Roasted Chickpea & Veggie Bowl

 

 

My favourite way to cook my veggies is in the oven! Nothing can quite measure up to the flavours and textures that result from a 400 degree oven!

I quickly devoured two of these bowls!

This past week has been absolutely crazy! I have started to move out of my house, pack for Germany and celebrate the holidays with my family. Needless to say I have not been creating my usual kitchen masterpieces (open to interpretation ).

With only a lonely tin of chickpeas, 2 heads of broccoli and three carrots, I was determined to feed myself some thing delicious! Thus, the “Roasted Chickpea and Veggie Bowl” was born!

Toss in olive oil and spices right on the baking tray!

Only veggies on hand!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roasted Chickpea & Veggie Bowl

This recipe is ideal for substitutions, below are the veggies that I used, however you can use any veggie that lends itself well to baking.  Many things would work, such as: zucchini, sweet peppers,  beets, cauliflower etc..  As usual I did not measure any of the spices, I simply tasted as I went.  If I were to guess, I used roughly 1 teaspoon of garlic powder but you can use any spice mix you wish.  I often use cajun seasoning or curry powder.

What I used:

3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 heads of broccoli florets, roughly chopped

1 15oz can of chickpeas

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Garlic Powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (I ran out so I had to use tinfoil).  Rinse the chick peas with cold water and pat dry on the counter between two paper towels or clean tea towels.  Pour chick peas onto a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with pepper and salt.  Sprinkle a controlled amount of garlic powder on the chickpeas, so there is a thin even layer covering them.  Toss the chickpeas with your hands so they are all coated in the oil and spices.

Place the chopped veggies onto the other baking tray.  Repeat the same process using the olive oil, pepper, and salt.  I did not use garlic powder on my veggies because I did not want the garlic flavour to overpower the dish.

Place both trays in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven).  Both of my trays did not fit on the middle rack so I placed the chickpeas on the bottom rack. I was a bit nervous that they would brown too quickly, but I kept an eye on the them and it worked out well!   After 10-15 minutes take both trays out of the oven. Flip over the veggies and stir around the chickpeas (I just used a spatula).  You can also try giving the trays a shake, but I find that doesn’t work too well.

Taste each before placing back in the oven!  Add more seasoning if necessary!  I added more of everything 🙂

  

Fresh out of the oven, toss together in a bowl and enjoy!  If you try it, let me know how it turned out for you!

Now I have to get back to some serious packing…

xxx talkveggiestome

Mixed Bean, Squash and Freekeh Stew

I accidentally created a recipe last night and it actually tasted amazing! I must record this so it does not slip my mind. Squirrel.

I recently bought a box of freekeh (beacuse it was on sale, and sounded cool) and I really didn’t know what to expect.   It is basically roasted green wheat seeds, similar in appearance and texture to bulgur, and it smells like the earth when cooked.  My original intention was to just eat the freekeh with the stew on top.   After doing a bit of research, I learned that nobody eats freekeh plain.  So this happened:

In a large saucepan combine:

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 lb of peeled, butternut squash (cut into 1/2 inch pieces or just cut it however you damn well please)

1 chopped red bell pepper

2 peeled,sliced and halved broccoli stalks

1 diced purple onion

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/2 of a jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

Heat veggies over medium heat and spice that shit up with lots of pepper and salt.  Stir often so you don’t scorch your only good stock pot…

After about 7 minutes or when the onion has turned translucent or you are sick of stirring it, add:

1 tbsp chili powder (spice up your life)

1 teaspoon cumin (spice it up some more)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (your life is officially spiced-up)

1 24 oz can of diced tomatoes and their juices

2 19 oz cans of mixed beans (I can’t remember if they are 19 oz, just use the standard size. You know what I mean. RINSE THEM. Srsly.)

3 cups of veggie broth (Or do it the lazy way like me, and toss in a bullion cube and 3 cups of water)

Juice of half of a lemon

Let that boil, then reduce to a feisty simmer for about 30-45 minutes.  You can test for readiness by stabbing the squash and broccoli stalks with a fork.

While the awesome smell of the stew fills your house, make the freekeh according to box directions. And get your freekon.

When you are done getting your freekon, add cooked freekeh to your stew. Your stew should be done by now.  Feel free to spice up your life (stew) some more.  I don’t know your life, do you boo.

IF YOU DON’T LIKE MY VEGGIES:

Substitute! Switch out for whatever you want, this is stew, not Breaking Bad.  No need to be precise with anything.