Cajun Chickpeas, Messy Rice and LSU Vegetables

As I have previously mentioned I am having major cravings for spicy Cajun food stuffs. Here is my solution. The chickpeas are my own invention but the Messy Rice recipe--a vegan version of dirty rice minus the gizzards--is from that wonderful cookbook Veganomicon. Really, I just did the vegetables as a laugh because I was able to get locally grown purple sprouting broccoli and thought it would be fun served with yellow sweet corn. Purple and gold, geddit?

Cajun Chickpeas

2 tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Juice of one lime

1 TB olive oil

3-4 tsp Cajun/Creole spices

Shakes of Tabasco to taste

Preheat oven to 200 C/400 F

Spread the chickpea mixture in a large roasting tin and bake for 15 minutes. Then take out and stir. Bake for 15 more minutes. When it comes out the chickpeas will be crispy and chewy and super yumilicious (another word I’ve just made up)

While this is going on, work on your Messy Rice. It actually tastes nothing like Dirty Rice, but it is good in its own right and tastes good with the spicy chickpeas.

Messy Rice (courtesy of Veganomicon)

1 small onion, finely chopped (they said yellow but I used a red onion as it was what I had)

2 tsp WHOLE coriander seeds, crushed (must be whole and not the powder)

2 cloves minced garlic

2 TB tomato paste

½ tsp sea salt

Lots of freshly ground pepper

Shakes of Tabasco to taste

1 cup jasmine rice (I used white basmati rice)

1 ½ cups water

In a medium saucepan saute your onions in a bit of oil for 5 minutes until softened and slightly brown. Add the crushed coriander and garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add the tomato paste and stir to coat. Add the rice and stir to get it covered with all the goodness in the pot then add the salt, pepper and water and bring to the boil. Give it a stir and lower the heat until it is low as it can go. Cover and cook until water is absorbed.

Here is where the cookbook and I differ. The cookbook says this will take 35-40 minutes. In my house with white basmati it takes 10-12 minutes. I have done this with brown basmati and it took 35 minutes. But not with white. Anyway, when it’s done--fluff with fork and serve.

While the rice is cooking and the chickpeas baking in their spicy goodness do your vegetables. This is just frozen sweet corn and purple sprouting broccoli. I poured boiling water over the corn and the steamed the broccoli on top for a few minutes. Cook them how ever you’d cook then  put a dab o’ non dairy margarine on the corn and a dusting of pepper and Creole spices on the broccoli and all is right with the world!

Laissez le bon temps rouler!