If you’re looking for a vegetable dish that’s warming and packed full of flavour, give this Spiced Vegetable and Chickpea Stew a try. It’s suitable for vegans and can be made in advance.
This hearty vegetable stew makes the most of a cheap protein packed store cupboard staple – chickpeas. I’m never without a few tins in the cupboard – they aren’t just for making Hummus! They are great for adding to curries (such as this chickpea and potato curry), soups and even pasta dishes.
This recipe is the result of a fridge/cupboard clear-out. I had some rather sad looking parsnips and rather than make spiced parsnip soup again (as good as it is!), I thought a warming vegetable stew would make a nice change. I added some sweet potato, carrots, leeks, garlic and Rose Harissa paste – it’s floral, not-too-spicy heat is wonderful with vegetables.
This hearty stew is guaranteed to warm and satisfy you on a cold January night.
ingredients for spicy harissa vegetable stew
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for a printable recipe card with ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
- One Leek, roughly chopped
- One large sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 3-4 parsnips, peeled and chopped into bite sized chunks
- 3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and squashed with the back of a knife
- Rose Harissa Paste
- Ground Cumin
- Ground Coriander
- Ground Cinnamon
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Approximately 1 Litre Vegetable Stock
- A tin of drained Chickpeas
- Optional extras – Pitted Green Olives and Preserved Lemons, finely chopped
how to make this spiced vegetable and chickpea stew
1. Start by heating some olive oil in a large saucepan. Fry the sliced leek over a low heat, for 3-4 minutes or until it has softened.
2. Add the spices, black pepper and harissa paste to the pan and fry for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the chopped parsnips, carrots, sweet potato, garlic cloves, drained chickpeas, salt, green olives and chopped preserved lemon (if using) and hot vegetable stock.
4. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for around 45-60 minutes, or until the parsnips and carrots have softened (they will take the longest to cook.)
5. Season to taste and serve with rice or a grain such cous cous or Bulgur Wheat to soak up all that savoury vegetable broth.
serving suggestions
This vegetable stew is best served with a Couscous, rice or Bulgur Wheat. The grains soak up all that delicious spiced broth beautifully. If you like, sprinkle over some chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley or dill.
If all the indulgence of Christmas has made you crave lighter meals, then you can’t go wrong with this recipe. It’s packed full of goodness!
recipe notes
- Feel free to change the vegetables depending on what you have – diced turnips, celery, celariac or beetroot will work well.
- I used Belazu Rose Harissa paste in this recipe. If you have trouble finding it, you can use regular Harissa paste instead.
Make ahead of time
This stew can be made 3 days in advance. Store the cooked, completely cooled stew in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat in a saucepan until piping hot, adding a splash or two of water if necessary.
freezing
Leftover spiced vegetable stew can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat in a saucepan.
More warming vegetable dishes to try
Spiced Vegetable and Chickpea Stew
This Spiced Vegetable and Chickpea Stew with Harissa paste will keep you warm on a freezing cold night. It's made on the hob and takes just under one hour to cook. It's also perfect for making ahead of time.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Leek, sliced
- 2 teaspoons Rose (or regular) Harissa Paste (or up to one tablespoon if you like it hot)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3-4 parsnips, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
- 3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 large Sweet Potato, peeled and cut into chunks the same size as the parsnips and carrots
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and flattened with the back of a large knife
- 1x400g tin of Chickpeas, drained
- 75g green pitted olives
- 50g finely chopped preserved lemons
- 1 Litre Vegetable Stock
- 1 teaspoon fine salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Cook the sliced leek over a low heat, for 3-4 minutes or until it has softened.
- Add the harissa paste, all the spices and black pepper to the pan and fry for a couple of minutes to release the flavours.
- Add the chopped parsnips, carrots, sweet potato, garlic cloves, drained chickpeas, salt, green olives and chopped preserved lemon (if using) and hot vegetable stock.
- Cover the pan with a lid and cook for around 45-60 minutes, or until the parsnips and carrots have softened.
- Season to taste and serve with Couscous, brown rice or Bulgur Wheat.
Notes
Make in advance: The stew can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Place the completely cooled stew in a lidded container and store in the fridge. Reheat on the stove in a pan until piping hot, adding a splash of water.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 243Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1625mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 9gSugar: 10gProtein: 7g
Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.