Vegan chickpea and tomato stew
Comfort food that’s healthy, easy to prepare, and has leftovers that just need to be heated up, that’s a triple win!!! I’m still not totally sure if this is a soup or a stew, but calling it a stew adds to the comfort factor, so we’ll go with that.
This is one of my go to recipes. Most of the ingredients are store-cupboard ones, and I’ve usually got onions in the fridge, so other than the celery and some fresh herbs it doesn’t even require much shopping. Which makes it perfect for when the weather turns chilly and you don’t want to venture too far.
The flavours of this stew actually develop the longer it’s kept, and the quantities can easily be doubled. So make a big batch on a Sunday and you’ve got your workday lunch sorted for a few days.
I adapted this recipe from one in Sarah Brown’s World Vegetarian Cookbook, which was one of the first cookbooks I ever got, and it’s still one of my favourites. The book isn’t in print any more, but you can pick up a second hand copy online, or there might be one in your local charity shop.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, and if you make it, I’ve love to see a photo, tag me on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #sweetandtwoveg
Vegan chickpea and tomato stew
Prep time:10 minutes / Cook time: 35 minutes / Total: 45 minutes / Servings: 4
Calories per serving:375
Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 large onions, chopped 4 sticks of celery, chopped ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper Large pinch of salt 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 cinnamon stick 2 400g tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed 50g dried green lentils 1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes 1 tablespoon tomato puree 1 litre of vegetable stock 1 tablespoon of plain flour 100g dried vermicelli Large bunch of parsley, chopped Large bunch of coriander, chopped Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then add the onions, celery, pepper, salt, turmeric and cinnamon stick. Cover and cook on a medium heat for 10-12 minutes, until the onions and celery are soft.
Add the chickpeas, green lentils, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and stock, cover and cook for a further 20 minutes. Adding more stock if needed.
Using some of the soup, make a paste with the flour, then stir the paste into the soup.
Crunch the vermicelli into small pieces and add to the soup, cook for a further 5 minutes.
Stir in the coriander and parsley.
Serve immediately or allow to cool and refrigerate.
Notes; Adapted from a recipe from Sarah Brown’s Vegetarian world Although this soup doesn’t freeze, it keeps well in the fridge for a few days. If you don’t have vermicelli you can use any other small pasta.
And here’s a bonus photo of my cat, Maisie, photo-bombing my photosession :)
