty Chili

•  2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 - 4 ounce cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
• 2 - 12 ounce packages vegan burger crumbles (I use Lightlife Smart Ground veggie protein crumbles)
• 3 - 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 - 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 - 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 - 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 15 ounces frozen corn

First, heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt.  Stir and cook the mixture until the onion becomes tender.  Next, mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chiles.  Once the vegetables are heated through--after about 5 minutes--mix in the soy burger crumbles.  Reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Then mix in the crushed tomatoes, chili powder, pepper, kidney beans, chickpeas, and black beans.  Bring the chili to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 50 minutes (at least), stirring in the corn when five minutes remain.  Serve hot.  I used crushed tortilla chips as a garnish.  

Yields 8 servings.

Comments:

Taste:

I could eat this chili every week.  Even though it's not very spicy, it's still packed with flavor.  The mixture of veggies, beans, and crumbles is also really filling.  Simon thinks the chili is "delightful," while Rachel likes that it's "really hearty."

Accessibility:  

Most of the ingredients in this recipe are both easy to find and affordable.  While my standard grocery store had the soy crumbles in stock, however, some grocery stores may not carry them.  Luckily, the chili would still be great without the crumbles. 

Ease of Preparation: 

The recipe is very easy to make.  Mixing ingredients into a pot isn't too taxing.  The recipe does take a while to make, though, between the chopping and simmering.  It's worth it, though! 

Non-vegan friendliness: 

Simon and Rachel loved the chili, and I'm confident that anyone else would feel the same way.  A dish like chili is extra vegan-friendly, though, because it's so customizable.  Your non-vegan friends and family members can add traditional chili toppings like cheese or sour cream if they so desire, while I topped mine with crushed up tortilla chips to add a little crunch.

Moroccan Israeli Couscous

Last night Simon and I tried out a new recipe for Moroccan Israeli Couscous to use up some of our couscous.  I was intrigued by this recipe because it includes several vegetables that I don't usually eat.  Plus, I'm warming myself up to Israeli couscous:  I usually prefer Moroccan couscous (the smaller variety) to Israeli couscous (the larger variety) since my primary experience with the latter is in mediocre dining hall dishes.  This recipe for Moroccan Israeli Couscous combines Moroccan flavors with Israeli-sized couscous.   

As you can see, the end product looks pretty good! 

Recipe:
Moroccan Israeli Couscous

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 2 turnips, peeled and julienned
• 1 sweet potato, julienned
• 1/2 pound frozen peas
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 - 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 - 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 pinch curry powder
• 2 cups Israeli couscous, prepared according to package directions

First, heat the oil in a large saucepan or stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and sauté until golden.  Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil.  Then stir in the carrots, turnips, and sweet potato, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer (uncovered) for 15 minutes.  Next, reduce the heat to low, add the peas and bell pepper, and simmer (covered) for 20 minutes.  Finally, stir in the chickpeas, tomato sauce, and spices and simmer until the mixture is heated through.  

Serve over Israeli couscous prepared according to the package directions.   

Comments:
While I did enjoy the texture and mouthfeel of the couscous,  I didn't love this recipe.  To me, it was a bit bland.  The flavors were nice but they weren't very strong.  I decided to doctor the final product by adding a bit of salt and crushed red pepper flakes, though, and these two small additions made a big difference.

Simon generally agreed with me and wasn't thrilled with the original recipe.  On the other hand, Rachel liked both the texture and the taste of the couscous.  She also thought the dish was visually appealing, due to the differently prepared vegetables and the varied colors.  As Rachel said, "I'd eat that again."  (And she did--well, we all did--for dinner tonight!)

Saucy Chickpeas

Tonight I made a recipe that is new to this blog but not to our apartment.  We made these saucy chickpeas once before; we liked them enough to make them again!  The recipe is a Mediterranean blend of chickpeas and sauce that can be served with rice and vegetables.   

Recipe:
Saucy Chickpeas

• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 - 28oz. can diced tomatoes
• 2 red peppers
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2 - 15oz. cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• salt and pepper to taste

Roast the red peppers:  preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, coat lightly with a total of about a teaspoon of olive oil, place on a lightly greased baking sheet, and roast for about 22 minutes until the skin is dark in spots.  You could also buy roasted red peppers.  (In that case, you would only need a total of 3 tablespoons olive oil for the recipe.)
Grind the almonds into a fine powder using a food processor and set aside.    
Puree the tomatoes and roasted red peppers until smooth, working in multiple batches if necessary.  Set aside.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic, shallots, and jalapeno and sauté until the shallots begin to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Pour in the vegetable broth, stir, and heat for another minute.  Add the tomato/pepper puree, vinegar, sugar, thyme, and rosemary and heat until just boiling.  Then simmer at medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the almonds and chickpeas.  Simmer the mixture, uncovered, for about 25 minutes until the sauce has reduced a bit.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve.

We ate the chickpeas over brown rice.

Comments:

There are a couple important, "secret" ingredients in this dish: roasted red peppers and almonds.   The roasted red peppers really make the dish, adding a smoky flavor to the sauce.  The almonds thicken up the sauce and add substance.  The result is a hearty, savory, saucy mixture  The dish definitely isn't one of the most exciting or complex dishes in existence, but it does provide a filling, tasty, low-fat meal.