While our daughter was out here visiting I had the opportunity to flex my Vegetarian Muscle a bit. I made the Jennifer Aniston Salad and Allison Roman’s Chickpea Stew. I had the stew at our daughter’s house and found it so delicious and figured it was perfect to make for her while she was out here since she’s a vegetarian not a vegan . I made a few changes to the original recipe so if you’d like to see it google the original recipe as this is my version. It’s really more of a soup than a stew and again depending on how thick you like it .

It’s always good to have some meat-less meals even if you’re not a vegetarian. And I am a chickpea lover so this was right up my alley.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Olive Oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 2″ piece of Ginger , finely chopped — I love fresh ginger but if no fresh ginger use powdered ginger –use 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger for every 1 Tablespoon of Fresh — so probably 1/4 teaspoon would be right

Kosher Salt and Black Pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes — now I love spicy so if you don’t you can omit

2 15 oz. cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 15 oz. cans full-fat coconut milk, be sure to avoid low-fat coconut milk, coconut milk meant for drinking or cream of coconut. They are all very different and would not be suitable for this recipe and yes I know this is a lot of coconut milk but I think it’s the right flavor and consistency in this recipe .

2 cups vegetable stock , and you may need some more so hang on to the rest of the container

1 bunch spinach, kale, collard greens, or swiss chard, stems removed and torn into bite size pieces. I used baby spinach and I like it the best because it breaks down very quickly and is easy to use.

toasted pita, lavash or other flatbread, like Naan would be delicious served alongside

Directions:

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and ginger. Season with a little kosher salt and some coarsely ground black pepper, cook and stir occasionally until onion becomes translucent and starts to brown a bit around the edges but not burn. About 5 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and the chickpeas, I sprinkled a little salt and pepper here as well. Cook, stirring frequently so the chickpeas sizzle and fry up a bit in the spices and oil, they’ll start to break down and get a little browned up as they crisp, another 10 minutes or so. Remove about 1 cup of chickpeas and set aside.

Using a wooden spoon or a masher crush the remaining chickpeas slightly which will release their starchy insides and help to thicken the stew. Add the coconut milk and stock, taste for salt and pepper.

Bring to a simmer, scraping up any bits that may have formed on the bottom of the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally , until stew has thickened, probably 1/2 hour . If after 1/2 hour stew is not thick enough continue cooking. If you need more broth add it here as well. The desired consistency is sort of a personal thing so however you like it will be just fine.

I then added the greens and the remaining whole chickpeas , my spinach broke down pretty rapidly , taste for salt and pepper . Add as much or as little greens as you’d like.

Divide among bowls and if you’d like to top with some fresh mint and I served alongside yogurt ( or sourcream) and toasted pita if using bread.