A few months ago we posted a Moroccan-inspired chickpea stew and now we’re sharing a Spanish Chickpea Stew. We’re traveling the world one chickpea stew at a time! Or something like that.
This particular stew comes from LEON Fast Vegan, a hefty new cookbook from Rebecca Seal, Chantal Symons, and John Vincent. LEON is a natural fast food chain from the UK that’s just started crossing the pond with a location in Washington DC. Their menu is pretty dang amazing, but if you can’t visit their DC restaurant, you can bring a little taste home with this cookbook.
There are 200 recipes in this book, so you’re bound to find something you’ll love. Recipes range from globally-inspired appetizers to desserts, quick dinners to slow(er) cooked stews, like this Spanish Chickpea Stew. Fennel, saffron, and orange make this stew both fragrant and flavorful; slowly simmering for 45 minutes lets all the ingredients mingle, while a garnish of fresh parsley and orange juice brighten things up at the end.
Serve this Spanish Chickpea Stew over steamed rice, cauliflower rice or your favorite grains.
Purchase LEON Fast Vegan on Amazon
Photo credit: Steven Joyce
Spanish Chickpea Stew
Reprinted with publisher permission from LEON Fast Vegan by Rebecca Seal, Chantal Symons, and John Vincent; Octopus Publishing.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 red onions diced
- 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1 stick of celery diced
- 1 head of fennel diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1 teaspoon each of ground cumin sweet smoked paprika and fennel seeds
- a pinch of saffron
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegan sherry vinegar
- zest and juice of 1 orange
- 2 15-oz cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
- 1¼ cups vegan vegetable broth or 1 tablespoon vegan vegetable bouillon powder and 1¼ cups water
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- salt
- orange wedges to serve
Instructions
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Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the onions, garlic, and vegetables and sweat, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes, until they begin to caramelize.
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Add the dried spices, fennel seeds, saffron, and pepper and cook for 3 minutes. Stir well, then add the vinegar and orange juice. Cook for 1 minute, then add the chickpeas, orange zest, and broth or bouillon powder and water and bring to a simmer.
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Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking. Season with a little salt to taste; you may not need it if using bouillon powder, because it’s salty. Stir through 2 tablespoons of the parsley, then serve sprinkled with the remaining parsley and with orange wedges to squeeze over it.