Month: January 2022

Chickpea Spinach Curry

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment
Chickpea Spinach Curry

Chickpea Spinach Curry, is ready in under 45 min. and packs a punch of flavors and nutrition. This vegan curry is a great option for nights when everyone is hungry and you are short on time. Or if you are trying to eat more plant-based meals and want a delicious option. It’s an easy-to-prepare dish that comes together with mostly pantry items. While I generally cook my own beans and almost always have them in my fridge, canned chickpeas (garbanzo) would work well here. We did eat this with a dollop of plain, whole milk Bulgarian-style yogurt. However, it can be eaten as is or by using a plant-based yogurt. Serve it over rice (brown rice pictured here) or any other grain you prefer.

Chickpea Spinach Curry came onto my roster because I had just bought a box of spinach for something that it turned out I wasn’t in the mood to make. I didn’t want it to go to waste. I always have chickpeas on hand and the spices in my pantry so I searched online until I found this recipe. As always, when preparing to make something new, I look at 5 or 6 versions online or in cookbooks and then pick and choose the parts I like best. I only made a couple of tweaks to this recipe to suit our tastes. While I wasn’t familiar with the website, I’ve become quite good at knowing if a recipe will work just from reading it.

As I have mentioned many times, my husband and I eat and both bake a lot of bread in our house. So I served this with store-bought naan, warmed in the oven. If you are in the mood or made it ahead, my Flaky Flatbread would also be a wonderful accompaniment. I love to make the flaky flatbread or a stuffed spinach flatbread, which I hope to post soon. They freeze beautifully and also keep well wrapped up in the refrigerator. So when I have the time and am in the mood, I make a stack to have on hand.

A simple winter dessert of spiced fruit compote that I made last week, with some gingersnaps on the side made for a satisfying and mostly very healthy meal. Every winter I prepare compote made from dried fruits in a spiced sugar syrup. It lasts most of the winter in a glass jar in the fridge. Wonderful as is or over any simple pound cake or olive oil cake, it makes a lovely end to a simple meal. It is especially great after a spicy meal, balancing out the spiciness to perfection.

Whether you are going for a meatless Monday or are vegetarian or vegan, this meal will not disappoint!

Recipe

Chickpea Spinach Curry

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

3 tbsp sunflower or canola oil
1 large onion finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
1 inch ginger, finely grated (No need to remove the skin)
1 Tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 Tablespoon ground turmeric
1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or chili flakes
1.5 cups crushed tomatoes (400g) (An average 14.5 oz. can)
3 cups cooked chickpeas (500g) (About 2 average cans. Exact amounts are not essential here)
3/4 cup vegetable stock (177 ml) or 1 bouillon cube dissolved in 3/4 cup of water.
1 cup frozen chopped spinach or 142 gm fresh/frozen chopped spinach (5 oz. box)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp garam masala
1 tablespoon lemon juice or to taste (I used 1/2 of a juicy lemon)


OPTIONAL:

About 5oz. full-fat coconut milk or unsweetened coconut creme (148 ml) (The coconut creme available to me comes in a 5 oz. can which was perfect. If you use up coconut milk pretty quickly then leftover milk from a larger can is no problem. You can also freeze leftover coconut milk in an ice cube tray and pop them out whenever needed.)

Garnish
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves (coriander leaves)

Yogurt (milk or non-dairy)

Directions

Chickpea Spinach Curry


Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium-high setting. Sauté the finely chopped onion until golden, about 10 minutes.

Add the crushed or minced garlic and grated ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the garlic doesn’t smell raw anymore.

Mix in the next four ingredients (ground coriander, turmeric, cumin, and cayenne) and toast for two minutes stirring often.

Add the crushed tomatoes, chickpeas and vegetable stock. Increase the heat to high and
once boiling, lower to medium-low to maintain at a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every now
and then.

Add 1/2 tsp salt, the sugar, and the spinach. If the spinach is frozen increase the heat until the
curry is bubbling away again. Simmer for an additional five minutes.

Add the garam masala, lemon juice and coconut milk and stir. Sprinkle over the chopped
cilantro leaves and serve hot.

