Moroccan-Style Chickpeas with Heirloom Tomatoes, Squash and Kale served over Red Quinoa

This was a quick dinner that I made last night using some Moroccan inspired spices and some vegetables my bff brought over from her garden. I used heirloom tomatoes because their siren call while I'm shopping for groceries never fails to lull me. Plus, they're in season and pretty cheap right now and they taste delicious! Sooo, if you have the means and the way, please use the best tomatoes you can find, I do think it will make a difference. 

You've probably noticed that I haven't featured any meat dishes so far. While neither my boyfriend nor I are vegetarians, he only eats fish, so you won't see any poultry, beef or pork gracing the pages on a regular basis. 


This recipe comes together very quickly, about 10 to 15 minutes to prep all of the vegetables (unless you are a knife skills ninja, oh yea!) and about 20 to 25 minutes total cooking time. So if you love spicy and pungent flavors like me, or if you want to give something new a try, give this recipe a shot. I'll admit right now, the next time I'm craving some sort of ethnic takeout, I'll probably make this instead...it's damn good!

Moroccan-Style Chickpeas with Heirloom Tomatoes, Squash and Kale served over Red Quinoa

Serves 4 

1 tbs Olive oil

½ cup diced Onion (1 small-medium size onion)

2 tsp Whole cumin, toasted and ground (or 1 tsp Ground)

½ tsp Ground ginger

½ tsp Ground coriander

¼ tsp Ground cinnamon

1 tsp Yellow curry powder

½ tsp Cayenne pepper

1 cup Yellow Squash, ¼” slices

1 cup Zucchini Squash, 1/4” slices

2 cups Tomatoes, sliced into wedges (see notes)

1 bunch Dino Kale, sliced into ¼” ribbons (see notes)

1 can (15oz) Chickpeas, rinsed and drained

½ Lemon

½ tsp Kosher salt, or to taste

1 Tbs Corn starch

1 cup Red Quinoa

2 cups Water

1. Bring the quinoa, a pinch of salt and 2 cups of water to a boil in a small sauce pan. Once boiling, turn the heat to low, cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Once done, fluff with a fork and set aside.
2. While the quinoa is coming to a boil, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and the next six ingredients. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. If the spices are sticking to the pan, add about ¼ cup of water or stock if you have it, to deglaze the pan.
3. Add the salt, squash, tomatoes, kale and chickpeas and cook at a simmer for about 10 minutes. After about 8 minutes, squeeze the juice from the lemon into the pan (or into small bowl to retrieve the seeds first), then place the lemon in the pan cut side down until it is finished cooking. Stir the mixture occasionally to coat all of the veggies in the accumulating liquid.
4. Remove the lemon and push the vegetables to one side of the pan. Slowly sprinkle the cornstarch into the accumulated liquid while whisking to thicken the liquid into a sauce.
5. Check seasoning and add more salt if needed. Let cool for a few minutes and soak up the juices.
6. To serve: Spoon about ½ cup of cooked quinoa onto four plates and spread with the back of your spoon into a thin layer. Mound about 1 generous cup of the chickpea mixture on top of the quinoa.

Notes:

• I used heirloom tomatoes, but you can use any tomatoes you have. Cut each tomato into 6 to 8 wedges, depending on how large they are.
• For the kale, cut out the hard stalk in the center of each leaf and stack each leaf on top of each other. Then, starting at one end, slowly start thinly slicing the kale so you get thin ribbons. You may have to slightly roll the kale into a cigarette shape to be able to slice through all of the leaves easily.
• Any of the vegetables can be left out, substituted for something else, etc. For example, chard would work nicely instead of the kale or could use peas, cauliflower and carrots in place of the squash. The possibilities are endless really; the only consideration you have to make is how soft or dense the vegetable is. The more dense the vegetable, like a carrot, the longer it will take to cook. So add the denser vegetable first, and the softer ones, like squash or peas, later in the cooking process.
• The quinoa can also be swapped out for cous cous, basmati rice or flatbread. The main thing is, you should use what you like!
• I used basil as a garnish, but you could use cilantro or mint too, or nothing at all. If you use an herb for a garnish, chop up a few additional leaves to stir in right before you serve it to pull the flavors together.