Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Are you looking for a dish where the leftovers are not only as good as the day you made it, but maybe even better? Moroccan chickpea stew is one of those dishes for me - it's a hearty meal and somehow keeps tasting better every day.

Ingredients:

For the stew

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 2 large carrots
• 1/2 head of cauliflower
• 1 medium size eggplant
• 3 small Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 medium size yellow onion
• 28 oz can of tomato puree
• Apx. 14 oz of water
  
• 15 oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup of golden raisins
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
  
• 1.5 teaspoon ground coriander
  
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2-4 dried whole chilies
  
• salt to taste
  
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt or kefir
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• slivered almonds

For the couscous:

• 1.5 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon bouillon
  
• 1 cup couscous

How to:

1. Chop the onion, eggplant, carrot, cauliflower, and potatoes in to larger than bit size pieces
2. In a large heavy bottom skillet, or a dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Saute the onion until translucent, then add the carrot, cauliflower, potatoes. Add a little salt to taste and cook the veggies for another 5 minutes.
3. Add in the tomato puree, water, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, cinnamon and chilies. Cover and continue to cook until the carrot and potato are soft enough for a fork to pierce through easily.
4. Add the raisins and chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes. Salt to taste.
   
5. In a medium size pot bring the water for the couscous and bouillon to a boil. Once the water reaches a boil, turn off the heat and add the couscous. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
   
6. In a small bowl mix the cilantro and yogurt/kefir.
7. Serve the stew over the couscous, and garnish with the yogurt/kefir mixture, and slivered almonds

Roasted Chickpeas

I was making some roasted chickpeas for a roadtrip snack, but I fix roasted chickpeas with cooked chard and some plain yogurt on a pretty regular basis. It's a great way to use chickpeas outside of hummus or a Moroccan stew.

Ingredients:

• 15.5 ounce can of rinsed chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon berbere
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon of sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F
2. In a bowl mix all of the ingredients together
3. Spread the chickpeas out on a aluminum lined baking sheet
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes

Note: I use the Ethiopian spice mixture berbere for this recipe. It has a nice combination of flavors and heat. There are many varieties of berbere, but if you can't find a pre-mixed one you can either make your own berbere, or substitute any other spices you would like.