Chickpea and spinach curry

The best thing about this recipe is that it is quick and relies on staples that are usually in my cupboard/fridge. The other thing is that it is mild and great for the kids.

splash of olive oil
1 red onion
3 cloves garlic finely sliced
2 teaspoons jar ginger
1 teaspoon of sambal olek
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 cup water
2 cans of chickpeas, drained
1 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
pepper
500gm cherry tomatoes
250gm frozen chopped spinach (thawed and juice squeezed out)
1 cup corn
1 cup of peas

In a large fry pan heat oil, when hot add the onion, garlic, ginger, sambal olek and salt. Cook until onions are soft. Add the chickpeas, corn, peas, water, cumin, turmeric and pepper and cook until the water evaporates. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Stir through the spinach.

Serve with plain yogurt.
Serves 4.

Options

• Reduce the amount of sambal olek if concerned about spiciness
• Use fresh green chili's (1 or 2) if available
• Omit corn and peas as they are not a traditional ingredient in this sort of dish (I only added them as they were in the fridge and demanding to be eaten, great excuse to get more vegies accidently into kids)

Broad bean fritters with lemon yoghurt

Tonight we had broad bean fritters. Now I am the first to admit I have never been a fan of broad beans, however this recipe has changed my mind. Would make an excellent entree.

500g frozen broad beans skinned
6 sprigs of coriander plus 6 for the yogurt dressing
sea salt
ground pepper
1 level teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of sambal olek
1 heaped teaspoon of gluten free plain flour (or ordinary plain flour)
zest and juice of one lemon
Vegetable oil for frying
125g natural yogurt
salad leaves

Pinch off skins of broad beans. Whizz the coriander, add salt and pepper, then add the spices, sambal olek, broad beans and lemon zest. Whizz until finely chopped - stopping to scrape the mixture off the sides of the bowl. Sprinkle in the flour and pulse a few more times.

Shape the mixture into small rounds, approximately 20, and drop into preheated oil. Cook until brown on the outside (1-2 minutes). Drain on kitchen paper and serve on washed salad greens.

To make the lemon yogurt dressing, finely chop another six sprigs of coriander and stir into the yogurt, add the juice of half the lemon and mix well. Dress the salad leaves with any left over lemon juice and a little olive oil.

Alternatives
Use mint instead of coriander in the yogurt.
Use a small fresh chili instead of the sambal olek
Make the fritters larger for more of a main meal option

Other recipes coming this month:

• Spinach and chickpea curry
• Ratatouille
• Thai pork balls
• Rice salad
• Asparagus souffle

Aunty A

Interesting Vegetarian Blog Site

I was searching today for a spinach and chickpea curry (now that the temperature is out of the 30's I have an urge to cook warm food!) for dinner tonight and for a dinner party next week. As I was searching I found this blog site:

From the Kitchen of a Captious Vegetarian

It is written by a woman called Rose who grew up in Texas, has lived in Canada and is moving to live in Germany as her husband Derek has a new job there.

I like how she writes and I like the variety of her recipes, check it out sometime. For those, like me, who wonder what Captious actually means, here is the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defiinition

"marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections"

which I guess means that Rose is a critical vegetarian!!!

Aunty A

New year, new you?

If you are thinking about making 2008 a year when there is less of you around! then you might want to check out this link.

Here is to another year of wonderful recipes and cooking ideas.