chickpea saute with greek yogurt

This week has been an exercise in limitations.

After one too many recipe failures, unnecessary messes (both literally and figuratively), moments of stretching myself thin and subsequently a few too many sessions of eating my feelings, I decided to take a break for a day or two before venturing back into the kitchen. Plus, it was just a good excuse to get Chipotle for dinner.

When I was ready to return, I didn’t do so with some lofty, challenging dish, but instead with a simple and quick one that had been nudging at me ever since I first saw it in the cookbook, Plenty. It was the perfect dish to welcome me back — easy, filling and kind to my belly. And with the way things have been lately, we could all use a little more kindness.

I could drone on and on about how amazing this dish tastes — how the texture of the blanched chard is a perfect pairing to the hearty chickpea, how the sweetness of sauteed carrots plays well with caraway seeds and lemon juice, how mint and cilantro make just about anything taste better and, of course, the dollop of Greek yogurt on top helps, too. But I don’t want to give away too much and I’m still easing back into the swing of things.

So, I’ll leave you with this: If you don’t make this dish, that’s cool. Life will continue on as it does. But if I were you, I wouldn’t limit myself in this case. You can save that trip to Chipotle for another night.

P.S. I’ll leave you with this, too. Because he’s cute and stuff.

Chickpea Saute with Greek Yogurt
Adapted from Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi

Yields: 2 main dish servings, 4 side dish servings

Ingredients:

1 bunch (about 8 cups or 3/4 lb) Swiss chard, leaves removed from stems
1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for garnish
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Toss in a small handful of sea salt, then add Swiss chard stalks. Blanch stalks for 3 minutes, then add leaves and blanch another 2 minutes. Drain and rinse chard under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, then transfer to a cutting board and chop roughly. Set aside.

In a large skillet or saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots and caraway seeds and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chickpeas and chard; cook another 6 minutes. Add garlic, herbs, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat; add more salt or pepper, if desired.

Stir together Greek yogurt, olive oil and some salt and pepper. Transfer chickpea mixture to a serving plate and top with yogurt mixture, an extra drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of black pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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