Spicy Chick Pea Soup

September 27, 2021October 10, 202124 Comments

This is my new favorite soup! Have you ever had collards? Today, I am featurIng this neglected super food: collard greens!

If you are a Southerner (U.S.), you probably have ‘traditional’ collard greens and black-eyed peas on New Years day to bring abundance and good fortune 🍀 to your New Year! 🎉 Join me for a visit to Flavor Town in the soup factory!

**COLLARD GREENS:** Full of Energy! “Super Food”

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

1-2 bunches of collard greens ( You decide how much you want – more is good)
3-4 red onions
5 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. smoked paprika (heaping)
2 tsp cumin seeds (smash, do not grind)
1 tbsp. cinnamon (heaping)
10-15 green or white cardamon pods*
2-3 cans chick peas (drained: 14-16 fl oz)
1 can crushed tomatoes** with 2 (tomato) cans of water
3 tsp pink Himalayan salt
A handful of chopped cilantro ( or parsley) about 1/2 cup

DIRECTIONS

Assemble and mix your dry spices in one bowl Rinse and chop collards (Rip or cut out the hard center stem)
Add oil to your dutch oven (or heavy pot). Then add chopped onions, heat until translucent. Add chopped garlic and blend quickly.
Add spices and mix well with onions and garlic [ add more oil if ingredients start to dry up ]. You want to mix the spices with the onion for optimal flavor.
Add 2 cans of drained chick peas
Add chopped collards
Add 1 can of tomatoes + 2 cans of water. (more water if soup looks more like a stew)
Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
Add pink salt and chopped cilantro in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Optional: Add about 1 tsp. of fresh thyme, rosemary and/or 1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes for added heat Add these additional spices in the beginning with sauteed onions.

Chick Pea Soup With Collard Greens (Topped With Toasted Black & White Sesame Seeds). I sometimes sprinkle chia seeds.

VARIATIONS

More Vegetables:- Add 1, 2 carrots and/or a handful of mushrooms. I do add extra veggies (If they are in the house).
Chick pea substitute:- Use white navy beans, cannellini beans, lentils, or black-eyed peas or a blend of various beans.
Collard substitute:- Swiss chard or kale, (or spinach).
FLAVOR BOOST: 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of Maggi chicken powder, or 1 cup of homemade stock! I do add Maggi powder – I call it Maggi Magic!

Chick peas (garbanzo beans) are very high in protein. Good choice to reduce high blood pressure, reduce wrinkles, weight loss and much more.

Green Cardamom – Mild, Aromatic Spice. A Perennial Plant In **The Ginger Family**

* TIP1: Gently pound dry cardamom with a mortar and pestle. Then, remove most of the pod casing with a sieve or by hand. Keep pod casings for stock or when boiling rice.
** TIP2: Use POMI tomatoes (or San Marzano tomatoes). Order online or check at Costco, your supermarket or Italian grocery stores.

PRECAUTION: Eating chick peas, may make you bloat or get a stomach ache. Instead, use white navy beans or broad (fava) beans. Fava beans are good for the immune system and improves bone density. (Info provided by my biologist neighbor)

SALT TIP: When salt is added to food early in the cooking process, it tends to break out the water in the vegetables being cooked. To retain moisture and flavour from the spices, salt is added at the end. Also, adding salt early tends to make the chick peas hard.

If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo send it to me, or, share it on your social media. I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀

Butternut Squash: Roasted with Spicy Chick Peas

March 12, 2021May 24, 202114 Comments

A HEALTHY DISH ! The complimentary spices and roasted veggies burst with flavour!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 small butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
5 garlic cloves (1 finely grated, 4 chopped)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed, patted dry
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons of curry powder/paste or vadouvan
2 radishes, trimmed, very thinly sliced (optional)
1 cup parsley, mint, and/or cilantro leaves8
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Roast squash directly on oven rack until a paring knife poked through skin easily slides through flesh, 50–65 minutes. Let squash cool until you can handle. Trim ends, halve lengthwise, and scoop out seeds. Tear or cut squash into large pieces; discard skin (it will come off easily as you tear).
Meanwhile, mix yogurt, grated garlic, and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high. Cook chickpeas, shaking skillet often, until starting to brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Add onion and chopped garlic and cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in vadouvan (curry powder) and cook, stirring, until chickpeas and onion are coated and mixture is fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a medium bowl. Wipe out skillet.
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in same skillet over medium-high. Cook squash pieces, cut side down, undisturbed, until browned and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Turn pieces over, remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper. Spoon chickpea mixture over squash, then dollop reserved lemon-garlic yogurt around.
Optional: Toss radishes, herbs, and pomegranate seeds, with remaining 1 Tbsp. lemon juice in a small bowl; drizzle with a splash of oil and season with salt and pepper. Scatter over squash and chickpeas. Finish with a grind or two of pepper.

