Moroccan Chickpea and Spinach Stew

I love the textures of this Moroccan spiced dish! The silky spinach, chunky butternut squash and chickpeas cooked in a delicious spicy tomato based sauce. It’s absolutely divine and works well with the cous cous and additional peas to soak up the flavours.

Ingredients

8 tomatoes

Olive oil

2 tbsp of coconut oil

2 chopped onions

3 chopped cloves of garlic

1 stick of celery finely chopped

1tsp of tumeric or freshly grated

1tsp of cinnamon

1tsp of chilli

2 handfuls of chopped butternut squash (I used frozen)

8 cubes of frozen spinach

A handful of red lentils

1 tin of chickpeas (400g)

A bunch of coriander

1lt of vegetable stock

2 cups of cous cous

1 cup of peas

Salt & pepper

Start with the tomatoes, cut in half and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast on a medium heat for 30mins until soft. Blend into a puree and set aside for the sauce.

Heat the coconut oil in a large pan, I like to use my medium cast iron oven proof pot. Add the onions, garlic and celery and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the spices and cook gently stirring through the flavours.

Add the vegetables, lentils, chickpeas, vegetable stock and tomato sauce (made previously). Season with salt and pepper and the coriander and slow cook on a low heat for at least 30mins. I like to finish it off in the oven for 20mins.

Boil 3 cups of water in a separate pan and add the frozen peas, cook for a few minutes. Add in the cous cous, season with salt, take off the heat and add a lid to the pan. Leave for 10mins to finish the cooking process.

Serve the stew over the top of the cous cous and sprinkle with some additional coriander.

Enjoy!


Cheesy Kale & Walnut Pasta

We love pasta in this house and this comforting cheesy dish is a favourite family meal in the colder months. I have used delicious garden fresh kale, runner beans and spelt spinach pasta. Its a comforting but healthy dish!

The recipe can also be made dairy free by using olive oil and dairy free cheese.

You could also use spinach instead of kale and mix up the green vegetables a bit to create a variety of different meals. The walnuts add additional healthy fats and crunch but pine nuts would work well too.

I have used oat cream for the sauce because it is my fave cream but you can also use plain single cream for this recipe too.

I hope you enjoy experimenting with this dish!

Ingredients

2 tbsp of butter or olive oil

2 handfuls of chopped fresh kale

2 cloves of chopped garlic

2 small cartons of Oatly oat cream (about 2 cups) or single dairy cream

Grated cheddar cheese (about 2 handfuls)

Nutmeg (about 1tsp)

S & P

Pasta

Green beans or other green vegetables

Gently heat the butter or oil in a large pan and add the chopped garlic. Stir in the chopped kale and cook lightly for around 5-10 minutes.

Add the pasta to boiling water with the chopped green vegetables, I used runner beans because that’s what was in season at the time but use whatever you fancy here, green beans or broccoli also work well.

Add the oat cream to the sauce and heat gently. Add in the grated cheddar, around two handfuls, but please use more or less if you prefer. It really does depend how cheesy you like it. My kids like a cheesy pasta and if it means they will eat more green vegetables then I am happy with that.

Heat the cheesy creamy sauce until all the cheese has melted. Add the walnuts and season with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.

Drain the pasta and vegetables and add to the cheesy sauce, mix through and serve.

My kids like to add extra Parmesan to the top but I prefer it without. A green salad on the side goes really well too with some cucumber, tomatoes and other salad items.

Enjoy! x