Creamy Vegan Coconut Chickpea & Sweet Potato Curry

Silky, creamy, coconut -y, savory greatness.

The best meals tend to be the accidental ones: one night doing my usual pantry and fridge inventory, searching for dinner, I found some coconut milk, a can of chickpeas and some leftover roasted sweet potato. Could it be a curry? Why not. And 30 minutes later I had this luscious creamy meal.

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Creamy Vegan Coconut Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry

SERVES 1

For Sweet Potatoes

• 1 Medium Sweet Potato, 8.5 oz

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 1/4 tsp ground allspice

• 3/4 tsp kosher salt

• Heaping 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

• Heaping 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• Freshly ground black pepper

For Curry

• 1/8 small red onion, cut into thin rounds, 1.2oz

• 1/4 tsp ground allspice, or whole - 5-6 berries 

• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric

• 1/2 tsp tandoori powder

• 1/4 tsp vindaloo spice

• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika

• 1/2 tsp curry powder

• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• Kosher Salt

• 3 Tbsps neutral oil

• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp tomato paste

• 1 tsp finely minced fresh ginger 

• 1/2 cup coconut cream (full fat)

• 1 standard size can chickpeas, 15.5 oz

For Serving

• 1/2 cup basmati or other rice (uncooked)

• Fresh cilantro

• Indian tamarind chutney (I like SWAD brand, also available for purchase in NYC HERE)

• Your favorite Indian bread

First we will roast the sweet potatoes: preheat your oven to 400F. Scrub the sweet potato clean and cut into rounds, 1/4 in. thick, and then into quarters. In a bowl toss sweet potatoes with 1 Tbsp olive oil. To the bowl add your spices: 1/4 tsp ground allspice, 3/4 tsp salt, heaping 1/4 tsp both smoked paprika and garlic powder, and a few cranks of freshly ground black pepper.

On a baking sheet, drizzle a little olive oil and lay sweet potato quarters out in a single layer. Place in the oven for 12-15 mins until golden on the bottom side and then flip. Place back in the oven another 5-10 mins until crispy all over. When they are done, set aside. You can also make the sweet potato 2-3 days in advance and refrigerate.

While your sweet potatoes are baking, get your rice over the heat with a 1 Tbsp of coconut oil, if you have, or olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. When done cooking, cover until ready to serve.

You can also work on the curry: cut your red onion into rounds and then into quarter rounds, finely dicing a little and setting aside for garnish.

In a ramekin or small bowl, combine all of the spices for the curry: 1/4 tsp ground ground allspice (or 5-6 whole berries crushed), 1/4 tsp ground turmeric, 1/2 tsp tandoori powder, 1/4 tsp vindaloo spice, 1/8 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp curry powder, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds and 1/2 tsp garlic powder.

In a pot, heat neutral oil over medium heat. Add your ground spices and let them “bloom”, or cook, in the oil: doing this releases flavor compounds, and helps to distribute flavor evenly through the cooking process.

After a minute or two, when very fragrant, add onions to the pot, stir to coat and cook over a med low heat until onions are soft. Then add chickpeas and toss to coat evenly. Let them cook over med heat, about 5 mins. 

To the pot add 1 Tbsp and 1 tsp tomato paste, and 1 tsp finely minced ginger. Let cook a few minutes until the tomato paste is caramelized and brown in color.

Add 1/2 cup coconut cream and 1 tsp kosher salt. At the last moment, take your roasted sweet potato quarters and mix into the curry before removing from the heat to serve: having them maintain some of their crispiness adds a great textural difference. Mix and check seasoning, adding salt to taste.  

Serve over warm basmati rice. Finish with fresh cilantro and if you like, drizzle with this amazing tamarind chutney, which brings tartness and heat. Serve with Indian bread like naan.

Grounding Lentil and Grain Salad

Is it a salad? A grain bowl? A soup?

It’s all three. Before I make a big batch of something, I try to ask myself: am I going to still want to eat this tomorrow, and the day after, and then maybe even the day after that? I find the best way to confront that is to start with a base that can be made into multiple unique dishes. Have this the first day as a warm grain bowl, all on it’s own. The next day, make it into a lunch bowl, topped with roasted chicken and/or tons of roasted vegetables, drizzled with your favorite dressing or a nice scoop of Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. Then, just when you’re getting sick of it, submerge in a bowl of warm hearty broth with a tick of fresh squeezed lemon, turmeric and extra black pepper.

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Grounding Lentil and Grain Salad

• 1 cup Israeli cous cous, cooked in 1 ½ cups water - or grain of your choice

• 1 cup red lentils, cooked in 3 cups water - or lentils of your choice

• 7-8 mushrooms (use any variety from white to bella to shiitake)

• Finely chopped parsley

• 2 garlic cloves

• Sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Turmeric

• Garlic powder

• Extra virgin olive oil

• OPTIONAL: fresh rosemary, labne or plain thick yogurt, lemon juice

For this recipe, you can make do with whatever kinds of lentil and grains that you prefer, or have on hand in your pantry.  The key is flexibility. If that’s the case, start by cooking whichever of the two that takes longer to cook, and cook according to package directions.

