On today’s episode of “What The Hell To Do With All These Chickpeas?” we ponder an easy, 30 minute dinner that soothes the soul as much as it does your wallet.
Seriously though, we use a lot of aqauafaba around here, and after that magical liquid is gone, we’re always wondering what we can do with the garbanzo beans. Thanks to all that excess, we’ve now discovered our favorite garbanzo application: Mediterranean Chickpea Stew. It’s rich, soulful, hearty, and a breeze to make.
This meal’s made simple by using one of our favorite tools: a pressure cooker. If you’ve never used a pressure cooker before, it’s essentially a tightly sealed pot that creates a high amount of steam, thus raising raising the boiling point of the liquid that’s inside. When that happens, food is cooked in less than half the normal amount of time. To make matters even quicker, you can pressure cook canned beans instead of dried beans, which shaves off at least an hour of cooking time. My rule of thumb for canned beans is to pressure cook them on high for 8 minutes, then use the quick release valve to release the steam, which makes for about 15 minutes total cooking time, as time is needed for pressure to build up.
To add to the conundrum, this high pressure also makes certain foods more gut-friendly by destroying their lectins. Foods that often cause intestinal distress, such as beans, lentils, and quinoa, are more easily digested after pressure-cooking, thus causing less gas and inflammation.
Now that we’ve discussed the hardware involved with this dish, let’s talk about the software. The ingredient count is minimal – using only 9 in total – however, there is one ingredient that deepens the soul of this dish tenfold, and that ingredient is… wait for it… Not-Beef Bouillon Cubes. While the name may sound like it contains some sketchy ingredients, these cubes are made up simply of salt, organic palm oil, nutritional yeast (aka yeast extract), and seasonings. Sugar is an added ingredient as well, but worry not because it contains less than a gram of sugar per serving, meaning you’re not going to get an insulin spike after eating them.
Not-Beef Cubes impart the stew with a bold flavor akin to that of beeth broth, which is an element that makes this stew so dang comforting. They can be found for $4 or less at most health markets, like Sprouts & Whole Foods, as well as online. Although, if you don’t like going out of your way to buy fancy ingredients, you can replace the beef cubes with 4 tablespoons of dark miso or tamari sauce. The flavor won’t be exactly the same, but they will impart flavorful saltiness to the stew.
There are many pleasant side companions for this stew, but here are our two favorites: toast with pesto or cauliflower rice drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Oh, and plenty of vegan parmesan for topping!
All in all, this stew is:
- Easy & requires less than 30 minutes to make
- Hearty, soulful, and deep in flavor
- Laced with oregano, rich with tomato paste, and packed with onion & garlic
- Full of prebiotic fiber and resistant starches
- Plant Paradox-friendly, vegan, and gluten-free!
If you like what your taste buds are tellin’ ya, leave behind a nice rating, share your thoughts with us in the comments, or show us your creations by tagging @noeggsorham on Instagram.
Go Forth & Devour,
Ryan
30-Minute Mediterranean Chickpea Stew (Plant Paradox-friendly, vegan, and gluten-free)
Soulful tomato stew with tender garbanzo beans is laced with oregano, onion, and garlic.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 c canned chickpeas, drained (about 1 1/2 cans)*
- 6 oz tomato paste*
- 1/2 large yellow onion, largely diced
- 4 large or 5 medium garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Not-Beef Bouillon Cubes (see notes for substitutions)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 c water
- pinch of salt
Directions
- Turn pressure-cooker (we use an InstaPot) onto its saute setting and set it for 10 minutes.
- Once hot, add in olive oil, onions, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring a couple times, until they start to turn translucent; about 5 minutes.
- Toss in garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the rest of the ingredients, stir to combine, and place on the lid.
- Set to pressure-cook on high for 8 minutes. Once time is up, you can use the “quick-release valve” if you’re ready to eat right away, or you can let it sit with the valve closed until ready to eat.
- Serve as is or with vegan parmesan sprinkled on top alongside toast with pesto or cauliflower rice with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
*Not-Beef Cubes can be found at most Sprouts & Whole Foods, as well as online. But if you can’t get your hands on them, use 4 tablespoons of dark miso or tamari sauce in its place. The flavor won’t be exactly the same, but they’ll provide a similar, deep & salty flavor.
*You can use a brand of beans other than Eden’s Beans here because they’re going to be pressure-cooked anyways, thus destroying the lectins.
*While tomato paste is made solely of the flesh of tomatoes – meaning it contains few lectins as is – it’s pressure-cooked on top of that, therefore ensuring no lectins are remaining.
*Don’t throw away that precious liquid from the can of beans! Instead use it as aquafaba in one of these lectin-free desserts!: Strawberry Shortcakes, Moist Coffee Infused Cake w/ Chai Spiced Frosting, or Red Velvet Cupcakes.
NO EGGS OR HAM 
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