Just an idea for a quick and healthy lunch that will keep keep you energised until dinner time!
A warming and vegetarian protein meal in its own right that is also gluten and dairy-free. And as a bonus, it travels great if you are planning on taking it to work.
Chickpeas are a great source of insoluble fibre that feeds the beneficial bacteria in the gut.
Taste Tip: add a soft boiled or poached egg just before serving
Health Tip: If you are a vegan/vegetarian, add a handful of brown rice or barley to complete the chickpea protein as veggie protein doesn’t contain all the essential amino-acids found in meat, fish, dairy and eggs.
Baby Tip: Purée for weaning babies and mash for older babies.
Serves 6 Prep. 5 min Cook 30min Freezer friendly Child friendly
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1 celery stalk finely chopped
1 medium carrot finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
400g cooked chickpeas – best quality you can find
200g raw baby spinach or 100 g frozen spinach, roughly chopped.
2 medium potatoes well scrubbed and chopped in 1cm cubes
1lt vegetable stock
Slowly sauté the onions, garlic, celery and carrot in the olive oil until soft (about 10 minutes), add the sweet paprika and continue to fry for another minute. Add the vegetable stock and potatoes and cook until the potatoes are really soft (approx. 15min) add the spinach and chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with a sprinkling of parsley and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil – everything tastes better with a little golden olive oil!!