Coconut Chickpea Stew with Spinach & Turmeric
This is seriously good! As delicious as it is beautiful!
Turmeric spiced chickpeas are crisped in olive oil and simmered in a garlicky coconut milk. Lots of greens are added towards the end ensuring this dish has all the makings for an incredibly creamy and delicious family friendly dinner.
The better the chickpeas and coconut milk the better the dish, I urge you to try to source coconut milk without any preservatives or thickeners added which I find leaves a ‘heaviness’ in my mouth.
This internet famous recipe even has its own hashtag and was created by Alison Roman for NYT cooking.
Getting Ahead: The stew can be made a two days ahead.
Seasonal Swaps: Any greens will work to replace the chard. You can leave out the chilli all together or use a fresh large red chilli which tends to be milder than chilli flakes. You can use coriander instead of mint.
Serving Suggestions:
The chickpeas will be amazing with a dollop of yogurt and toasted pita, flatbreads, naan breads or basmati rice.
Coconut Chickpea Stew with Spinach & Turmeric
Ingredients
- 60 ml olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 onion very finely diced
- 5 cm ginger grated (more for seasoning)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon mild chilli flakes opt
- 2 x 400g tins chickpeas drained
- 2 x 400ml tins coconut milk
- 250 ml vegetable stock
- 1 large bunch chard stems removed, roughly chopped
- 1 bunch mint leaves picked, chopped
- salt & black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and ginger. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and lots of black pepper. Cook the onions, covered for 10 to 15 minutes until soft, stirring occasionally.
- Add the turmeric, chilli flakes and the chickpeas. Cook the chickpeas in the spiced oil for 10 minutes until the chickpeas are starting to caramelise on the sides and starting to break down.
- Remove one cup chickpeas for garnish. Mash the remaining chickpeas lightly with a fork – this will help to thicken the stew.
- Add the coconut milk and the stock and taste for seasoning. Bring to a gentle simmer, scraping off the bits at the bottom of the saucepan.
- Gently simmer for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. We want the liquid to reduce (cook down) so make sure there are some bubbles visible while simmering.
- Add the greens to the saucepan making sure they are totally submerged in the coconut liquid. Switch off the heat and let the greens soften for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and more ginger.
- To serve, ladle the stew into bowls and sprinkle over the mint. Serve with bread of choice and some yogurt on the side. Enjoy!
