Mediterranean Chickpea Stew

I'll be honest, this was one of those meals where I literally just through in whatever happened to be lying around the kitchen. I had no idea what I felt like, what I could be bothered cooking, or what was even in the fridge. Plus, I am home alone all this week, so I couldn't even pester Chris for inspiration! But it turned out to not only be edible, but delicious! It can easily be tweaked to suit whatever is floating around your fridge too.

Mediterranean Chickpea Stew

(serves 2)

Ingredients:

1/2 a brown onion, finely diced

a clove of garlic, crushed

1 tomato, finely chopped

1 cup water

2 cups diced mixed vegetables

400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp mustard (I used wholegrain)

1-2 tbsp grated coconut palm sugar

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

salt and pepper

feta and olives, to serve

In a large saucepan, heat some oil over medium heat, before adding the onion and garlic. Allow to cook for 1 minute, or until soft. Add the chopped tomato, and cook for another minute. Pour in the water (or stock, I had conveniently ran out!), vegetables and chickpeas. Stir together, and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften. More water may need to be added if the stew becomes to dry.

Add the tomato pasta, mustard, palm sugar (adjust to taste depending on how sweet you want the stew to be) and mixed herbs. Season with salt and pepper, and stir well to combine. Allow to cook for a further 5 minutes.

To serve, ladle into bowls, top with crumbled feta and diced olives. A nice crusty slice of bread would probably go down rather nicely as well.

And there you have it! Quick, easy, cheap, and relatively tasty! I served my soup up with some of mum's amazing homemade gluten free bread. 

Enjoy!

Reanna.