What Do You Eat When You're Feeling...Off?


I know a lot of non-vegans generally go for chicken noodle soup, and I do have a really great recipe for a vegan version, but lately I have been going for healing spices in a non-traditional form. Yesterday I was feeling not-so-great. I think it was a combination of too much drinking and eating over the weekend, not enough exercise, a visit to my my cousin in the hospital and the rain. Regardless, I was not right. I decided to stick with my chickpea obsession and make a Moroccan dish, chock full o' healing herbs and spices. It was really tasty and, dare I say, I feel a lot better today??

Here's the recipe:

Moroccan Chickpeas with Roasted Red Pepers, Parsley and Mint

Olive oil for cooking (I used about a Tbsp)
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small can tomato paste
2 Tbsp raisins
2 Tbsp dried apricots, chopped
3-4 cups cooked chickpeas (I used 2 regular sized cans which equals 3 cups), plus the cooking liquid
1 roasted red pepper, chopped
2-3 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
Juice of 1 lemon


In a large skillet, saute the onion in a little bit of olive oil over med-high heat until soft. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, nutmeg, cayenne, cardamom and cinnamon, cook for a minute.

Add the garlic and ginger. Cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste, raisins, apricots and a splash of cooking liquid (or tomato juice or water) and bring to a simmer. It should be saucy. Add the chickpeas to the pan and stir to coat. Cook for a bit to cook off any excess liquid if there is any. Add the red pepper, mint, parsley and lemon juice. Toss to combine and serve warm or refrigerate until chilled. Allowing the mixture to marinate for a few hours (or overnight) will deepen the flavors.

It makes about 4-6 servings, depending how hungry you are. I made a little bit of brown rice to serve it over and garnished it with parsley, but it would be excellent with some Injera bread. Like I said, I wasn't feeling so great so rice was easy and it was GOOD!


Recipe adapted from Saskatchewan Pulse Growers and Simon's Fine Foods.

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