"The wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings. Let food be your medicine."
- Hippocrates

March 13, 2011

Coconut-Lime Chickpea Stew with Rice


I found this recipe in the Holiday issue of Food & Drink magazine...you know, the one you can pick up for free at the LCBO. After reading the title I was a little bummed as it was originally called Coconut-Lime Chicken Stew with Rice...booo! But after thinking for, oh, a nanosecond, I realized this stew would be fantastic with chickpeas instead! And so it was...sooo fantastic!

I made a few other changes to the recipe in addition to the chickpeas...here's the final product.

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cups onions, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups red pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
4 cups sweet potato, finely cubed
4 cups vegetable stock or water
1 can coconut milk (light or regular)
1 cup cooked basmati rice
1 can cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
Zest and juice of 2 limes
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In large pot, heat oil over medium heat, add onion, red pepper, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes - sauté until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the sweet potato and stock, bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve.

A note on freezing: This soup freezes really well, the only thing I'd recommend would be to let it thaw in the fridge overnight, then warm it up...rather than using the "defrost" function on your microwave. When reheating a soup with rice, you want to heat it as little as possible so as to avoid overcooked soggy mush. :D


Enjoy!