When you're short on time, a comforting bowl of ginger turmeric chickpeas is the answer.
It's hearty enough for dinner, light enough for lunch, flexible enough for eaters of various dietary persuasions. This treatment comes from a lovely new book by Rakhee Yadav, who spices canned chickpeas with turmeric, cumin and ginger and saves some of the red onion to go on top as a crunchy garnish, along with cilantro or parsley. The twist that takes these up a notch: cherry tomatoes, roasted just long enough for them to collapse. They add a pop of tartness to balance the base of warming spices.
Ginger Turmeric Chickpeas With Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
½ pint cherry tomatoes
Olive oil
Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added chickpeas (about 3 cups), drained and rinsed
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and chopped (1 tablespoon)
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup fresh cilantro or parsley leaves, for garnish
Heat oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle.
Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the cherry tomatoes on the baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and the pepper and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cherry tomatoes start to collapse.
While the tomatoes are roasting, separate 2 tablespoons of the sliced onions and reserve for garnish.
Set a large skillet over medium-high heat and pour olive oil to coat. Once it shimmers, stir in the remaining sliced onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion begins to brown at the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and stir in the chickpeas and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until the ginger is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the turmeric, cumin and about 2 tablespoons water, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the flavors have melded, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the roasted tomatoes and cook another minute. Season to taste with salt. Stir in a couple of more tablespoons water if the mixture seems too dry.
Divide among serving plates. Garnish with the reserved onion slices and the cilantro. Serve right away.
Makes 2 servings.
Recipe adapted from Heavenly Vegan Dals & Curries by Rakhee Yadav (Page Street Publishing, 2019)
Food on 01/08/2020