Roasted Vegetable & Cumin Chickpea Bowl

When I haven’t been working 10-13 hours a day [tax time round two!], we’ve been entertaining Andrew’s parents who were in town for a little over week. When people are in town, you know you’re eating way too much well when you’re not showing them things like the Elk Rock Gardens of the Bishop’s Close [cue plug of Andrew’s blog].

Things eaten in the last week: a funguy burger with my favorite fries from Killer Burger, a tuna melt and fat slice chocolate chip zucchini bread at Community Plate, a pile of brisket with horseradish aioli from Radar, a machaca burrito from King Burrito, a buffalo chicken pizza from MOD Pizza, a Jamaican jerk chicken salad from Fire on the Mountain, a Bowl of the Gods acai bowl from Kure Juice Bar, a turkey and brie on a baguette with a cup of fragola pasta salad from Addy’s Sandwich Bar, a lemongrass chicken and crispy pork belly vermicelli bowl from Freshroll, a duck bologna, egg, sauerkraut, coffee mayo and American cheese breakfast sandwich on a parker house roll at Portland Penny Diner, and a bacon cheese burger at Tilt.

Guys, I’m tired of eating out. It happens sometimes. Everything in moderation.

I made a chicken basil stir fry [based on this pork recipe] almost immediately. Simple flavors. A vegetable or three. The body seems to handle only so much butter and salt.

This simple roasted vegetable bowl fits the bill for just what I want after a week of eating out. The vegetables are great on their own, but even better when in a bowl for easy eating with a side of cumin chickpeas. The hardest part is actually getting them to the bowl because I find myself popping a piece of sweet potato here, a piece of broccolini there until half the tray is gone. I’m the type of person that could easily stand there and eat an entire tray of roasted vegetables all to myself. I’ve been known to do it with crudité platters too. Vegetables are a weakness. There are probably worse problems to have.

The original recipe from Minimalist Baker has a three ingredient tahini sauce, that would have been awesome if I actually had tahini on hand. I ate it plain because that’s just how much love I have for roasted vegetables. The cumin chickpeas were really, really, really great. Crispy outsides with soft insides. A bright pop of flavor with every bite.

Inspiration: Minimalist Baker

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 1 large sweet potato, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
• 1 bundle of broccolini, tough stems trimmed and cut into pieces [stalks too!]
• 1 bunch of kale, torn into bite sized pieces
• salt and pepper
• 15oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat. In a bowl, toss the sweet potato and onion in some olive oil and salt and pepper so it’s lightly coated. Spread them out in a single layer on the baking sheet. Place in the oven.

After 10 minutes, toss the broccolini in the bowl with some more olive oil and salt and pepper. Add it to the baking sheet in the oven.

After another 10 minutes, toss the kale in the bowl with some more olive oil and salt and pepper. Add it to the baking sheet in the oven.

While everything is roasting, heat a heavy skillet on medium high heat with some olive oil. Toss the chickpeas in a bowl with all of the spices so that they’re evenly coated. Add the chickpeas to the hot pan. Let them sit for 30-60 seconds to really develop a crispy char before stirring. Adjust your heat if necessary. Once they’re crispy on all sides, and your kitchen smells awesome from all of the spices, remove them from the heat.

When the vegetables are done, you can either serve up individual bowls or mix everything together in one large bowl and go to town. The ones in the small bowl above was just for looks. I totally ate it out of the large bowl.