Pumpkin Chickpea Stew with Browned Sage
This pumpkin chickpea stew is brought to you by a break in-between study sessions.
Pumpkin in January isn’t that weird, right? You’ll probably have a better time finding cans of it this time of year anyway. Actually, maybe not. Does anyone know where they keep it when it’s not on end-caps or in towering pyramids at the front of the store? I kid. The pumpkin puree ends up being a thickener more than a flavor profile, so take that as it is.
Everything I’ve been making lately tends to fall into the cozy camp — soups, stews, shepherd’s pie, pasta, baked goods. It’s as if it’s been cold and damp or something. There has also been an obscene amount of Thai basil pork being made too, but it’s spicy so that counts towards cozy in my book. My parents gifted me a cast-iron wok for Christmas, so using it coupled with the ease of the recipe means I’m making it a lot.
Is cozy a food group? It should be. It’s a quality I immediately gravitate towards. Salads, unfortunately, have a hard time making the cozy cut, unless they’re warm and nutty like the brown rice salad at Picnic House. Roasted yams, carrots, arugula, asparagus, toasted almonds, and a hazelnut vinaigrette over brown rice. See? Comforting.
The last few recipes made me laugh because they were that bland color, and this really isn’t that much different. There’s more of this color to come, my friends. More pumpkin, too. Apparently I’m a creature of habit.
This stew turned a little soupy on the first round, but thickened considerably upon cooling. By the next day, the liquid was gone and an amalgamation of pumpkin-y chickpeas and orzo remained. Still totally edible. It’s like two different meals for the effort of one. The flavor the browned sage’s earthiness brings nestles right in there with the sweetness of the pumpkin and carrot. Chickpeas seem to serve mostly as protein that matches the consistency of its fellow ingredients. They take on whatever flavor you want them to. The whole thing comes together really quickly, taking up just about as much time as it takes you to chop up the onion and carrot.
Inspiration: Food52
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 1 carrot, chopped evenly [feel free to peel it if that’s your style]
- 1/2 onion, chopped evenly
- 6-8 sage leaves, halved
- 1 quart chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups orzo or other small pasta
Preparation
In a large sauce pan with high enough walls to hold all of your liquids, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add the carrot, onion, and sage. Stir occasionally until the carrot and onion soften and the sage starts to brown, about 5-7 minutes. The smell is heavenly.
Add the chickpeas, pumpkin, and broth. Use your spoon to deglaze any of the onion bits off the bottom of the pan and stir so the pumpkin is broken up into the broth. Bring the broth to a boil before adding the orzo. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook the orzo for about 8 minutes. It should be al dente.