Lemony Chickpea Mash topped with Cumin Dusted Carrots and Cauliflower

The weather today is hot (95 when I last looked) and not exactly conducive to hot food. However my mother is one of those people that has no concern about nutrition and prefers to eat only for taste. Where did I come from again? ;-) My raw meal yesterday for lunch was met with the comment, “Prime rib would be better.” Sadly this comment was made seriously. It ended with her saying “I have to die of something.” You can see the uphill battle I have in terms of nutrition with her. Oddly she has no idea why she has high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. Go figure because I know why! I guess you could say this situation has played a role in my focus on nutrition.

Making meals for my parents once or twice a week started as a way to show my mother that healthy food could taste good. The only one that seems to have gotten that message is my father who always enjoys my food as well as not having to cook a few meals a week. In spite of the grief I get from my mother over my food I know my father appreciates it so I keep doing it. Being the only child of elderly parents can be a little overwhelming at times. *shakes head*

Why am I telling you all this? I am trying to explain why we are having a hot a meal on a day when I would much prefer to have raw food. Even in the air conditioning raw food seems more appropriate in the summer heat to me. This meal is designed to appeal more to my mother who seems to prefer cooked and calorie dense meals. If this makes for a more pleasant “family gathering” it is worth it. Here is what I made today:

Lemony Chickpea Mash topped with Cumin Dusted Carrots and Cauliflower
Serves 6

Chickpea Mash Ingredients:

2 cups dried chickpeas, cooked until soft (yield is approximately the same as 3 – 15 ounce cans)
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 ½ teaspoons cumin seed, whole (or to taste)
1 teaspoon coriander seed, whole (or to taste)
4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
water necessary to achieve the texture you desire (I used approximately 1 cup)
salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable Topping Ingredients:

8 carrots, cut into coins approximately ¼ inch thick
1 small head cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
1 leek, white and tender green portions thinly sliced (or you can use salty dehydrated leeks for added texture)
water to steam the veggies and sauté the leek (if not using dehydrated)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted and ground
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed. toasted and ground
3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
3 tablespoons pine nuts
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley for garnish - optional

Directions:

Place the hot cooked chickpeas in your food processor. Add the lemon zest, juice, cumin, coriander, and garlic and process. You will need to add bean cooking liquid (or water) slowly until you reach a consistency similar to mashed potatoes. Add salt and pepper to your taste and keep warm until your vegetables are ready.

Steam the cauliflower until tender (about 7 minutes), then set aside. Steam the carrots until tender (about 15 minutes) then add to the cauliflower. The exact time you will need to steam the veggies depends on the size of the vegetable pieces. Water sauté the leek until tender and add to the carrots and cauliflower. I used the dehydrated leeks I had one hand instead for the color and textural contrast. Dust the vegetables with the ground cumin and coriander and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, top the hot chick pea mash with the hot vegetables and drizzle with pomegranate molasses and pine nuts (and dehydrated leeks if using). You can add fresh parsley color and a little fresh flavor if you desire.

If desired you can make all of this ahead of time and store in your refrigerator, in separate containers (chickpea mash in one veggies in another) and reheat in the microwave before serving.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 395.12
Calories From Fat (16%) - 62.78

Total Fat - 7.51g
Saturated Fat - 0.69g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 112.32mg
Potassium - 1100.04mg
Total Carbohydrates - 70.67g
Fiber - 16.1g
Sugar - 22.79
Protein - 15.5g

Comments:

I have no idea where the idea of this came from but Dan and I enjoyed the combination. I may have to play around with more variations of chickpea mash with veggie toppings since this one was so successful. ;-) Miracle of all miracles even the anti-nutritionist (aka my mother) liked this dish. Score one for the healthy vegan. LOL

Each serving of this dish contains approximately 18,300IU of vitamin A, 140mg of calcium, 5.6mg of iron, 420mcg of folate, 330mg of phosphorus, and 115mg of magnesium. I love the fiber and protein content of this dish from the beans.

I served this tonight with a green salad on the side topped with the lemon tahini dressing I made last night. Apparently I am in a Middle Eastern food mood at the moment.

Unrelated Notes:

Today has been far too hot to do much outside today and it is only supposed to get hotter. Yay? According the weather channel temperatures are supposed to rise to the low 100’s for the foreseeable future. This girl will be in the air conditioning until we at least get back into the 90’s. I do not like heat at this level. *ugh* Expect to see quite a few raw meals over the coming days. Cold raw food is all that appeals to me when it is this hot outside.

What we are having for dinner is still a mystery. I was thinking about veggie burgers earlier today but they aren’t appealing to me at the moment. Whatever dinner turns out to be I will share the recipe.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful 4th and is staying cool.