If you’re using red lentils and Israeli cous cous, start with the red lentils:

Rinse in a fine mesh strainer and then put in a pot with the water, a sprinkle of sea salt, 2 whole peeled garlic cloves and roughly ½ teaspoon turmeric.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until tender and liquid is cooked off, 15-20 minutes.  Red lentils can get mushy, so make sure to monitor them and when they are tender, take off the heat. If your lentils are finished and there is still excess water in the pot, strain.  Make sure to remove whole garlic cloves.

In the meantime, cook your cous cous.  Bring water to a boil. Then add couscous and a pinch of salt.  When the water starts boiling again, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Strain out any remaining liquid.

While your lentils and grains cook, cut mushrooms into thin slices.  Heat cooking fat in a small pan. Add mushrooms and season to taste with salt, black pepper, a little garlic powder, and a sprig of fresh rosemary if you have on hand.  Cook over medium heat until mushrooms are soft and flavorful. Remove the whole rosemary.

When your lentils and grains are finished, turn heat off and combine in one pan.  Gently fold in the mushrooms and adjust seasoning to taste. You can also opt to keep all of your ingredients separate - lentils, grains and mushrooms, and combine when serving to the ratio you prefer.

Serve warm and top with fresh parsley, a squeeze of lemon and plain yogurt.  After a few days, you can submerge all ingredients in broth for a fantastic soup.

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a celebration of summer. 

If you're not yet familiar with the dish, here it is in a nut shell: gazpacho is a cold soup that originated in the Andalucía region of Spain, and is typically made by blending fresh, raw vegetables and stale bread.

While this version foregoes the bread, it retains all the incredible flavor, combining the freshest produce with garlic, heat, acidity and lots of good olive oil.  What you get is a dish that satisfies on the hottest of days when the thought of turning on your stove is out of the question.

From July until the time fresh tomatoes disappear from the farmer's market, I keep a batch of this soup in my fridge at all times.  Why?  Because it's creamy, tangy, requires 8 simple ingredients, takes 30 minutes or less to make, keeps in the fridge and travels well.  What more could you ask for out of one simple dish?

Serve gazpacho as a perfect summer appetizer, or make it a meal, topped with avocado, diced cherry tomatoes, scallions, and a dollop of crème fraîche, paired with warm, crispy bread.  This dish is proof that food does not require complexity to be great - it’s simply the sum of it's parts, so do not skimp on getting the best ingredients and I promise, you will not be disappointed.

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Gazpacho

• 4 large in-season tomatoes (this dish is really best in season)

• 1 extra large cucumber, or 2 small

• 1 large sweet red or orange pepper

• 1 large jalapeño

• 2 large fresh garlic cloves

• 2 tbsp's of red wine vinegar

• 1 tsp sea salt, then add salt to taste

• 3 generous tbsp's of good quality E.V.O.O.

• Optional: top with a dollop of sour cream, creme fraiche, or avocado

Start a pot on high heat and bring it up to boil. In the meantime, rinse your tomatoes. Using the tip of a knife, lightly cut an X into the flesh on the bottom of each tomato. Add tomatoes to the boiling water for 2-5 minutes, or just until the skin is peeling back. You don’t want to overcook them. Remove from the heat, drain and throw into an ice bath or simply run under very cold water.  When cool enough to touch, starting from the bottom where you cut the X, peel the skin off each tomato and then drop into the bowl of your blender. Next, peel the skin off of the cucumber. Then cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds using a small spoon. Cut the cucumber into half rounds and add to the blender.

Next, you can use one of two methods to prepare your garlic: remove the garlic cloves from the skin and crush using a garlic press, or SAFELY lay your chef’s knife flat on top of the garlic clove and hit it with the heel of your hand until the skin comes loose and the garlic clove is slightly smashed. Add to the blender. 

Next cut your sweet pepper and jalapeño loosely into medium size pieces, removing the seeds from both. Add to the blender, and finally, add your salt and red wine vinegar. With all these ingredients added, start the blender and as they start to come together into a puree, begin pouring in your olive oil. Adding the olive oil while the blender is running lends to a more full, creamy soup. Once all the olive oil is added and the soup is a smooth consistency, taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.  I personally like a bit more salt, so add, blend and taste until it's where you want it. You can also add more vinegar for extra acidity and more olive oil for extra body. If you want to serve immediately you can blend in a few ice cubes to chill your soup.  Otherwise, chill for an hour and then serve, or put in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

When serving, this soup comes alive with the texture of toppings. Crispy croutons, creamy additions, little sweet cherry tomatoes, a scoop of fresh guacamole. Or do it my way - with sliced avocado, chopped chives or scallions, freshly ground pepper, sea salt and another drizzle of that extra good olive oil.