Recipe: Moroccan Spiced Chickpeas

It is cold and rainy today, so I wanted to make something warm and hearty for dinner.  I have also been craving chickpeas for the past few days (weird, I know).  So I decided to make chickpeas and season them with ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice mix, and ended up with this flavourful dish.

First, gather your ingredients.  I use canned chickpeas because I never think to pre-soak.  I try to buy canned chickpeas that are BPA-free (I use Eden Organics).  I'm not sure if the hype is warranted, but they are readily available and reasonably priced.  Drain and rinse your chickpeas and let them drip dry in the colander while you prepare your other ingredients.

If you don't have ras el hanout, you can make it as follows:

Ras El Hanout (makes about 1 and a half tablespoons needed for Moroccan Spiced Chickpeas recipe)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp allspice
pinch of ground cloves

Mix all the above spices together.

Next, prepare your onions, shallots and garlic.  I used a larger dice on my onions so they remained prominent in the dish, but a smaller mince on the garlic cloves and shallot so they blend better. Peel and dice your sweet potato to about a 1/4 inch dice, or larger if you want chunkier pieces. 

Saute the onions for a 3-4 minutes over medium heat until they start to soften.  Add garlic and shallots and saute for another minute.  Add spices and cook for another couple minutes.  Spices will become fragrant.

Quarter your tomatoes and put in food processor with tomato paste and 1/4c of vegetable broth.  Blend until smooth, approx 1 minute.

Add tomato puree to the onions, garlic and shallots and turn the heat up to high.  Add 1 cup of vegetable broth and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce to a simmer.  Add peeled and diced sweet potatoes.

Add drained chickpeas, stir well.

Bring to a simmer.  Cook covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom.  Uncover after 20 minutes and cook uncovered for 5 minutes to boil off some of the excess liquid.  Add the chopped cilantro and stir well. 

Garnish with sprigs of cilantro.  This dish would go nicely with some type of naan or other flat bread, and even with a dollop of greek yogurt (if you aren't vegan).

Moroccan Spiced Chickpeas
Makes 4 servings

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 c onion, diced
1 shallot, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4c sweet potato, diced
1 1/2 tbsp Ras El Hanout (Moroccan spice mix - recipe below)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
3 tsp turmeric
2 tomatoes, quartered
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/4 c low sodium vegetable stock
1/4c chopped cilantro, more for garnish

Saute onion for 3-4 minutes.  Add garlic and shallot and saute for another minute or so.  Add spices (Ras El Hanout, cumin, paprika, and turmeric) and saute for another 2 minutes.
Puree tomatoes and tomato paste with 1/4 cup of the vegetable sauce.  Add to the onion mixture along with the remaining 1 cup of vegetable stock and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, turn down to simmer and add sweet potato and chickpeas.  Again bring to a simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes until chickpeas and sweet potatoes are softened, stirring occasionally.  Uncover and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.  Add cilantro and stir well.  Serve in bowls and garnish with cilantro sprigs.


Ras El Hanout
Makes about 1 and a half tablespoons

1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp allspice
pinch of ground cloves

Mix all the above spices together.

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