CarolCooks2 in my kitchen…Macaroni and Chickpea Bake…

Good morning and welcome to my kitchen where all my recipes are cooked by me and tried and tested on my family…Trust me they are the harshest of critics…Not only have I reduced the amount of meat I eat I am trying to introduce more meat-free dishes into my family’s diet…plus many of my readers and friends are either vegetarian or vegan and I respect other people’s views and observances of their chosen diet…

Also, I promised the lovely Trish who writes under the pen name of Alex Craigie that I would come up with some vegetable-based dishes for her…Hence I have decided that every other week there will be a vegetable-based dish all tried and tested in my kitchen…

Today’s meat-free recipe is Macaroni and Chickpea Bake…

This week I have made a recipe given to me by Darlene Foster... The recipe is Chickpeas with Macaroni from Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East & North Africa, by Habeeb Salloum and one which Darlene loves to eat with a salad and French bread.

Ingredients:

  •  2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
  • 1 small hot pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 – 19 oz can stewed tomatoes ( I used fresh tomatoes) see Cooks Notes.
  • 1 – 19 oz can chickpeas, with their liquid
  • 1 ½ cup elbow macaroni
  • 1 cup of water
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin

Let’s Cook!

The only change I made to this recipe was to use tomato puree as I was using fresh tomatoes and cooked as below(see cooks Notes) I then added the onions and garlic and followed the recipe exactly…

If using tinned tomatoes then follow the recipe exactly as it is written…

Heat oil in a frying pan and sauté onions and garlic over medium heat until they begin to brown. Stir in cilantro and hot pepper and sauté for another few minutes.

Transfer the frying pan contents to a casserole.

Add remaining ingredients and stir

Then bake in a preheated oven at 350F/180C for about 40 minutes or until the macaroni is cooked.

I bake it for 20 minutes uncovered and then 20 minutes covered as the recipe didn´t say if it should be covered or not. 

To serve: A fresh green salad and some lovely crusty bread or as we did with some homemade garlic bread…it was really lovely a slight hint of chilli and spices with chickpeas and elbow macaroni just the right amount of tomatoes it was a very nice recipe.

Cooks Note:

I was given some lovely red tomatoes grown in the village where they are grown for their seeds…they are beautifully red all the way through with none of the light core which you often get with tomatoes…Also not absolutely perfect shapes but they have a perfect flavour…

When making any tomato-based dish, especially if using fresh tomatoes I also use some tomato puree just to intensify the tomato taste…I use 2 parts of puree to one part of olive oil and I roast the puree with the olive oil until it darkens the smell is just beautiful I then add my ingredients to that rather than adding the puree to the ingredients…

This little tip I learnt from a chef when I worked in a hotel and one I always use which really does intensify the tomato taste…

Thank you so much for the recipe Darlene you were correct the kids loved it as did we…Good luck with the launch of your newest Amanda Book…Amanda in France …

Thank you again to everyone who is suggesting recipes I will try them all…xx

Thank you for reading this post If you have enjoyed this post please leave a comment and any tips or recipes you want to share… I love to chat and share recipes…Love Carol xx

 

 

48 thoughts on “CarolCooks2 in my kitchen…Macaroni and Chickpea Bake…”

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  4. alexcraigie

    Somehow I missed this one yesterday and so went on a hunt to find it. It sounds perfect for us and I’m off to print it for my folder! Didn’t know what elbow spaghetti was until I saw the picture – phew! – and that tip about roasting the puree with the olive oil is one that I’ll use from now on. Many thanks to you and Darlene for a recipe that’s perfect for the weather here at the moment – cold and with torrential rain. And there’s poor you in Thailand having to suffer all that nice warmth. xx

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I know it’s such a hardship, Trish-smile- I do sympathise as I hate being damp and cold,,,yes roasting the puree does deepen the flavour I hope you enjoy 🙂 xx

      Liked by 1 person

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  18. Darlene

    Thanks for sharing the recipe and so glad the kids liked it. I have used fresh tomatoes sometimes as well, just needed a bit more water then. Loved your tip on the puree. Will try that next time. thanks for the mention of my next book too. Have a super week. xo

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      You are welcome, Darlene thank you for the recipe..Lily and I had some more for dinner tonight she really likes it …Aston picked out the chickpeas …fussy teenagers…sigh…Lils loves it with Garlic bread…she loves garlic 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

  21. OIKOS™-Editorial

    Great for giving garlic another chance. 😉 Here more and more my folks are going far away from garlic. But i love em, and this recipe is a great way bringing em back into kitchen. Lol Thank you for sharing, Carol!

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Darlene

      I love garlic too Michael. Mom used to put a clove of garlic in each jar of dill pickles she would make. I was the only one who would eat the garlic! (she made the best dill pickles ever!!) Enjoy this recipe.

      Liked by 3 people

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