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Moroccan-Spiced Chickpea, Carrot and Spinach Stew with Herbed Millet

Chickpeas, carrots and spinach in a warmly spiced tomato sauce with ginger and cinnamon, served with fluffy millet. A vegan, gluten-free dinner with 15g of fibre, ready in 50 minutes.

Dinner

50

Serves 4

A white plate with a mound of fluffy golden grains beside a chickpea, carrot and spinach stew scattered with coriander, in front of a person in a checked shirt

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp (15ml) olive oil
  • 1 large onion (about 150g/5oz), chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic (about 12g) and a 2cm/¾in piece fresh ginger (about 10g), grated
  • 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp sweet paprika, half a tsp ground cinnamon and half a tsp ground turmeric
  • 300g/10½oz carrots, cut into 1.5cm/⅝in chunks
  • Half a 400g (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes (200g/7oz); keep the rest covered in the fridge for up to 2 days
  • 2 x 400g (14oz) tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 480g/1lb 1oz drained)
  • 400ml/1⅔ cups low-salt vegetable stock (check the label for gluten, soya and celery if you avoid them)
  • 120g/4oz baby spinach
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) lemon juice and a small bunch of coriander (cilantro, about 15g), chopped
  • 120g/4oz/⅔ cup millet, rinsed (labelled gluten-free if you need it)

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Cook the onion for 8 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and stir for 1 minute.
  2. Add the carrots, tomatoes, chickpeas and stock. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the carrots are tender. Uncover and simmer for 5 minutes more to thicken.
  3. Meanwhile, toast the millet in a dry pan over a medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring, until it smells nutty. Add 300ml/1¼ cups of boiling water and a pinch of salt, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Take off the heat and leave covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and stir in half the coriander.
  4. Stir the spinach into the stew until it wilts, add the lemon juice and season to taste.
  5. Serve the stew beside the millet, scattered with the rest of the coriander. The stew keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days and freezes for up to 3 months; reheat until steaming hot. Leftover millet keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Why it works

A plate gives you about 15g of protein and 15g of fibre for 377 calories, including the millet.

Why millet. Millet is a small, naturally gluten-free grain that cooks into fluffy grains much like couscous, which is made from wheat. Toasting it first brings out a nutty flavour. Buy millet labelled gluten-free if you need to, as it can be processed alongside wheat.

Warm spices, not heat. Cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika and ginger give the gentle, fragrant warmth of North African cooking without much chilli.

Why it is tagged for blood sugar. The chickpeas, carrots and millet bring 51g of carbohydrate, balanced by 15g of fibre and 15g of protein, mostly from the chickpeas, so this plate is unlikely to cause a sharp rise in blood sugar.

Check the stock label if you need it gluten-free or soya-free; stock often contains celery. For another Moroccan dish, try the Moroccan chickpea and lentil stew.