Whenever the folks at Cal-Organic Farms send me a box of fresh produce, I get excited to meal plan around the contents. A recent shipment, for example, included fennel, mustard greens, rainbow carrots and green leaf lettuce, which inspired me to make …
- A refreshing shaved fennel salad with croutons and walnuts
- Colu Henry’s comforting pasta e ceci
- Yotam Ottolenghi’s hearty braised chickpeas with carrots
I still need to figure out what to do with the green leaf lettuce before it wilts! Any suggestions? In the meantime, I’ll be eating up the last of this braised chickpeas with carrots (with thick slices of sourdough bread) and vegan laksa from Dabao Singapore. Both are super satisfying and good options for anyone looking to consume less meat.
What veggie-centric recipes or restaurant dishes do you get excited about? Let me know in a comment below!
Recipe adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi via The Guardian.
- 1½ cups dried chickpeas
- 1¼ teaspoons baking soda, divided
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1" piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 serrano pepper, roughly chopped
- ¾ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 6 carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 2½" pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup Feta cheese crumbles
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 1 teaspoon chopped toasted caraway seeds
- 2 tablespoons chopped carrot tops, plus more for garnish
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Place chickpeas and 1 teaspoon baking soda in a large bowl and cover with cold water; let stand at room temperature for at least 12 hours. Drain well.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the onion, garlic, ginger and serrano pepper in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Add cilantro and pulse a few times until well combined.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot with a lid. Add onion mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes. Add cumin, cinnamon, dates and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Add chickpeas, carrots, bay leaves, black pepper, remaining ¼ teaspoon baking soda and 5 cups water. Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that rises to the top. Cover and bake for 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the Feta cheese, lemon zest, caraway seeds, carrot tops and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Remove pot from the oven and stir in lemon juice and salt. Let stand for 10 minutes. Top with Feta cheese mixture and garnish with additional carrot tops.
