Coconut Tomato Chickpea Stew

Credit: Supper with Michelle

Back story: This is a relatively simple recipe and it’s super cozy. I made this for my non-vegetarian parents and sister one night after a long flight, and they all loved it.

Tidbit: It's a long one - hear me out:

• Turmeric is known as a power ingredient due to the active compound, curcumin, which is associated with anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-diarrheal, anti-microbial, anti-viral, and antioxidant properties. Woah, that's a biggie.

• When turmeric is combined with black pepper, as it is in this recipe, the body's absorption of curcumin increases by up to 2,000%.

• Vegan

• Gluten Free

Equipment:

• Cutting board

• Knife

• Large pot

Ingredients:

• A drizzle of olive oil

• 1 small yellow onion, diced

• 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes, drained, roughly 1 ½ cups of diced tomatoes can be used as well

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon ginger, grated

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric

• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander

• ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin

• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1.5 cups vegetable broth (I make my own, recipe to be shared soon, but if you use store-bought I recommd using low to no sodium

• 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained

• 1.25 cup coconut milk (more if you like it creamier, but I think this was fine)

• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, this helps balance the acidity of the tomatoes

• 1 heaping teaspoon creamy peanut butter (or other nut butter)

• 2 to 3 loosely packed cups spinach, roughly chopped (can sub with another leafy green like kale or swiss chard, if you prefer)

• salt, to taste (I hate it when people say this in recipes, but it really was true.....I just added a pinch each time, as needed, as I tasted along the way)

Steps:

1. Warm up oil on medium heat, saute onions (5 minutes, until aromatic), add tomatoes and saute another 10 minutes

2. Add ginger, garlic, turmeric, cayenne pepper, paprika, pepper, coriander and cumin. Mix and let it warm up a few minutes – smell the yummy smells

3. Lower heat, add broth, chickpeas, maple syrup, coconut milk and peanut butter

4. Cover pot and simmer 15-30 minutes

5. Add salt as needed

6. Add spinach/leafy green 5 minutes before taking off heat.