(Optional) Pomegranate and Pistachio Nuts …you will be glad you added the pomegranate!

**LEMON GARLIC YOGURT TOPPING**: Can Be Served On The Side ( No Pomegranate here).

VARIATIONS

Add greens, kale ships, collard greens, swiss chard, etc. Cranberries are a good ubstitute for pomegranate. Add leftover quinoa or feta cheese cubes. Serve as a veggie tacos. ‘Squash’ Burgers (see below). Lightly mash squash to biuld your burger. If you have more people at the table, add spinach to the mix to extend your dish

VEGGIE BURGER: Curry / Squash/ Chick Peas/ Pomegranate/ Cilantro/ Parsley

GOOD EATS:

FOODIES ARE # 1!!!

Tamarind and Chick Peas

March 6, 2020April 7, 20209 Comments

9🎶 THREE’S THE CHARM 🎶
(1) TAMARIND (2) SPINACH (3) CHICK PEAS
I had this dish years ago, without all the spices and was not impressed. The spices in this recipe enhance the key flavour of the tamarind. Surprisingly, the 3 jalapeño peppers are not hot in this dish. An EASY 30 MINUTE meal packed with protein and flavour. Leftovers makes a great lunch at the office! Another winner!

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INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp nigella seeds
1½ tsp fennel seeds ( or anise seeds)
1 medium onion ( chopped )
400 g can chopped tomatoes (san marzano)
3 green jalaeño peppers, seeded and cut into quarter lengths
2-3 tsp monk fruit sweetener ( or stevia, truvia, etc. )
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
410 g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1-2 tbsp tamarind paste ( adjust to taste )
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
half a 250g/9oz bag of organic baby spinach leaves
Serving suggestion: natural yogurt and chapatis

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry the nigella and fennel seeds for about 10 second. Add the onion and cook gently for 8-10 minutes until golden.

2. Mix in the tomatoes, jalapeños, sweetener ( Monk fruit ), paprika, turmeric and chickpeas. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Make sure your dish is stew-like; not too dry. Add water if needed.

3. Stir in the tamarind and coriander. ( (You need to do a taste test here. Add more tamerind to get that tamerind sweet and sour flavour). Add the spinach leaves and stir gently until they’ve just wilted. You can serve as a main course with yogurt and chapatis or as a side dish.

Tamarind Paste

Tamarind and Chick Peas

COOKING TIP: Before starting to cook, do all your chopping and rinse out the chick peas. Check your spice rack to make sure you have all your spices measured and placed in small dishes. ahead of time. This “mise en place” technique makes cooking time much faster.

WARNING: Do not buy tamarind without reading the ingredients on the label. I bought tamarind in a bottle at the grocery store. I neglected to read the label as I was in a hurry. The main ingredient was syrup. Tamarind was the fourth ingredient! I was disappointed. Do not accept substitutes or a bogus spice seller that claims to be tamarind. Without ‘true’ tamarind, this recipe is so – so. I soaked my tamerind block in water took the seeds out and ladled the liquid into the dish. ( About 1 cup ) The difference was like night and day.

DID YOU KNOW? The recipe for WORCESTERSHIRE Sauce contains tamarind? The one ingredient that sets Worcestershire sauce apart is tamarind fruit. The sweetness in this fruit is balanced by its high content of acid, giving it that sweet-sour taste.

TAMARIND is a condiment, a spice and a fruit. Its extract, which tastes deliciously tangy, is one of the most highly valued foods in Asian and Indian cuisine. ( Origin: Africa )

TAMARIND contains an impressive amount of essential minerals such as thiamine, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. Some of its other prominent nutrients include niacin, calcium, vitamin C, copper, fiber and pyridoxine.

Tamarind treats both constipation and diarrhea naturally by increasing the effectiveness of the digestive tract. Tamarind has long been considered a natural laxative. It stimulates your metabolism and also keeps your digestive system strong and improves blood circulation. Good for weight loss. Boost your immune system. Also, it has anti-inflammatory properties.