Seasoned Chickpeas

This is easy to vary, as you can add any spices you like. You can have this as a snack (instead of crisps, for example) or with rice. I served it with red rice and radish sprouts recently and it worked out very well. A dollop of sour cream or yogurt would go well with it too.

Ingredients:

1 tin or container of chickpeas

olive oil

spices (I used 1 tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp crushed chilli flakes, 2 tsp mint, 1 tsp ginger)

Instructions:

1. Rinse and drain the chickpeas.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the spices, cook for a minute or two, then add the chickpeas.

3. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring once in a while. Then increase the heat and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the chickpeas are popping a bit.

4. Serve as is or with rice.

Hearty Barley and Black-Eyed Pea Stew

As the weather gets chillier, my mind (and my stomach) turns to heartier food. Actually, I made this dish at the very end of August, after a cold weekend in which M and I had gotten drenched in a rain-and-hailstorm. But I’ll be making it again now that it’s even colder.

This was not M’s favourite meal, but it was very healthy and filling.

You can vary this with any grain and any legume and any spice combination and any added vegetable/s; be creative.

Ingredients:
about 100 g black-eyed peas
water
about 150 g pearl barley
about 100 g spinach (fresh or frozen)
tomato purée
green curry paste
olives
soy cream or yogurt

Instructions:
1. Soak the black-eyed peas overnight in water.
2. Boil the barley in water, then leave to simmer for about an hour, checking and stirring every so often (check the instructions on the package as well).
3. Drain the black-eyed peas and then bring them to a boil in fresh water. Leave them to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes.
4. Add the spinach, tomato purée, and green curry paste to the barley.
5. Slice the olives and add them.
6. Stir the black-eyed peas into the barley, then swirl in some soy cream or yogurt. Serve with another dollop of cream or yogurt.

Pasta with Beans and Peas

This is a simple pasta dish that was great at the height of summer with fresh produce.

If you eat seafood, you can add in some prawns as well. My M likes prawns, so I add them in sometimes for her.

Ingredients:
½ red onion
olive oil
1 tsp sugar
200 g runner beans
200 g sugar snap peas
2 tsp coriander
2 tsp tomato purée/paste
cream, to taste
200 g multigrain tagliatelle
water to cook the pasta in

Instructions:
1. Dice the onion and fry it lightly in olive oil, then add the sugar to caramelise it.
2. Wash the runner beans and sugar snap peas and cut them as necessary. Add them to the onion, along with the coriander, tomato purée/paste and cream.
3. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in the water.
4. Serve the vegetable sauce over the pasta.

Lentils and Vegetables

Ingredients:
1½ cups puy lentils
water
1 carrot
1 bag green beans
½ half cabbage or 1 head spring greens
3 tbsp cream or yogurt
seasoning (salt, pepper, paprika, parsley, etc – I actually seasoned it with truffle olive oil for a luxurious edge)
rice, if desired

Instructions:
1. Rinse the lentils and cover with water. Boil them over low heat for about 15 minutes.
2. Wash the veg. Peel and chop the carrot. De-string the beans. Chop the cabbage/greens.
3. Add the veg to the pot and add more water if needed. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Mix in the cream/yogurt. Season to taste.
5. Serve over rice if desired.

Cauliflower Pilaf

This is a simple, healthy, flavourful pilaf rice dish. It is good enough to be the starring dish of the meal, but it can also be served as a side dish.

Ingredients:
2 onions
oil
100 g puy lentils
water
1 sweet potato
1 cauliflower
25 g coconut
2-4 tbsp green curry paste
onion seeds
100 g brown basmati rice
1 vegetable stock cube
yogurt

Instructions:
1. Chop the onions and fry them lightly in the oil in a large pan.
2. Rinse the lentils and boil them in water for about 20 minutes, then drain.
3. Peel and dice the sweet potato and chop the cauliflower. Add them, the coconut, the curry paste, and the onion seeds to the onions and fry for a few minutes.
4. Rinse the rice and add it to the pan along with the stock cube and enough water to cover everything.
5. Simmer until the water mostly boils away, adding the lentils towards the end.
6. Serve with yogurt.

