Chickpea Stew

My little family isn't usually too keen on healthy dinners (they much prefer casseroles, meat-loaf and potatoes) that include a lot of veggies, chickpeas, or CousCous, but my friend Kim's family loves the stuff and could eat if for breakfast, lunch and dinner so I decided I'd try something new and go ahead and make it. My boys didn't eat a spoon of it, but Stuart didn't complain :) The stew turned out awesome. I ate two bowls of it. Also, I didn't add any almonds, I put in two cans of chickpeas, and I put more salt than the recipe called for. So, if you're a fan of healthy, yummy food try this out. I highly recommend it. Thanks Kim! 

This recipe comes from Vegetarian Planet cookbook, by Didi Emmons. These amounts serve 4. 

STEW:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sliced onion

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 carrots, sliced thin diagonally

2 large red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2" squares

2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

fresh ground black pepper

1/2 cup red wine

1 heaping teaspoon paprika

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup (or more) cooked chickpeas

1/4 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (Coriander, for the Australians)

COUSCOUS:

2 1/3 cups water

1 1/3 cups couscous

1/2 tsp salt

butter or olive oil

In a large sauce pan or skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Stir in the carrots, red peppers, tomatoes, salt, pepper & wine. Then add the paprika and cinnamon. Stir and bring the stew to a boil. Turn the heat to low, and cover the pan tightly. Simmer the stew for 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Stir in the chickpeas.

Meanwhile, make the couscous: In a saucepan, bring the water and oil to a boil, and add the couscous and salt. Remove the pan from the heat, cover the pan, and let the couscous stand for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous by lightly running a fork back and forth in the pan, starting with the very top layer of granules and gradually working your way down.

Stir the almonds, lemon juice and cilantro (coriander) into the stew. Spoon the couscous into bowls, make a little well in the middle of each and spoon in the stew. Enjoy!