Mexican Mole meets North African Tagine! This Spicy Chickpea Stew is unbelievably delicious and makes a great topping for baked potatoes, plus it just happens to be vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and dairy free. And it contains chocolate. Yay!
Don’t you just love happy accidents? I am utterly convinced that pretty much all the best recipes come from something that started out as a bit of a disaster. This was definitely so with this recipe.
I was following the Sirtfood Diet at the time and on one of the days, I chose to have the Kidney Bean Mole from the Sirtfood Recipe Book for dinner (It’s a Mexican dish pronounced mol-eh. See this post for more info.)
So I started making the dish and low an behold, what had I forgotten to buy? Yes, kidney beans. Sometimes even I am impressed at my own stupidity. I told you a while ago about the time when I set out to make a recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s book Three Good Things
and forgot to buy one of the 3 things…well this fail was even more epic! Kidney beans was the ONLY ingredient in the title of the recipe and the ONLY one I forgot to buy – duh!
So anyway, fortunately I did have a spare tin of chickpeas in the cupboard, so I figured I’d use those instead…and it was amazing!! Just a really awesome combination of flavours – it tasted like some kind of Mexico meets Morocco fusion food – and Mexican and Moroccan flavours are two of my absolute favourites, so put the two together and…well, this was a very good meal indeed!
This Spicy Chickpea Stew is a really nice healthier and much tastier version of baked beans to serve on jacket potatoes, as I have done here, or it would also make a great ‘posh’ beans on toast. I could just imagine this on some delicious rye bread from my local baker’s – yum! Or I’m sure it would be fab with rice, tortillas or couscous too – or why not try it with buckwheat for a super duper healthy dinner?
Apart from subbing in chickpeas for kidney beans, I also quite severely simplified the recipe. The original recipe called for all sorts of things from peanut butter to sesame seeds to cloves, cinnamon and even brown sugar. Well quite frankly on a busy school evening I just don’t have time to faff round with NINETEEN different ingredients!! So I cut that down quite a bit, as well as simplifying the method, but most definitely not compromising on flavour. Not sure if I mentioned earlier 😉 but this tastes awesome!!
In fact the only thing I would change if I made this recipe again is that I would make about 3 times the quantity. This is just the sort of thing that would be AMAZING reheated the next day… and is perfect for stashing away in the freezer to be a healthy ‘ready-meal’ for those super busy days.
Oh and just when you thought this dish couldn’t get any better, it just happens to be vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and dairy free. It’s absolutely jam packed with healthy ingredients and it contains chocolate. What more could you want?
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Baked Potatoes with Spicy Chickpea Stew
Ingredients
- 6 baking potatoes pricked all over
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 red onions finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic grated or crushed
- 2 cm ginger grated
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes (more if you like things hot!)
- 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoons turmeric
- Splash of water
- 2 x 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (or cacao)
- 2 x 400 g tins chickpeas (or kidney beans if you prefer!), including the chickpea water DON’T DRAIN!!
- 2 yellow peppers (or whatever colour you prefer!) chopped into bitesize pieces
- 2 tablespoons parsley (plus extra for garnish)
- Salt and pepper to taste optional
- Side salad optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F, meanwhile you can prepare all your ingredients.
- When the oven is hot enough put your baking potatoes in the oven and cook for 1 hour or until they are done how you like them. (Feel free to use your normal baked potato method if it’s different from mine!)
- Once the potatoes are in the oven, place the olive oil and chopped red onion in a large wide saucepan and cook gently, with the lid on for 5 minutes, until the onions are soft but not brown.
- Remove the lid and add the garlic, ginger, cumin and chilli. Cook for a further minute on a low heat, then add the turmeric and a very small splash of water and cook for another minute, taking care not to let the pan get too dry.
- Next, add in the tomatoes, cocoa powder (or cacao), chickpeas (including the chickpea water) and yellow pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer on a low heat for 45 minutes until the sauce is thick and unctuous (but don’t let it burn!). The stew should be done at roughly the same time as the potatoes.
- Finally stir in the 2 tablespoons of parsley, and some salt and pepper if you wish, and serve the stew on top of the baked potatoes, perhaps with a simple side salad.
