Winter Supper

This month features a great little recipe that is a bit of a chameleon.

Although it started out intended for dinner, it works well for breakfast and lunch as well. 

During our first year of RAD we made individual meals, this was the very first item built for our menu at that time. It is savory, can be made as is or 100% plant based if warranted. This is extraordinarily easy to put together and easy to eat. The micros and macros are there, making it sort of one stop shopping as far as a complete meal is concerned. 

I love this with crusty bread for dinner, but my favorite way to enjoy it is as leftovers in the morning with an egg added. I’ve also rolled it up into a tortilla for lunch on the go and have been guilty of eating it directly out of the pan standing at the stove at midnight.

What is it about eating directly out of the pan that is so satisfying? I’m with Kelly here on preparing dishes that transcend through various eating occasions. Cook once, incorporate throughout the next few days. This is one of my specialties, and I love taking a leftover and turning it into something new and different. Not only does this save time, it’s also a cost-effective way of cooking.

Chorizo + Chickpeas

1# chorizo or plant-based chorizo (we like Abbott’s for this) *the sausage should be loose. If you purchase chorizo in casing, simply remove the casings before cooking.

1 can cooked chickpeas

¼ cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup cherry tomatoes

¼ cup fresh chopped basil

¼ cup goat cheese *Violife makes a great plant-based alternative

In a large sauté pan cook the sausage on medium heat, until fully cooked. 

Be sure to stir it while it cooks. This will prevent burning and breaks up the sausage into pieces. By nature, sausage has a bit of fat in it already. I don’t add fat to this recipe, but feel free to add 2 tablespoons of olive oil if desired.

Once chorizo is done, add chickpeas, tomatoes, and stock.

Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute.

Turn the burner off and add basil and cheese. 

Mix thoroughly and enjoy!

Keep in the fridge for up to four days, or in the freezer for a month. This is great to have on hand and heat up when hungry.

What I love about this recipe is that you can add any protein or vegetable here to keep it interesting. And, as we mentioned above, this dish can be used in so many ways. The composition of this recipe shines too- high quality protein, good fat, and some micronutrients from the vegetables. All you need to add is some carbohydrate to round it out- crusty bread, tortilla, rice, heck- even on top of pizza. Tip- use vegetables that are in season to really boost the nutritional value here. Add some butternut squash in fall, brussel sprouts in winter, asparagus in spring, etc. Seasonal produce may depend on where you live too, so shop around and see what’s available.

We love this because it’s nourishing, delicious, and easy to put together in a time crunch. And, as Kelly mentioned, it makes a great midnight snack right out of the pan!