Chickpeas in Spicy Tomato Gravy

Due to Lent, we have been eating one vegetarian meal a week.  I think however, we'll try to keep this up moving forward (once I get the OK from the husband!).  Not only is it good for the environment, but great for our bodies.  I got this chickpeas in spicy tomato gravy recipe from the March 2011 Food & Wine magazine.

Recipe:
- 8 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 jalapeños, chopped

- One 2-inch piece of fresh ginger
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin 

- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes
- 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves 

In a mini food processor, combine the garlic, jalapeños and ginger and process to a paste. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Add the onions and cook over moderately high heat until sizzling, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are browned, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander and cayenne and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and simmer over moderate heat until thickened, about 6 minutes. Add the chickpeas and water and simmer until the chickpeas are flavored with the gravy, about 8 minutes. Season the chickpeas with salt, garnish with the cilantro and serve with yogurt & naan.

 

Verdict:  

It was so delicious.  I would recommend adding the 2 cups of water in slowly, not all at once.  I think it may be a bit too much water.  I will definitely make this again. 

Quick Eats: Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup

It was a cold, rainy Chicago day.  We wanted an easy meal for this low key afternoon.  We decided the perfect meal would be grilled cheese & tomato soup!

To make it quick eats, we bought Trader Joe's Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup.  This soup is really good for when you don't want to make tomato soup from scratch.  While we were there, we picked up some multigrain bread & pepper jack cheese.

No real recipe here.  We buttered each sides of the bread, and heated them on a pan.  Added the cheese and cooked them till the cheese was nice and melted.  We heated up the soup, cut up some pickles & popped in a movie.  A perfect afternoon with quick eats!

5 Vegetable Miso Stew

We decided to do lent this year which means no meat on Fridays.  We decide to make a 5 vegetable miso stew from the Simply Ming One-Pot Meals.  Not to ruin the verdict, but it was awesome.


Recipe:
2 tbsp canola oil
1 bunch of scallions chopped
1 large onion minced
1 large sweet potato, diced
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 cups roma tomatoes, chopped
2 quarts vegetable stock
1 tbsp tamari sauce
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp miso
2 bunches of baby bok choy
Clear rice noodles







Heat a stockpot over medium heat, add oil.  Add scallions (just white parts), onions and potatoes.  Season with salt & pepper.  Saute until the onions have browned lightly, about 5 minutes.  Add ginger, tomatoes (with juices), stock & tamari.  Add miso & stir to dissolve.  Bring stew to a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are soft.  Add salt, pepper.

Add bok choy & simmer until soft. Add clear rice noodles. 

Verdict: 
This soup was way more delicious than I expected it to be.  The recipe above isn't exactly how it is in the cookbook.  The original recipe calls for kale, and no noodles.  Since we didn't have kale, we added baby bok choy, which was perfect.  Also, we used soy sauce instead of tamari.  The noodles were the perfect addition to the soup.  The flavors in the soup are nice and bold but not overbearing.  It's hearty and you don't feel like it's missing anything.  It was easy to make, and will definitely be made again.