Aubergine and Chickpea Stew

I’ve been quite obsessed with chickpeas recently. I mean, I have hummus everyday (#hummusandcarrots4lyf) but I’ve also loved eating chickpeas ‘in the raw’ (roasted chickpeas, yes please)!

It’s no secret I love chickpeas in stews, as they really pack a protein punch so keep you full, aaaand I am also obsessed (probably an understatement) with aubergines. So I thought, why not make an aubergine and chickpea stew?! It’s an amazing combination of silky, melt inthe mouth aubergines with chickpeas and tangy tomato. Foodgasm in the mouth.

Aubergine and Chickpeas Stew
Serves 4

2 white onions, diced
1 large aubergine, cut into roughly the same size
2 carrots, chopped into roughly the same size
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (I also added passata to give it a smooth taste)
1 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp of paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil, to cook

Saute the onions until soft and add garlic and carrots. When it all becomes fragrant, se aside.

Cook the aubergine until soft in some olive oil in a pan.

Once the aubergines are soft,a dd to the onion, carrot, garlic mixture an sauté so all the flavours are bound together.

Add the tomato tin (and passata if necessary) and possibly some water, as the stew will reduce.

Add the chickpeas and leave to simmer for a while.

Serve with couscous or with bread.

note: I would recommend making this in the morning so the flavours will be able to mingle together and it will taste super good!

 

 

Advertisement

Spanish Lentil Soup

Lentils are just so hard to take a photo of. Ok, so many they’re not the most photogenic food, but you know what they say – don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Funny story (but not really), when I was in primary school I saw a book called ‘Thief‘ on the book shelf for so long and for the longest time I didn’t read it because the cover was not the best, but when I caved in and read it, it was like the best book I had read (at the time).

Ummm, yep, back to the soup: Lentils are packed with FIBRE which is super good for you and get’s your body going and makes you feel super full without getting all that bloatiness (not even a word) and it’s just an all round star to be honest!
Strictly speaking this isn’t the real deal genuine Spanish lentil soup but it’s as close as I can get and it tasted so darn delicous!

ps. I’m aware it doesn’t look very soup-y but I just didn’t add the liquid as I like mine more lentil-y.

Spanish Lentil Soup vegan, gluten free and dairy free
Serves 2

1/2 cup puy type lentils
1 onion, cut up
1 carrot, cut into small pieces
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 small bay leaf
Thyme
1/2 chicken or vegetable stock cube
Salt and pepper, to taste

Sauté the onion and carrots in olive oil for about 5 minutes until soft (be sure to add salt so the sweetness comes out).
Add garlic and saute until fragrant.

Add the lentils and stir around then cover with water until about and inch above the lentils are covered with water.
At this point, add in the thyme and bay leaf.

Simmer uncovered for about 20-30 minutes, check it at about 20 minutes to see if it is done.

Season with any more salt and pepper if needed and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top.

Green Soup

Guys, I think you should know that green juice is overrr! It’s ALL about the green soup now!
Well, maybe not really but I do know one thing – and that’s that this soup is totally healthy and delicious. You can really just ad whatever you want to it and I’m sure it will taste delcious. My combination has a kind of thai vibe to it for some reason – maybe because I love garlic so I kinda loaded it in there!

I’ve had this horrible cold for a few days and it’s come at the worst time possible (#urgh!). It may be after Christmas and New Year, but I have my exams tomorrow so hopefully it will go by then!

This is perfect for times like this when I want something healthy but literally cannot be bothered to even stand up, let alone cook something in the kitchen!

Green Soup vegan, gluten free and dairy free
Serves 1

1/2 courgette, sliced

1 clove of garlic, crushed

Knob of ginger, julienned

Handful of kale

2 handfuls of spinach

1/4 chicken or vegetable stock cube

Slice of lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Heat olive oil in a pan with garlic and ginger until fragrant then add the onions.

Add the cougette for 1 minute or so then add in boiling water until it’s just covered and add the stock cube.

At this point, you can add the kale and spinach.

Once it has wilted, get a hand blender and blend it up until smooth.
You can always add more water at this point.

Just before serving, squeeze lemon juice over it.

You can also make this in a Vitamix or Blendtec, by just adding the ingredients in for 10 minutes or so and it will come out probably more smoothly than using a hand blender!

Also, if you want it a creamy consistency when using a Vitamix, feel free to add in cashews!