Monday, March 16, 2009

Chickpea Ratatouille



From Dreena Burton's Vive le Vegan! is a hearty, filling, economical and, most importantly, delicious chickpea ratatouille.

If I were Cathy at Not Eating Out In New York I could even figure out the cost of the meal but I'm not, and I'm bad at math to boot.

I adapted it slightly, using honey versus vegan-friendly honey substitute, and served it with Pan de Sal.

Chickpea Ratatouille (adapted)
3½ - 4 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 ¼ - ½ cups red onion, finely chopped
3 - 4 medium-large cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1⁄2 cup red or orange bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 tsp honey (or honey substitute)
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1⁄2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp sea salt
1⁄8 tsp allspice
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 dried bay leaves

Preheat oven to 400-degrees. In a large, deep casserole dish, combine all the ingredients except the bay leaves. Stir through until well combined, then embed the bay leaves in the mixture. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Stir through, cover, and bake for another 35-45 minutes, until the onions are tender and translucent (stir through again once or twice through baking). Remove bay leaves and serve. Makes 4-5 servings or more, depending on accompaniments.

4 comments:

Kimber said...

Great idea! I might make this sometime over spring break. Looks good.

Deborah Eley De Bono said...

I love the garbanzos. Vegan or not this looks like a great side dish.

What isn't Vegan about honey?

Laura Rebecca said...

Kimber, I hope you try it and like it!

Moon, I thought that honey was avoided by because its an animal product but then I did a Google search, and it appears that some vegans are OK with eating honey, while others feel its exploitative of animals (specifically, bees). Interesting, no?

Elyse said...

What a fabulous idea! I love that the chickpeas replace your normal eggplant. Mmm, I bet this ratatouille is just fabulous; it certainly looks delish!