Chickpea Vegetable Stew

(recipe from Food & Wine magazine)

2 Tbsp. olive oil (I used coconut oil)
1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed and halved
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 lb. fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. harissa
3 cups broth
One 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. minced cilantro
Toasted bread, for serving

In a large saucepan, heat the oil.  Add the onions and bell pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until browned, about 5 minutes.  Add the potatoes, garlic, ginger and harissa and cook, stirring, until the harissa darkens, about 2 minutes.  Add the broth and chickpeas and bring to a boil.  cover and simmer over moderately low heat until the potatoes are tender, 12 to 14 minutes. 

Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.  Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the stew with cilantro and serve with toasted bread.

(This coconut/ginger/harissa broth is delicious!  I think using any vegetable mix would work well with this stew - the broth is so yummy.)

Harissa Spaghetti

(recipe from 101cookbooks.com)

3 medium cloves garlic, peeled
a big pinch of fine grain sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. harissa paste

8 oz. (1/2 lb) spaghetti (I used a quinoa/corn/amaranth pasta, since I'm trying not to do wheat)
1 small bunch kale, washed, deveined, and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted (I also cut these into quarters)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
zest of 1 lemon

Bring a big pot of water to a boil.  In the meantime, place the cloves of garlic on a cutting board and sprinkle them with a big pinch of salt.  Crush with the flat side of a knife.  Now crush and chop, crush and chop until you have a garlic paste.  Alternately, you can use a mortar and pestle.  In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic paste, harissa, and olive oil.  Set aside.

Generously salt the boiling water, add the pasta, and cook per package instructions.  Just before the pasta is done, add the kale to the pasta water, count to six, drain and set aside.

Heat half of the harissa dressing in the now empty pasta pot.  Add the pasta and kale, black olives, pine nuts, and lemon zest.  Stir over the heat for a minute or so, then turn everything out onto a platter and drizzle with the remaining harissa olive oil.  (I just stirred all of the harissa olive oil into the pot along with the other ingredients.)

(Amazing.  At first, it seemed a bit too salty, but after a day (I split this up for lunches over many days) the flavors blended into an amazing spicy yummy dish.  So good.  And with that, I finally used all of my small can of harissa!  Yay!  What a culinary adventure!)

Miso Harissa Delicata Squash

(recipe from 101cookbooks.com)

1/2 lb. small fingerling potatoes, washed and dried
3/4 lb. delicata squash
1/4 cup olive oil
scant 1/4 cup white miso
scant 1 Tbsp. harissa paste
3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 ounce kale, de-stemmed and finely chopped
4 radishes, very thinly sliced
1 1/2 ounce Marcona almonds, toasted pepitas, or other toasted nuts

Preheat the oven to 400F.  If the potatoes aren't tiny, slice them into pieces no larger than your thumb.  Cut the delicata squash in half length-wise, and use a spoon to clear out all the seeds.  Cut into 1/2-inch wide half-moons.  You can leave the peel on these squash.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, miso, and harissa.  Place the potatoes and squash in a large bowl with 1/3 cup of the miso-harissa oil.  Use your hands to toss well, then turn everything out onto a baking sheet.  Bake until everything is baked through and browned, about 25 to 30 minutes.  Toss once or twice along the way after things start to brown a bit.  Keep an eye on things though, you can go from browned to burned in a flash.

In the meantime, whisk the lemon juice into the remaining miso-harissa oil.  Taste, it should be intensely flavorful, but if yours is too spicy or salty, you can dilute it with a bit more olive oil or lemon juice.  Stir the kale into the leftover dressing and set aside.

Place the warm roasted vegetables in a bowl and toss with the kale mixture, radishes, and almonds.

Serves 2 to 4.

(Absolutely amazing!  Make this at once!!)

Tunisian Bean and Chickpea Stew

(recipe from fatfreevegan.com)

1 15-ounce can navy beans, drained
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
4 to 6 cups water or broth
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 medium tomatoes, chopped, or one 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cups raw pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used butternut squash)
2 to 4 tsp. harissa
1 tsp. paprika
salt and pepper to taste
parsley, for garnish (optional)

In a large pot, saute onions until they are beginning to brown.  Stir in the garlic and tomatoes, and cook for another 10 minutes (5 minutes for canned tomatoes).  Add the beans, water, harissa, and seasonings and bring to a boil.  Cover and cook over medium heat until pumpkin is very tender, about 30 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

(On a mission to use all of my small can of harissa!  This was a tasty stew.  The harissa gives it a nice little kick.  Beans, tomatoes, and squash are a nice combo for fall.  I added some kale with good result.)

Soft Zucchini with Harissa, Olives, and Feta

(recipe from The Wednesday Chef)

1/8 tsp. ground caraway seeds
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. harissa paste
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled
4 zucchini, sliced into thick rounds
Handful of Kalamata olives, pitted
1/4 to 1/2 cup coarsely crumbled feta
Small handful parsley leaves, chopped

Put the ground caraway, lemon juice, harissa, and olive oil in a serving bowl.  Crush the garlic clove through a garlic press and add to the bowl.  Whisk to combine.

Fit a vegetable steamer into a pot with an inch or two of water and bring to a boil.  Steam the zucchini until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.  They should not be falling apart.  Add the zucchini to the serving bowl and gently toss with the harissa vinaigrette while still warm.

Dress the zucchini with the olives, feta, and parsley.  Serve immediately.

(Keeping it vegan, I did not add feta.  Still very tasty (the olives give it plenty of saltiness).  Note:  harissa is spicy, yo!!  I brought this to eat for lunch, so ended up eating it room temperature most of the time.  It was also good heated up and served with quinoa.)