Today's dinner is chickpeas and mushrooms and sweet potatoes. But something more exciting than dinner was going on while Dr. Rubrub and I were waiting for the broth to reduce: FARMING.
Meet Dr. Rubrub's manfriend:
He's making the starters for what promises to be THE MOST EPIC VEGETABLE GARDEN OF ALL TIME.
Did I mention how much I love tomatoes? PROBABLY NOT. But I once spent a road trip trying to convince the driver that I was lycopene-deficient so that he would stop at a produce stand so I could eat more tomatoes. (Sorry Eric!!) It mostly didn't work. But I love tomatoes more than I love most anything else except maybe Avocados and Spider.
Anyway, we're taking up farming. So while Dr. Rubrub's Manfriend was hard at work planting, the good doctor and I were making dinner. I had planned on doing a Moroccan-inspired chickpea and tomato stew, but the sweet potatoes were both near the end of their life and calling to me. Also there were mushrooms, which, upon considerations, might rank even higher than tomatoes (thought not higher than Spider, of course.)
Ingredients:
4 15-oz cans of chickpeas (RINSED! For the love of god people)
2 cups of sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas but crimini would be lovely)
4 small sweet potatoes, diced (I would actually use more if you can but this was all I had)
1 box chicken stock (Veggie works just fine)
1 red onion, diced
(2-3 cloves garlic if you aren't allergic)
4 tablespoons butter
Juice of 1 large lemon
Spices and such, to taste:
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
smoked paprika
cumin
white wine
thyme
oregano
ginger
cloves
za'atar
crushed red pepper flakes
salt & pepper
(Yes, I know that's a lot. All of them are optional. Look through your spice cabinet for warm/hot spices and slowly build up the flavor.. I'll get to seasoning in more detail later.)
Toss the cubed sweet potatoes in a little olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. dot with 1-2 tablespoons of butter, cut into little pieces, like so:
Melt the other two tablespoons of butter in a large pot. Add a few shakes of red pepper flakes, and about a teaspoon of each of the spices, a splash of olive oil and balsamic. Sweat the onions (and garlic, if using) and, once they soften, add the mushrooms. If the mixture looks dry after several good stirs consider adding a bit more butter.
Add the lemon juice, white wine and a pinch of salt and pepper. Up the heat to medium high and stir a few times, until the mushrooms are starting to get blurry at the edges (HINT: drinking gin and ginger beer helps speed this process, stir longer if this is the case.) Add the chickpeas and then the broth, raising the heat to high until you just barely get it boiling. Reduce heat to med/high (You don't want it rolling but you do want a steady bubble.) Stir frequently.
Don't forget those sweet potatoes! The whole point of roasting them separately is to get the nice, crispy texture that high, dry heat will give them, but you don't want them burned.
See what Dr. Rubrub is doing? She's tasting the cooking liquid. Right after I took this picture she said "Hmm.. it needs... something." And damn it, she was right. It turned out to be more cumin, more balsamic, and more salt. Taste as you go and gently up the spice levels, because as things reduce the flavor will get stronger. Be especially easy on the salt, which you'll want to finish the stew with anyway. And keep in mind the sweet potatoes, which will add sweetness and a little spice.
Drink heavily:
The broth is going to take a while to reduce. If you're like me and get less patient as you drink, turn the heat up a little and things will reduce faster. If you're a grownup, let the damn thing simmer. Once you've got about an inch of liquid in the bottom when you pull away the solids, add the sweet potatoes, turn off the burner (leave the pot on it) and cover with a lid. Walk away. Admire the plants. Maybe watch Alton Brown make Mac and Cheese and then have a crisis about the fact that your dinner is NOT Alton Brown's Mac and Cheese. It'll be fine. In about 10-15 minutes Spider will be home from work and the stew will be perfect. The broth will have reduced to something closer to a sauce, and everything will be tender. Taste before you serve, adding salt and pepper if needed.
Meet Dr. Rubrub's manfriend:
Anyway, we're taking up farming. So while Dr. Rubrub's Manfriend was hard at work planting, the good doctor and I were making dinner. I had planned on doing a Moroccan-inspired chickpea and tomato stew, but the sweet potatoes were both near the end of their life and calling to me. Also there were mushrooms, which, upon considerations, might rank even higher than tomatoes (thought not higher than Spider, of course.)
4 15-oz cans of chickpeas (RINSED! For the love of god people)
2 cups of sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas but crimini would be lovely)
4 small sweet potatoes, diced (I would actually use more if you can but this was all I had)
1 box chicken stock (Veggie works just fine)
1 red onion, diced
(2-3 cloves garlic if you aren't allergic)
4 tablespoons butter
Juice of 1 large lemon
Spices and such, to taste:
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
smoked paprika
cumin
white wine
thyme
oregano
ginger
cloves
za'atar
crushed red pepper flakes
salt & pepper
(Yes, I know that's a lot. All of them are optional. Look through your spice cabinet for warm/hot spices and slowly build up the flavor.. I'll get to seasoning in more detail later.)
Toss the cubed sweet potatoes in a little olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. dot with 1-2 tablespoons of butter, cut into little pieces, like so:
Bake for 15 minutes or so at 425, stirring every few minutes. (You might have to wait for the oven to clear out, but if your housemate makes 'dillas as good as Boogie, it'll be worth it.)
Melt the other two tablespoons of butter in a large pot. Add a few shakes of red pepper flakes, and about a teaspoon of each of the spices, a splash of olive oil and balsamic. Sweat the onions (and garlic, if using) and, once they soften, add the mushrooms. If the mixture looks dry after several good stirs consider adding a bit more butter.
Add the lemon juice, white wine and a pinch of salt and pepper. Up the heat to medium high and stir a few times, until the mushrooms are starting to get blurry at the edges (HINT: drinking gin and ginger beer helps speed this process, stir longer if this is the case.) Add the chickpeas and then the broth, raising the heat to high until you just barely get it boiling. Reduce heat to med/high (You don't want it rolling but you do want a steady bubble.) Stir frequently.
Don't forget those sweet potatoes! The whole point of roasting them separately is to get the nice, crispy texture that high, dry heat will give them, but you don't want them burned.
 |
Drink heavily:
The broth is going to take a while to reduce. If you're like me and get less patient as you drink, turn the heat up a little and things will reduce faster. If you're a grownup, let the damn thing simmer. Once you've got about an inch of liquid in the bottom when you pull away the solids, add the sweet potatoes, turn off the burner (leave the pot on it) and cover with a lid. Walk away. Admire the plants. Maybe watch Alton Brown make Mac and Cheese and then have a crisis about the fact that your dinner is NOT Alton Brown's Mac and Cheese. It'll be fine. In about 10-15 minutes Spider will be home from work and the stew will be perfect. The broth will have reduced to something closer to a sauce, and everything will be tender. Taste before you serve, adding salt and pepper if needed.
See? Perfect.
You've got a meal that's super high in protein, fiber and vitamins. It's also delicious, hearty and will reheat nicely on day 2.
Once our garden is growing, I'll try harder to make more seasonal recipes and to use fresh herbs. For now, this is pretty damn tasty. (And pairs nicely with Gin and Gingers, in case you were so inclined.)
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