Quince, Pumpkin and Chickpea Stew

What do you do when you find a recipe online that has multiple pluses – it uses quinces, an ingredient I’ve only ever made dessert with; it’s chock-full of vegetables; it has a delicious-sounding mixture of herbs and spices – BUT 2 big minuses – it was intended as a side dish when I wanted a main course; and it was loaded up with 943 additional calorie from oil. What do you do? Add chick peas, and use oil-free cooking techniques, of course!

I served this to a non-vegan dinner guest and he was bowled over by how flavourful and filling it was. And that’s how you turn the world plant-based… one recipe at a time.

Ingredients:

5 quinces
850 g jap pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2.5 cm dice
1/2 cup aquafaba (cooking/canning liquid from chick peas)
1 eggplant, trimmed and sliced 1 cm thick
1 large brown onion, peeled and diced
1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable stock or broth
2 red capsicums, seeded and diced
5 bay leaves
1 tbsp cumin seeds, roasted and ground
850 g tomatoes, peeled, seeded and puréed in a food processor or blender
100g green olives, pitted and halved
2 cups cooked chick peas

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C degrees. Line 2-3 baking trays with silicon baking mats or baking paper.

Wash and wipe quince and place on prepared baking tray. Roast for one hour or until soft and pink.

Place pumpkin on another baking tray, brush with aquafaba and bake 20-30 minutes or until tender.

Place eggplant slices in a preheated sandwich press until lightly browned outside, and soft inside. If you don’t have a sandwich press, brush eggplant slices with aquafaba, place on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned, then flip and bake other side for 10 minutes. Dice cooked eggplant slices roughly.

Heat a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat until it reaches the mercury ball stage – when water is flicked into the pan, it forms a ball and rolls around the pan before evaporating. Add onion and sauté vigorously for 3 minutes or until just starting to brown. Carefully add 1/4 cup broth or water to the side of the pan, and use a wooden spoon to lift the sugars off the bottom of the pan. Continue to sauté until soft, adding more broth or stock if it begins to stick.

Stir in capsicum, bay leaves and cumin, reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until soft and jam-like.

Meanwhile, peel and quarter quince and cut into 2.5-centimetre dice.

Add puréed tomatoes to onion and capsicum and cook for two to three minutes or until warm. Add pumpkin, quince, eggplant, olives and chick peas and gently stir together.

Serve warm with cooked couscous, brown rice or quinoa and a side dish of steamed greens.

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