Wednesday's Everyone in the Pool Chickpea Stew (cheesy!)

Forgiveness please for the corny dish name.  Just thought of it on the fly.  I had a ton of vegetables that were just sitting in the fridge, begging to be in something, so this stew was a great way to dump them in the stew and use them up.  Let's get to the recipe:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion diced

2 tsp cumin

1 tbsp coriander seeds crushed

1-2 cups of sliced shitake mushrooms (or use regular button mushrooms)

1 19 oz can of chickpeas

1 cup water

1/2 cup yogurt (I used 2%)

1 tbsp soy sauce

a bunch of spinach

2 tbsp cilantro chopped

5 small to medium de-seeded tomatoes diced chunky (peel if you want to)

 super uber optional ingredient: heaping tsp of Dean and Deluca's Moroccan spice mix (if you're fortunate enough to have it.  Bought mine at an Italian china store in Victoria, B.C.)

Heat oil.  Add onions, 1 tsp cumin and coriander seed.  Cook until softened.  Add shitake mushrooms.  Cook until softened, stirring often (approx 10 minutes).

Drain chickpeas into a colander and rinse.  Add chickpeas, soy sauce and tomatoes.  Simmer on low-medium for 10-15 minutes covered.  Add water.  1 cup of water is suggested in the recipe, but depending on how much water the tomatoes release, adjust water accordingly.  You want a bit of a sauce, but not a soup.  It's a stew after all!  Add remaining tsp of cumin.  Add Moroccan spice mix if using.  Leave cover off until liquid is reduced and thickened somewhat (add a little bit more water if it's over reduced). Taste and adjust season accordingly (as in add more spices if you feel like it or season with more salt, etc).

Add spinach and allow to wilt.  Add 1/2 cup yogurt and stir.  Simmer for one or two more minutes.  Stir in cilantro.

It ain't pretty, but it's my dinner

Serve with basmati rice.

I meant to follow a recipe I found on a website for chickpea stew and this was the end result and looks nothing like the original recipe.  It's hard developing a recipe because when I'm in the moment, I don't keep track of time and measurements.  Cooking is my creative outlet and so I make up things as I go along.  So apologies if my measurements or timing seems off.  Definitely challenge yourself to trust your skills, judgement, and your sense when it comes to cooking.  Recipes are just a guidelines. 

Score:  (remember 1 being I am dying for meat and 5 I'm almost a vegetarian convert). 

5!  This isn't a hot spicy stew (though the addition of chili flakes would be quite nice), but it does not lack in flavour.  Seems weird adding soy sauce, but it adds that extra bit of savoury-ness.  The chickpeas are creamy and the mushrooms sucked up the flavour of the stew.  Did not miss the meat whatsoever.  P says this is the best thing I've cooked yet.  Feel happy but also think of all the cooking I've done these past four months since moving out and this is the best thing so far.  Hmph!

Pumped to try the next vegetarian dish!  Stay tuned!