Chicken and Chickpea Stew

Houston received quite a bit of rain on Monday, and so that morning I began looking for good rainy day meals.  Of course soup came to mind, but then I came across this recipe for a chicken and chickpea stew on Epicurious.

The recipe is simple.  Sauteed veggies mixed with chicken in a simple chicken broth sauce spiced with cinnamon and cumin and served over whole wheat couscous.  I made things even easier by shredding a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking the pound of chicken breasts the recipe calls for.  I also left out the tomato paste, did not drain the canned tomatoes, used 2 cups of broth instead of 1, and garnished with fresh cilantro and mint.  The combination of fresh herbs with the spices was wonderful.

You can easily make this a vegetarian dish by leaving out the chicken, using vegetable broth, adding more tomatoes, zucchini, chickpeas, or trying some different veggies.  I guess you could use some type of mock meat…if you’re into that kind of stuff.  I have tried and actually liked some of those choices, like a Philly “Steak” made with seitan at a food truck called Counter Culture in Austin.  Thanks for taking me, Sarah!  It really wasn’t bad, but I don’t see myself ever cooking it.  If I am going to cook something vegetarian at home, I stick with veggies and protein packed beans.  Plus I don’t think Ben would ever go for it.  He had a hard time eating chicken sausage, so I don’t think he’d go for tofu or seitan in place of good ol’ reliable meat.

Chicken and Chickpea Stew

Adapted slightly from epicurious.com

Ingredients

  • 1 small rotisserie chicken, shredded (use 2-3 cups of chicken)
  • 1 box whole wheat couscous (prepare what you need according to the instructions)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
  • 1 zucchini, chopped into 3/4 inch chunks
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • chopped fresh cilantro and mint for garnish (0ptional)
Directions
  1. Heat oil in deep skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Add in garlic, cook for 1 minute, then add zucchini and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  2. Season with salt and pepper, cumin and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, chickpeas, broth and chicken.  Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Taste and season accordingly.
  3. While stew is simmering, prepare couscous according to package instructions.
  4. Serve stew on top of couscous and garnish with cilantro and mint.