Chickpea and Chorizo Soup

Chickpea and Chorizo Soup

I found a recipe for this soup on a Jamie Oliver recipe. I changed it a little, like I didn't add the egg for example. I just thought I'd make the recipe a little easier from things from my fridge and pantry. It was a nice spicy soup, good for the winter time.

ingredients:

half a link of chorizo
1 can of chickpeas

1 carrot
1/2 onion
handful of kale
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 container of chicken stock (or veggie)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp paprika
salt
pepper

directions:

1. Dice one onion, and put it in a large pot with some oil or butter. Chop up about half a link of store bought chorizo, and toss that into that pot after the onions get translucent or caramelized. At this point you can also toss in one carrot cut into tiny pieces. Put in 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper and mix. Next, put in about 2 cloves of garlic crushed. And cook for 1-2 minutes.

2. Then add your can of diced tomatoes, and about 1/2 container of chicken stock. Put in about as much as you'd like. After that, you can put in one can of whole chickpeas. Put the pot at about medium heat, and cooking for 15-20 minutes.

3. Let the pot cook, so that the carrots and chcikeaps are all cooked through. Then add in a handful of chopped kale into the pot. Cook for a few more minutes.

4. Taste the soup. Is it spicy enough? Salty enough? Add more cayenne pepper or chili flakes for spice. If you'd like the soup to be a little redder you could also add some paprika.

Chickpea Sweet Potato Cauliflower Kale Curry on Cauliflower Rice

Chickpea Sweet Potato Cauliflower Kale Curry on Cauliflower Rice

This coconut curry was delicious! It was the first time I added sweet potato to a curry and I think it turned out very well. By getting some of the sweetness from the onion and sweet potato, I found I had to add less sugar to the curry itself (as I like mine a little sweet pared with the coconut). The cauliflower rice was an idea I got from Jamie Oliver.

ingredients

1 can chickpeas
1 can coconut milk
1 onion
1 sweet potato
1/4-1/3 cauliflower
A handful of kale
1 tbsp of curry powder of paste
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 turmeric (mostly for colour)
1/2 coriander
1/2 brown sugar
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp salt

directions

1. Start by prepping all your ingredients by chopping the sweet potato into chunks, dicing the onion, slicing the kale into thing strips, and opening your cans of chickpeas and coconut.

2. Begin cooking by frying your onions in some kind of flavourless oil until they are translucent. You can then add in your spices and garlic. Cook them for a 1-2 minutes to reinvigorate them.

3. Toss in your sweet potato, chickpeas and cauliflower as they will take longer to cook than the kale. Then add in your coconut milk (including most of the liquid if you want it a little soupy, if not try to use most of just the creamy parts) and any spices you haven't already added.

4. At this point things will need to cook for a while. Maybe 10-15 minutes. But this is the most important part because you need to taste the sauce of your curry. You want to find a nice balance. It needs enough salt, sweetness, and heat to really work.

5. After the sauce is tasting good and it has cooked down a bit and your vegetables are cooked through. Add in your kale. This should cook through in a few minutes.

6. Serve with rice or quinoa. Or you can blend some cauliflower in a food process until its the shape of rice. Steam it. And perhaps lightly salt it with a fine salt.

Lemony Garlicy Hummus

Lemony Garlicy Hummus

I used to make hummus all the time years ago. And it appears my culinary skills have vastly improved as this was the most tasty hummus I have ever made.

ingredients:

1 can chickpeas
1 tbsp tahini
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lemon (juice and zest)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

directions:

1. In a blender or food processor, combine 1 can of cooked chickpeas, tahini pasta, crushed garlic cloves, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and salt and pepper.

2. Blend until smooth. Add extra water if needed.

3. Serve with baguette or pita or chips. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley if you want to make it look fancy.

Chickpea Curry

Chickpea Curry

Ingredients:

1 can Chickpeas
1 Red pepper
1 Green pepper (Sometimes I will do orange instead)
1 Onion (white or yellow)
1 Garlic Clove
1 can Cocunut Milk (or 1/2 can)
1 tablespoon Curry Powder
1 tablespoon Cumin
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric (mostly for colour)
1/4 teaspoon Chili Powder
Salt
Olive Oil
Water

Instructions:

1. Dice up a red pepper, green pepper, and onion. Mash up some garlic. Add these elements into a frying pan, in perhaps some margarine. Add some salt to help release the water in the vegetables. Add 1 can of chickpeas. Then cover with water so everything is submerged. Cook on
medium heat.
2. After a while, the chickpeas will soften, you will see the skin start to peel off a bit. And the water will evaporate.
3. Once the water has evaporated, it is time to add the spices. Put in 1 tablespoon curry, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
(you can add more if you want it hotter but I really recommend this amount) and at least 1/2 can of coconut milk. (I usually don't shake the can up and just add the creamy half floating on the
top and chuck the rest)
4. Let that cook down, so the coconut milk and spices reduce and become sticky. Once sticky, add in a little olive oil and mix it together. (oil isn't necesarry but maybe helps bind it and give
it a little shine)
5. Serve with basmati rice.

Chickpea and Carrot Salad with Kalamata Olives

Chickpea and Carrot Salad with Kalamata Olives

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped (I have bought pitted ones at Loblaws)
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 green onion/scallions, finely chopped

Vinaigrette:
1 medium garlic clove, minced/crushed
Zest of ½ lemon and juice of the whole lemon
1 tbs. ground cumin
2 tsp. paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
black pepper, to taste
3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, olives, carrots, cilantro and scallions. To make the vinaigrette, combine all the ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake until emulsified. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.