Sweet potato and chickpea salad

Tags

chickpeas, garbanzo beans, salad, sweet potatoes, vegan, vegetarian, walnut oil, yams

One of my all time favourites.  Perfect for a lunch or as a side salad.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
3 medium sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 cup chickpeas/ garbanzo beans
dressing:
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
4 teaspoons walnut oil
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cilantro, fresh, roughly chopped
4 teaspoons sesame seeds or chopped walnuts

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 225 C / 450 F
Scrub the potato skins with a brush but do not peel
Make a few incisions in the potato
Sprinkle with cumin
Wrap individually in aluminum foil
Place in the oven and bake for 45 – 60 minutes
Remove and set aside to cool
dressing:
Whisk the mustard, walnut oil, olive oil, honey and lemon juice together
Season to taste
Add the chickpeas to the dressing
Crush the sweet potatoes with a fork and top with the chickpeas and dressing
Sprinkle with cilantro and sesame seeds
Bon appetit!

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Chicken with chorizo, potatoes, chickpeas and lemons

Tags

Chicken, chickpeas, chorizo, lemons, potatoes, spanish, stew

The smell when this simple, one dish meal is cooking, is simply fabulous. It takes about 10 minutes to prepare and then you sit back and enjoy a glass of white wine and wait for the oven to do its job. Make sure to have lots of fresh baguette on hand to mop up all that superb juice at the bottom of the dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lemon, quartered (preferably organic)
6 to 8 pieces thighs and drumsticks
1 tablespoon paprika (sweet)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
200g / 8oz strong chorizo, cut into small chunks
12 cloves of garlic, peeled
400ml / 1 3/4 cup hot chicken stock
2 pinches saffron
1 tin chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
Parsley, fresh, roughly chopped
1 cup Greek yoghurt

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F
Mix the paprika, the salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon olive oil together and massage into into the chicken pieces
Place the chicken in a roasting dish
In a medium bowl, mix the potatoes with the chorizo and the rest of the olive oil
Scatter around the chicken
Cover with a lid or aluminum foil
Place in the oven for 30 minutes
Remove the lid or foil, stir all, add the lemon quarters, garlic, hot stock, saffron and the chickpeas and return to oven for another 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked
Sprinkle with parsley
Meanwhile mix the yoghurt with a pinch of paprika and a pinch of saffron and stir well – serve alongside the chicken with lots of crusty baguette
Enjoy!

Pork, chorizo and chickpea casserole

Tags

casserole, chickpeas, chorizo, garbanzo beans, Pork, pork belly, spanish, stew, winter food

There is nothing better on a cold winters day than a delicious, flavourful and heart warming stew. This one is a one-pot dish with Spanish flavours. The best cut of pork to use is pork belly but if you cannot find any, you can actually substitute almost any other cut and the dish is just as good; just adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 700g / 1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless pork belly, cut into large bite-sized chunks
• 150g / 5oz cooking chorizo, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
• 1 pinch dried chilli flakes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 thyme sprig
• 1 large pinch light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons tomato purée
• 50ml / 3 tablespoons Sherry vinegar or good-quality red wine vinegar
• 400g / 14oz can chopped tomatoes
• 250ml / 1 cup water
• 400g / 14oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (garbanzo beans in the US)
• 1 small bunch parsley, chopped
• Crusty bread to serve

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 160C/325F
Heat the oil in a large pot (Le creuset or similar) over medium high heat
Add the pork and brown it nicely on all sides, about 8 minutes
Using a slotted spoon, remove the pork cubes and set aside
Add the chorizo and cook for about a minute or so
Add the onion, carrot, fennel seeds, chilli flakes, salt and pepper, garlic, bay leaves and thyme
Cook for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are just starting to soften and colour
Add the sugar, tomato concentrate and vinegar and cook for a minute
Pour in the tomatoes and the water
Return the pork to the pot and bring to a boil
Cover and place in the oven for 1 hour 45 minutes
Check occasionally – if the sauce becomes too thick, add a splash more water
Stir in the chickpeas and return to the oven for 15 minutes
Remove, add the parsley and serve with crusty bread to mop up all those flavours
Enjoy!