I spent the afternoon yesterday, picking all the green tomatoes in our garden which are refusing to ripen in this cooler weather. Today the plants will be ripped out, making way for our winter crops. I’m hoping to get a little time this week (can’t guarantee though, as it’s the school holidays!) to make one of my favourite recipes using the green tomatoes, which I’ll share next week. But I’d love to know if any of you have great ideas for using up green tomatoes too? I have lots!
This stew uses tinned tomatoes, but should you still have a few ripe ones hanging around by all means use them instead. It’s the kind of thing that comes together quickly, uses pantry staples and although the ingredients list does look long, it’s mostly spices, which bring complexity to an otherwise simple dish. I’ve topped this with herbed yoghurt, however the stew itself is vegan, so if you prefer to eat that way simply leave it off or use coconut yoghurt instead.
Don’t let the long ingredients list put you off this simple, flavoursome stew! It all comes together in a matter of minutes, once you’ve got all the spices out of the pantry… I used readily available curly kale, but cavolo nero/black cabbage would also be lovely.
Serves 4-6
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon raw sugar
1 x 400g tin diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups (500ml) cold water
3 cups cooked chickpeas or 2 x 400g tins chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 bunch kale, stalks removed and leaves roughly chopped
1-2 teaspoon red wine vinegar or lemon juice, to taste
Coriander yoghurt
1 cup (250ml) Greek yoghurt
1/4 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped mint leaves
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
The juice of 1/2 lemon
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring often until translucent. Add garlic, thyme sprigs, bay leaf and cumin seeds, stir well and continue to cook for a further minute. Add spices, salt and sugar and cook 30 seconds. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water and chickpeas. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook 10 minutes.
Add kale, cover and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, add red wine vinegar or lemon juice, to taste. Remove bay leaf and thyme stalks. Serve in bowls, drizzled with a little herbed yoghurt.
To make the herbed yoghurt, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well.
Loosely inspired by a recipe in Gjelina, Chronicle Books 2015.
8 Responses
oooh this looks wonderfully warming …just right for a cold Autumn day. Have some Kale in the garden and all other ingredients on hand…Dinner tonight is in the bag! Thanks again Emma! x
This chickpea and tomato yoghurt looks colorful and delicious too, Thanks for sharing!!!
I’m really a fond of chickpeas and I love this dish. This is somehow I called a bliss.
Hello, thanks so much for sharing this great recipes. Looks great :).
A very wonderful recipe, thanks for sharing, i will have it in my try list.
My husband and my two kids ( aged 4 and 2) loved this dish! In fact we haven’t not loved any of the recipes we have tried from your site they are also so easy to make with hungry wee people hanging around which makes them even better! Thank you!
Oh that’s so awesome to hear Sally! Yay and thanks for your lovely comment x
Feel like you are in “green tomato mood” 🙂
Actually a my experience, which recipe has long ingredients list, make it easily! Plus stew is wonderful food for my stomach!