Notes
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Pin Baked Potatoes with Spicy Chickpea Stew for later
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Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
I just love happy accident Eb, forgetting to buy the kidney beans is most definitely the sort of thing I’d do without a doubt. I love the sound of this mole (and yes, I’m so glad you’ve told me how to pronounce mole because I’ve been reading it in my head like the cute creature which creates hills in our gardens 😉 ). It sounds similar in someways to a ‘posh bean’ dish which Mr E & I enjoy (though I include a variety of beans in ours with button mushrooms and a few cherry tomatoes alongside the tinned ones – though if you try the cherry toms in it one day be mindful with your little ones as they can get v v hot!) so I can fully appreciate why the only change you’d make would be to make three times as much next time. In fact, I often find that our bean dish is even tastier the following day or even after I’ve reheated it from being in the freezer – no idea why.
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
Ooh posh beans sounds yum!! There are just some meals that taste even better the next day aren’t there? I find curry does, any kind of stew…ooh and tabbouleh is another one! I guess it allows the flavours to mix and mingle or ‘develop’. Whatever it is I am very grateful for it!! Makes my life much easy peasier 🙂 Eb x
Alison says
I am always doing that with recipes as well, forgetting to get an essential ingredient. Glad a wonderful meal resulted from it though, it does look tasty
Eb Gargano says
Haha – it’s becoming a bit of a habit for me. The number of times I have forgotten to buy like the absolute fundamental ingredient in a dish is getting a bit silly. Or another of my favourite tricks is only buying one of something I need several times in the week. I think that’s probably what happened here. I made chilli con carne earlier on in the week, for which I needed a can of kidney beans – my brain somehow didn’t realise I would need TWO cans of kidney beans one for each recipe!! Thank goodness for spare chickpeas, eh? Thanks for your kind comments 🙂 Eb x
Corina says
This sounds amazing! What could be better than a Mexican Moroccan fusion? I have to say, I have done exactly the same and forgotten to buy a really key ingredients a few times – I usually only realise half way through the recipe too! Thank you so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina – yeah I know Mexican Moroccan fusion is a pretty awesome thing. I think I should do it more!! Maybe I could start a trend 🙂 Yes, the same thing always happens to me. I get halfway through the recipe and only THEN do I realise I’m missing a key ingredient. Which is sooo frustrating, because if I’d noticed before I could’ve just made something else! Good job I always keep a few extra bits and bobs in the cupboard for such eventualities!! And it does so often result in a lovely happy accident 🙂 Eb x
Happy Mummy says
That looks yummy! X
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Maria! Xx
Mandy says
Yum yum yummy! This sounds great. I have all the ingredients apart from the chocolate which I guess is kind of crucial but I’ll be making this soon once I’ve restocked my baking cupboard! Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Mandy. It really is a good one. So pleased with how it turned out. It’s only a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder, so I’m sure it would work well enough without, but the cocoa does give it a lovely richness and depth and a slightly more savoury flavour which I just love. Would love to know what you think if you give it a go! 🙂 Eb x
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
We live on baked potatoes during the week in our house….. It’s always good to find a new filling for them…. This looks so yummy and vibrant. A very happy accident indeed! x
Eb Gargano says
Us too – they are such an easy, nutritious and cheap meal, aren’t they? I would really recommend this filling…make a double batch and have it with rice the next day = two easy peasy meals!! 🙂 Eb x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
Oooooh Eb I love chickpeas! They are such a great ingredient and so versatile. This stew looks delicious! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Eb Gargano says
Totally agree, Kirsty – chickpeas are fab, always worth keeping a tin or two in the cupboards for emergencies!! Thanks for your kind comments. Eb x
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
This is a great idea. I always fall into the habit of having cheese and beans on my baked potatoes so this would be a great alternative. Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare.
Eb Gargano says
It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut, isn’t it? Definitely worth trying something different, from time to time 😀 Eb x
Mary says
I made this tonight and found it really bitter. I added some agave syrup and it did help. It feels strange eating a chilli with chickpeas in, so I think I’ll use kidney beans the next time.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, I am sorry you didn’t love this recipe. But at least you know how to make it exactly right for your tastes next time! Eb 🙂