Meatless Mondays

First off, I know I am not posting this on a Monday, but maybe posting it in time for YOU to make for your next "Meatless Monday!" So don't mock me. I had posted a picture on Facebook about this, and people were asking for the recipe, so I didn't want to wait until Monday.

I have been looking for ways to eat healthier, for me AND my family. One way to eat healthier is to eat less meat, so I am striving for our family to eat at least two meatless meals each week (I won't even add that it's cheaper and more environmentally friendly oh wait, I just did). I am also, however, trying to eat less refined carbs (flour, sugar), so just trotting out some pasta with tomato sauce isn't going to cut it.

The other day, I came across a recipe for Curried Chick Peas with Spinach. It looked really good, so I thought I would give it a shot. I did, however, tweak it a little, because...well, it's me and I have a hard time following a recipe the way it's written. I did provide the link to the recipe that inspired mine, so feel free to look at both and try the one that you might like the best. Or try both. Let me know which one you preferred. I promise I won't take it personally. LOL

I don't know which is healthier, but I had a bunch of kale, so I swapped that out for the spinach, and I
used dried chick peas (soaked first, of course). I also didn't have any curry powder, but I did have red curry paste, so I used that instead. I added a can of unsweetened coconut milk to it too, just for good measure. So, below, is my version. It came out really well, and even the kids ate it. Confession: Elliot just ate the rice and chick peas, but I still call that a win.  :-)

Soak dried chick peas overnight (I used half of a 16 oz package). Then, you have to boil them in clean water until they are soft. If you skip this step, you will end up cooking the curry for about 45 minutes (don't ask how I know this). Or, you can just use canned.









 Chick Pea Curry with Kale

Ingredients:

1 lb of kale, washed
2 Tbsp. oil, divided (I used olive oil, but coconut oil would be good in this, too)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tbsp chopped ginger
Salt (I use kosher) and pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp red curry paste
2 15 oz cans chick peas, rinsed (or soak dried beans overnight, cook until soft)
1 28 oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes
1 15 oz can of unsweetened coconut milk
Steamed rice, for serving

Heat one Tbsp of oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger, cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add kale to the skillet in batches, cooking until bright green and slightly wilted. When cooked, transfer to a food processor. After all the kale has been cooked and transferred to the food processor, pulse in processor to finely chop up the kale. You may have to stop and scrape down the kale a couple of times.

Heat remaining Tbsp of oil in the same skillet you used to cook the kale. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add red curry paste and stir until paste is fragrant, then add chick peas and tomatoes,with their juices, to the skillet, squeezing the tomatoes to break them up a bit. Cook the chick peas and tomatoes for 10 minutes, then add the kale puree. Cook for 10 minutes more (make sure the tomatoes have cooked down and the chick peas are soft), then add the coconut milk. Heat through until the sauce is smooth and there are no chunky bits from the coconut milk.
















Serve over steamed rice.

This makes a large amount. The four of us had generous portions, and there's probably enough for another night, so let's say this makes 8 servings, but could be stretched further if you serve with more rice. :-)