Chick Pea Mash

Ingredients

2 (15.5-ounce) cans chickpeas

1/2 cup chicken stock (I use gluten and salt free)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 diced white onion

1 ripe medium-size tomatoes, seeded and small-diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons minced curly parsley
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

drizzle of balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
 

Directions

Pour the chickpeas into a strainer and rinse them under cold running water. Drain well. Place the chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the chicken stock and pulse until the chickpeas are coarsely pureed.

In a medium (10-inch) saute pan, heat 1 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and tomato and saute for 3 to 4 minutes, until the tomato is softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the chickpeas, stirring to combine with the tomatoes and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and taste for seasonings. Pile in a serving bowl, drizzle with extra olive oil.

**note that I found this delicious but quite dense...the next time I'd mix it (1/2 and 1/2) mashed sweet or **white potatoes

adapted from Ina Garten

Curry Chicken Stew

1 large carrot (finely diced)
1 celery stalk (finely diced)
1 yellow onion (finely diced)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP flour  ( I used 3 TBSP chick pea flour)
3 TBSP yellow curry powder
1 TBSP red curry paste

2 TBSP butter

1 1/2  cup chicken stock (I use salt-free and gluten free)
1/3 c almond butter (or peanut butter is fine too)


1 medium sized sweet potato (about 1" cubes)
1 yellow zucchini (1" dice)
1 can chick peas
1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame beans
1 cup baby spinach

1 1/2 c cooked chicken

1/4 c freshly chopped parsley
minced chives or green onion
fat free Greek yogurt
hot sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic in the olive oil on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.  Add the curry powder, curry paste, butter, and flour and saute on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes.  If you don't have red curry paste you can just use a little extra yellow curry powder.  Warm the chicken stock in the microwave to almost boiling.  Add to the carrot/curry mixture, stir well using a whisk, and bring to a simmer.  Add the almond or peanut butter and (using the whisk) make sure it dissolves completely into the broth.

Add any root or longer cooking vegetables (like the potatoes).  Simmer for 5-10 minutes (or until almost cooked)  and add the quick cooking and/or canned/frozen vegetables:  zucchini, chick peas, frozen edamame, spinach, and the chicken.  Taste!  Adjust flavoring with salt, pepper, and hot sauce.  Add the parsley just before serving.  Garnish with sliced green onions or chives and fat free Greek yogurt.

A couple of notes/hints:

If you're using raw chicken, dice it up and saute it before the onions/carrot mixture and remove it from the pan and set it aside to add later. I usually make this with leftover bbq chicken (that's what I served at our reunion pot luck (sorry!) :-)

This really makes a great "leftovers" stew.  I've been known to add leftover rice, vegetables and pork roast.  You can also leave out the starches (like potato or rice) and use it as as a sauce over a rice or pasta.  It really can be whatever you want or have handy in your refrigerator.

You can and should use whatever vegetables you love.  Sometimes I'll use a color theme, like fresh grilled corn cut off the cob, yellow zucchini, yellow beans (in season) with the chick peas;  or carrots, sweet potato, diced summer squash;  or green beans, green zucchini, frozen peas, edamame, arugula.