Jerk Chickpeas & Roasted Peppers

vegan, gluten free

This Caribbean dish is an excellent idea for an elegant evening meal. It’s delicious, yet quick and easy to prepare and all exact ingredients can be delivered to your door by Riverford. This a perfect option if you have little time, but want to prepare a home-made dinner. It’s aromatic, slightly spicy, full of different favours. 

 

Ingredients:

2 red peppers
150g brown basmati rice
2 small onions
30g coriander
300g spinach
1 garlic clove
2 fresh chillies
1 tin of coconut milk
1 tin of chickpeas
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Jerk spice:
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon paprika
1 lemon 

oil for roasting 

slat and pepper

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200C. Put 2 pans of water on to boil; one for the spinach and one for the rice. Cut the peppers in 1/2 , remove the seeds, then chop into chunky pieces. Toss them in a baking dish with just enough oil to coat, and some salt and pepper to season. Pop them in the oven for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, rise the rice in a sieve to remove excess starch. Peel and finely dice the onions. Wash the coriander. Wash the spinach and strip the leaves off their stalks.

Peel and finely chop, grate or crush 1 garlic clove. Wash and finely chop the chillies.

Transfer the rice to one pan of boiling water. Add a couple of pinches of salt and cook for 15 – 20 minutes, until just tender.

Meanwhile, cook the spinach leaves in the other pan of boiling water for 1 -2 minutes, until wilted. Drain, run under cold water to refresh, then squeeze out excess moisture. Finely chop them. Wash out and dry the spinach pan.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil n the same pan. Add the onion. Fry on a low heat for 8 minutes, stirring now and then to stop it catching. Add the garlic and chillies. Stir for a further 2 minutes. Add the tin of coconut milk and season. Simmer while the peppers and rice continue to cook. Empty the chickpeas into a colander, rinse under cold water, then drain. Once the peppers have cooked for 20 minutes, remove and toss in the chickpeas, thyme and jerk spice pot. Pop them back in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes, just until the peppers are tender and just starting to caramelise, and you can smell the spices.

Drain the rice once cooked. Cover it to keep war. Roughly chop the coriander leaves. Stir them and the spinach into the coconut sauce. Season and squeeze in some lemon juice to taste.

Serve the rice topped with the chickpeas and peppers, then the spinach and coconut sauce.


Recipe taken from:
Kristy Hale, Riverford Cook
www.riverford.co.uk
find more:
Riverford organic recipe boxes