Meatballs in Tamarind Sauce

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment
Meatballs in Tamarind Sauce

These Syrian Meatballs in Tamarind Sauce are a fruity, tangy crowd pleaser. We have our son, daughter-in-law Frances and granddaughter visiting us this week. Originally scheduled to come for New Year’s and our son’s birthday, when my husband contracted Covid and the trip was postponed. Airlines were cancelling flights right and left as well. It had been so long since we had had them for a visit to Chicago that I had begun to feel that this day would never come. Thankfully, my husband recovered and because we both had been vaccinated and boostered, I managed to remain negative!

I had been dreaming of their visit forever and all of the things that we would do and meals that I would cook. Well, unfortunately the weather has been quite cold and they are used to California temperatures. So between that and Covid restrictions, a trip to the grocery store and one walk along the river is as exciting as it got. However, Nana and Grandpa made sure that we had lots of stories to read and toys to play with and Juliana helped Nana cook. Our granddaughter is only two so she has not yet been vaccinated and we wanted to be careful.

Well, I may not be able to control very much these days, but I could at least feed everyone well. As soon as I came across this recipe for Meatballs in Tamarind Sauce, I knew that I had a winner. I did make a few changes to quantities and method, but there is no one way to make these and every family has their own version.

These delicious meatballs are often served for Jewish Holidays, including Passover. Mine were made using breadcrumbs, but equal amounts of matzah meal could easily be swapped out to make them Kosher for Passover. Of course, you don’t have to Jewish to enjoy these yummy and satisfying meatballs and they likely are also made in non-Jewish Syrian communities. Traditionally served with rice, I used whole wheat couscous when I served them.

The meatballs call for a fairly large quantity of pine nuts, which are not inexpensive. A reasonable substitute would be blanched slivered almonds. However, if pine nuts are within your budget, I would encourage you to use them. Their unique flavor, especially when lightly toasted, just makes this dish truly celebratory.

The seasonings are warming baharat , Aleppo pepper and allspice with loads of chopped fresh herbs. And tamarind, which can be found in Indian and Middle Eastern stores is readily available online or in many spice stores these days.

The recipe I made called for ground beef, but ground lamb could be used instead. Meat has become quite expensive and normally my husband and I only eat it once a week, if that. However, the recipe does make 40 meatballs and will feed a crowd, especially with the usual array of salads and dips that are a part of every Middle Eastern/North African meal. Everyone, including my 2-year old granddaughter loved this dish!

Meatballs in Tamarind Sauce

Recipe

Yield: 40 golf-size meatballs

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

About 1 Tablespoon EVOO, Grapeseed or other oil

3 pounds of ground beef

5 large eggs

1.5 cups of pan-toasted pine nuts

3/4 cup fine dried bread crumbs (or matza meal)

About 2 cups of bread crumbs or matza meal for lightly coating the meatballs (I used a mix of Panko and regular fine dry bread crumbs.)

1.5 teaspoon kosher salt

1 heaping Tablespoon of baharat or allspice

1.5 teaspoons Aleppo pepper

2 large handfuls of fresh herbs, finely chopped. (Parsley, cilantro, dill and mint are wonderful)

For the sauce

2 teaspoons EVOO

1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

4 cups water

10 Tablespoons (1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons) good quality tamarind paste in concentrated form

6 ounces tomato paste

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Oil two sheet pans with about 1/2 Tablespoon on each pan.

Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl except for the oil. I like to use glass or stainless steel when working with raw meat. Wearing disposable gloves or with your hands moistened with cold water, roll the meatballs into golf-sized balls. You should get about 40 meatballs.

Place the 2 cups of bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Roll each meatball in the crumbs for a light coating. Add breadcrumbs as necessary. Place 20 meatballs on each sheet pan, with about 1 inch in between.

Place the pans in the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until well-browned.

Meanwhile in one or two large skillets, mix the ingredients for the sauce. Stir and simmer while the meatballs cook.

When the meatballs are browned and the sauce has simmered, add the meatballs to the sauce. Simmer for about 30 minutes, The sauce should have thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Spoon some of the sauce over the meatballs and serve over rice or couscous.