Soba Noodles with Creamy Vegetable Sauce

Soba noodles can be made with buckwheat, which makes them high in fibre and gluten-free. They have a nutty, heavy flavour and an almost chewy consistency. I made a simple creamy vegetable sauce to serve over them.

Ingredients:
100 g vegetables (I used a combination of broccoli, cauliflower, broad beans, and spinach)
herbs and spices (I used parsley and garlic)
3-4 tbsp tomato puree
sun-dried tomatoes
100 ml cream
100 g soba noodles
water

Instructions:
1. If using frozen vegetables, defrost them. If fresh, wash and chop as needed and boil lightly.
2. Mix the herbs, spices, tomato puree, sun-dried tomatoes, and cream into the vegetables and warm thoroughly.
3. Boil the soba noodles in the water for 5-8 minutes.
4. Serve the noodles with the vegetables on top.

Spring Pasta

Now that the clocks have changed, the days are getting longer and brighter. People want to eat lighter, greener food. I love the look of a bunch of greens on top of rice or pasta; its very appearance feels fresh. For this recipe, I used lots of frozen veg, but in the next few weeks, I’ll able to replace the items with fresh veg (either using the same vegetables but in their fresh variants, or else using whatever the store has in stock, such as asparagus or sprouting broccoli). It’s an easy recipe to vary depending on what you have on hand. I used lime and parsley to give the pasta a little zest and the herbs, too, can be varied.

Ingredients:
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
oil
50 g soy beans
50 g peas
50 g broad beans
pasta (about 50-70 g per person)
water
1 tbsp parsley
a few lime leaves for a gentle kick
¼ cup cream (single is fine, but go for double if you’re in the mood for extra richness)

Instructions:
1. Chop the onions and garlic cloves and brown them lightly in oil.
2. Add the veg and stir. Cook for another 7 or so minutes, until the peas and beans are defrosted and warm. Meanwhile, starting boiling the pasta in the water.
3. Season the vegetables with parsley and lime and add the cream.
4. Cook another few minutes, then serve the vegetables over the pasta.

Pseudo-falafel

I like crispy falafel with a full taste or chickpeas. The best I ever had was in Israel, but alas I can’t head to the Middle East every time I get a falafel craving, so I came up with this simple recipe, which is call pseudo-falafel. Real falafel has tahini, but that’s not something I usually or often have on hand, so that’s why these are pseudo. I served them over rice and with watercress and garlic cheese, but any combination of greens and yogurt or creamy cheese will work fine. It’s not the Middle East, but it’s as close as I can get here.

Ingredients:
1 carton chickpeas (about 230 g)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
rice
water
watercress
yogurt or garlic cheese

Instructions:
1. Drain the chickpeas. Blend with the spices, baking powder, lemon juice, and oil with a hand blender until smooth, with some chunky bits left.
2. Place spoonfuls of the mixture onto a baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes at 200 C.
3. Cook the rice in the water and add the watercress when the rice is nearly done.
4. Serve the rice topped with falafels and yogurt or garlic cheese.

Hoppin’ John

I don’t make the traditional hoppin’ John, as I flavour it with roasted garlic (see the previous post), but this close enough. Basically, you cook black-eyed peas and rice together, and that’s all there is to the traditional African-American New Year’s meal. It is a tasty, healthy dish. You can add spinach to get some extra nutrition or other vegetables. You can serve it as a side dish or just eat this as it is.

You can buy legumes in tins or else dried. Then you soak them overnight, which is cheaper and healthier, as the tinned versions tend to have a lot of salt. If you use tinned, wash the legumes off.

Ingredients:
rice (I use brown, which is healthier)
water
black-eyed peas (1 tin or buy dried legumes and soak them overnight)
1 clove roasted garlic
1 tsp parsley
50 g spinach

Instructions:
1. Wash and boil the rice in the water according to the directions. About halfway through (10-15 minutes), add the peas.
2. Add as much of the garlic as you want. I used five cloves, but if you’re a real garlic-lover (or you’re not kissing anyone later), you can use the whole head. Save any cloves you don’t use for another day.
3. Add the parsley and spinach. Continue cooking for another 5 or so minutes.
4. Serve.