Spiced Chickpea Stew with Coconut and Turmeric #thestew

This is my version of Alison Roman's NYTimes recipe that is taking the internet by storm. It is REALLY good. #thestew

Ingredients:
1/4 c olive oil
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
1 knob of ginger (3 inches), finely minced
kosher salt and black pepper
1 T ground turmeric
1 T Trader Joe's South African Smoked Red Pepper (or combo of smoked paprika and red pepper flakes will do)
2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 (15 oz) cans coconut milk
1 box of stock (chicken, veggie, or Aldi's Tom Yum Stock)
1 bunch of kale (or other greens)
1 c mint leaves or 1 T dried mint

Yogurt and bread for serving

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and ginger. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is translucent and starts to brown a little around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. 1. Add turmeric, red-pepper flakes and chickpeas, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, so the chickpeas sizzle and fry a bit in the spices and oil, until they’ve started to break down and get a little browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove about a cup of chickpeas and set aside for garnish.
   2. Using a potato masher, further crush the remaining chickpeas slightly to release their starchy insides (this will help thicken the stew). Add coconut milk and stock to the pot, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any bits that have formed on the bottom of the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until stew has thickened and flavors have started to come together, 30 to 35 minutes. (Taste a chickpea or two, not just the liquid, to make sure they have simmered long enough to taste as delicious as possible.) If after 30 to 35 minutes you want the stew a bit thicker, keep simmering until you've reached your desired consistency. 
   3. 1. Add greens and stir, making sure they are submerged in the liquid. (Note: I added the reserved chickpeas back in at this point, you can also save them for garnish). Cook a few minutes so they wilt and soften, 3 to 7 minutes, depending on what you’re using. (Swiss chard and spinach will wilt and soften much faster than kale or collard greens.) Season again with salt and pepper. Add dried mint if using dried instead of fresh.

1. Divide among bowls and top with fresh mint, reserved chickpeas, a sprinkle of red-pepper flakes and a good drizzle of olive oil. Serve alongside yogurt and toasted pita if using; dust the yogurt with turmeric if you'd like.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019772-spiced-chickpea-stew-with-coconut-and-turmeric?regi=1&join_cooking_newsletter=false

Roasted Vegetables with Coconut Curry Pasta

Roasted vegetables = pure bliss

You can roast large amounts of vegetables at a time and use them in multiple dishes for quick week night meals. Try spreading a ready-made pizza crust with pesto and roasted veg, then top with a few blobs of ricotta cheese and bake 'til bubbly, or make your favorite grain (quinoa, farro, rice, etc.) with vegetable or chicken broth and combine with the roasted veg and some crumbly cheese such as feta, OR you could make the following recipe. It is absolutely delicious!

I made it for some young friends without the curry powder and it was equally delicious. 

Roasted Vegetables with Coconut Curry Pasta

Roasted Vegetables:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

Fill a 5 1/2 quart bowl with  fall vegetables, cut into evenly-sized chunks (about 2"). You can use any vegetable; I love to include delicata squash (leave the peel on), sweet potato, onion, fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic cloves, carrots and king oyster mushrooms.

Toss veg with 2-3 T of olive oil. Sprinkle generously with Herbs de Provence (or any herb blend), salt, and pepper. Toss again until evenly coated.

Spread veg on large jelly roll pan so that veg don't touch each other. You may have to roast in several batches (I can fit two pans in my oven). Roast for 15 minutes or until bottom of veg is nicely caramelized. Then turn veg to caramelize other side for about 5-10 more minutes and until you can pierce through with a fork.

Set aside the veg in a bowl and try not to eat them all before the rest of the food cooks! You can keep some of the veg aside to make additional recipes or combine it all with the pasta.

Coconut Curry Sauce and Pasta:
1/4 c olive or coconut oil
1/4 c flour
1 can coconut milk
2 c vegetable or chicken broth
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T fresh ginger, grated
2 T curry powder (optional)
2 t sriracha sauce (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

1 lb pasta cooked to package instructions
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (optional)

1. Heat oil in large sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and continue to stir for about 5 minutes. Add coconut milk, broth, garlic, ginger, curry and sriracha. Turn up the heat to medium high and continue to whisk periodically until thickened for about 15 minutes. Pasta can cook while sauce thickens.
2. Drain pasta and combine with sauce in large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Serve pasta in bowl or plate with roasted vegetables and chicken placed on top.

Massaman Curry

It is the perfect recipe for ingredients from the CSA produce this week: new potatoes, onions, Thai basil. I recommend getting the curry paste in the tubs (photo below). You can buy it in small cans, but these are extremely spicy. Massaman curry is less spicy than red curry. It has all the traditional ingredients in the paste such as red chilis, lemongrass, galangal, garlic and shrimp paste, but adds the flavors of coriander seed, cumin, cardamom, mace, and cinnamon.

Massaman Curry
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 lb potatoes, 1/2" cubes
1 lg onion, 1/2" pieces
4 lg carrots, 1/2" pieces
1 can thick coconut milk
1 can light coconut milk
1/4 -1/3 c massaman curry paste
3 T sugar (palm, if you have it; brown is also nice)
1 T tamarind paste (optional)
2 T fish sauce
1 c peanuts (reserve a few for garnish)
thai basil (optional)


Add 4 T of coconut cream to a large wok over medium high heat. Add the curry paste and cook until fragrant. Add more of the thick part of the coconut milk and the chicken. Stir fry a few minutes. Add the remainder of the can, the can of light coconut milk, and the veggies. Stir to coat and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer until potatoes are done, about 5 minutes. Stir in peanuts, sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind paste and cook a few minutes more. Sprinkle basil over the top and a few reserved peanuts.

Serve with rice.

Serves 10 (extra curry freezes well)