Aromatic Chickpea Stew with Dates and Almonds

Hello Dear Reader,

I have said this phrase before "If you cook one recipe from my blog, make it this one" back in February this year, I was talking about my Veggie Shepherds Pie, but today I am talking about another meat free meal, it's this Aromatic Chickpea Stew with Dates and Almonds. It is simple, like really, really simple, it is delicious, like crazy delicious and it's meat free, what's not to love?

It uses the king of pulses, chickpeas and just a handful of other ingredients, get them all together in a pan, then it just blips away until thick and gorgeous. I served it with Quinoa but rice, either white or brown would also work.

Give it whirl today.

Ingredients for Aromatic Chickpea Stew with Dated and Almonds, clockwise from right-2 cans or home cooked equivalent of chickpeas, drained and rinsed, 1 bunch of coriander, root and stems separated from the leaves, 4 garlic cloves, grated on a microplane, a small knob of ginger, peeled and grated on a microplane to yield 1 good heaped tablespoon of grated ginger, 100 grams of pitted dates, 40 grams of flaked almonds, lightly toasted in a dry frying pan, zest and juice of half a large lemon (or a whole small lemon) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 can of tomatoes and 1 teaspoon each of ground coriander, turmeric and cumin.

In a blender, blitz the dates and can of tomatoes together and set aside till needed. You don't want it completely smooth, a few chunks of dates is fine

Heat a splash of oil, on medium heat, in a large, non stick, heavy based frypan and sauté the garlic, ginger and finely chopped root and stems of the coriander till fragrant, just a few minutes, don't let the garlic colour

Then add the spices and again stir for a few minutes until fragrant 

On medium-high heat, add the blitzed tomato and date mixture, rinsing out the blender with about 1/3 cup of water adding this also to the pan. Give everything a really good mix and bring it to a gently simmer. Now add in the drained and rinsed chickpeas, again give it a thorough mix, turn heat to low, pop on a lid and let it blip away for up to 45 minutes if you have the time. It will thicken beautifully during this time, if it gets too thick add a splash of water. Add the lemon juice just before serving 

Serve over quinoa or rice, with the toasted flaked almonds and finely chopped leaves of coriander over the top.

This dish is so delicious, it's slightly sweet from the dates and so wonderfully aromatic from the ground spices. It is hearty and filling and the textures are so interesting especially the little crunch you get from the golden almonds. Make it, love it. 

Have a lovely day,

💗Fi

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