One of my favourite summer dishes is a chickpea and cauliflower salad with roasted almonds, roasted cauliflower, capers, creamy feta and, of course, plenty of chickpeas. Unfortunately, it’s nowhere near summer here and I’m too lazy to throw this together each workday when lunchtime rolls around. I’m not a big fan of salads made more than an hour or so in advance, but we’ll leave that for another day.
It is, however, close to the end of winter and still very much one-pot, warm-stew kind of weather. So, inspired by my favourite salad but tempered by the weather, I made this Cauliflower, Greens and Chickpea Stew.
It shares many of the same qualities: salty roasted cauliflower, plenty of greens, chickpeas and lemon, with a hint of nuttiness from tahini in place of the roasted almonds. The tahini also gives the broth a little richness and body without turning it into a heavy, creamy stew.
Consistent with the run of make-ahead meals I’ve been creating, this one keeps well for a quick and easy heat-and-eat lunch or dinner, and it freezes well too. It’s about as close as I’m getting to a salad in winter: a warm, nourishing bowl that keeps the winter chill away without feeling heavy.
Worth Making?
- Yes – if you want a vegetable stew that is substantial. Two tins of chickpeas and roasted cauliflower make sure this isn’t a bowl of veggies leaving you hungry half an hour later.
- Yes – for the tahini finish. It gives the broth richness and body without cream or coconut milk taking over. Plus its tahini – yum!
- Yes – because roasting the cauliflower separately means you get those golden, caramelised edges against the softer chickpeas and greens, rather than everything disappearing into one texture.
- Skip it – if you’re after crisp vegetables and a light soup. This is deliberately soft, hearty and somewhere between a soup and a thick stew.
Cauliflower, Greens & Chickpea Stew
Ingredients
Roasted Cauliflower
- 1 medium cauliflower, about 750g
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Chickpea Stew
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 leek, finely sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin optiona
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
- 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 2 400g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 750 ml vegetable or chicken stock, plus a little extra if needed
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 150 grams frozen peas
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 120 grams baby spinach
- 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice plus more to taste
- 1/2 tsp honey (to taste)
- 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Roasted Cauliflower
- Preheat the oven to 220°C conventional / 200°C fan.
- Place the cauliflower on a large baking tray and toss with the olive oil, cumin, coriander, salt and black pepper.
- Roast for 25–30 minutes, turning once, until tender and deeply golden around the edges.
Chickpea Stew
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the leek and cook for 5–6 minutes, until softened.
- Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli flakes, if using.
- Cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the chickpeas and stock.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Using the back of a wooden spoon or potato masher, roughly crush some of the chickpeas directly in the saucepan. Aim to crush about ¼ of them, leaving plenty whole.
- Add the zucchini and simmer for 5 minutes, then add the peas and approximately two-thirds of the roasted cauliflower. Cook for another 2–3 minutes.
- If the stew has become thicker than you’d like, add a splash of extra stock.
- Place the tahini in a small bowl and gradually whisk in about 80ml hot broth from the stew until smooth.
- Stir the tahini mixture back into the saucepan. Add the spinach and stir until just wilted.
- Remove from the heat. Stir through the lemon zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ½ teaspoon honey and parsley.
- Season generously with salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust with additional honey, lemon or salt as needed.
- Divide between bowls and top with the reserved roasted cauliflower, parsley, black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Make it your own way
Add chicken: Brown 400–500g chopped boneless chicken thighs before cooking the leek. Remove, then return to the pan with the stock and chickpeas. You can reduce the chickpeas to one tin if you want the chicken to take centre stage, although I’d keep both for a particularly substantial meal.
Change the greens: Spinach is easy, but chopped kale or silverbeet will make it more robust. Add tougher greens earlier so they have time to soften.
Use whatever green vegetables need using: Peas and zucchini keep this relatively soft and sweet, but broccoli, asparagus or green beans can step in depending on what you have.
Make it thicker: Crush more of the chickpeas before adding the vegetables. For something closer to soup, simply add another 150–250ml stock.
Turn up the lemon: Add another squeeze at the table rather than loading the whole pot with lemon juice. It keeps the base stew balanced while letting the lemon lovers make theirs sharper.
