Howdy, Friendly Humans! I am Penelope Chi, the vegan minded, not so vegan Chihuahua Blogger. Boy, are Mumsie and I glad you came to check us out. Are you ready to gobble up the most lip smacking chickpea dish you’ve ever tasted?
We’ve made this recipe many times because we love it so much. Well, Mumsie loves it so much and eats it right in front of me and never gives me any. How rude! Maybe I SOMETIMES get just a LITTLE mint or sweet potato, but that’s it. It’s such a pity to be neglected so.
No matter how I buckle down, drudge, sweat and toil at the job she is supposed to be doing, I still only get meaningless scraps.
I thought you Vegan Humans were against the slavery and oppression of Animals, Huh?
Ok, enough self-pity, let’s talk Things. Products Dahling. Names, Names, Names! Being from Philly, we get a lot of our herbs and condiments from the Reading Terminal Market. Some of our favorite vendor stalls are Herbiary and Condiment.
We buy many of our dried herbs and essential oils from Herbiary.
Condiment makes the most delightful house-made Harissa.
We also love Tofurky Sausage, Andouille Style for this recipe.
That being said, here is our attempt at Artsy-Fartsy photography. We call it “Still Life with Piglet”.
Ok, enough jibber jabber. Let’s get Cookin’!
First, you’re gonna want to get to roasting those sweet, sweet potatoes.
Now get out your irony cast iron pot (or whatever braising type pot you have) and brown that Andouille in some hot oil so that it turns from this:
to this.
Mum made sure that there were no sweet little piggies in this phony-baloney sausage. We never use any pigs…well, except for the piglet in that one photo from before, but that sure doesn’t count because it’s only a statue, silly. I’m the only one that gets used around here…but I digress…Remove the Andouille from the pot and set aside. Using the oil that is now infused with all that sausagy-type flava, go ahead and saute your onions. Once they are see through (or a big word, translucent), add in the garlic and cook for another 1 or 2 minutes.
Then add in the tomato sauce and Harissa.
The flavors of Mr. Tomato and Miss Harissa are like that sexy couple that has that certain Magic that makes you want to stare at them for hours, all creepy like. Not that I stare at people for hours, just sayin…
Mmm-k, start adding in your spinach a handful at a time.
I know it looks like too much spinach, but believe me, it will wilt down to almost nothing. Truth!
This is what it looks like once all 5 ounces of that spinach has wilted down:
Now add your chickpeas and veggie stock.
Bring this to a boil, then turn down the flame so it is just simmering. Arrange your lovely browned Andouille on top. Look at how scrumptious it looks so far!
Cover all this juicy scrumptiousness with a tight lid. You can use foil if your pot doesn’t have a lid. Genius! Let it braise for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, gather your lemon, herbs and dried rose petals and begin prepping.
Zest the lemon, then squeeze out the juice, chop the fresh mint & cilantro and crumble up the dried rose. Sniff it. Go ahead and sniff it…it’s called Aromatherapy and it is good for your senses. Mmmmmm.
When your creation has finished braising, turn off the flame and add in those herbaceous, citrusy and floral flavors. Delightful!
Let these flavors marry for at least 15 minutes before serving. Gee, I love weddings… dances, funerals… any party really. I’m a real party animal!
Okie Dokie then, plate your sweet potato first, cut side up and slit it so that the juice of the braise can seep into the potato, just like it should & just like you knew it could ; )
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, unpeeled and halved
- 2 Tablespoons grape seed oil, divided
- 2 links of phony baloney sausage (we used Tofurky Andouille style), sliced into thick chunks
- 1 onion, chopped
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1-2 Tablespoons Harissa (We prefer 2)
- Tons of Spinach (5 ounces)
- 2 cups veggie stock
- 1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- 1 lemon, zested and 1/2 juiced
- 2 teaspoons dried rose petals & buds, plus more for garnish
- 1 Tablespoon chopped, fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
- 1 Tablespoon chopped, fresh mint, plus more for garnish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Arrange your halved sweet potatoes on a sheet pan and drizzle with 1 Tablespoon of grape seed oil. Rub it all over the potatoes. Salt those sweeties! Let roast, cut side down, for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a cast iron pot, heat the remaining 1 Tablespoon of oil and brown the Andouille. Remove it from the pot and set aside.
- Add the chopped onion, a little salt & pepper, and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add in minced garlic, saute for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the tomato sauce, cook and let reduce for about 10 minutes.
- Now take 1 or 2 nice big, heaping Tablespoons of the Harissa and plop it in there too.
- Stir together to introduce the Harissa with the tomato. What a couple!!
- Add in the 5 ounces of spinach a little at a time.
- Once all that spinach has wilted, add in the veggie stock and chickpeas. Give it a stir.
- Bring your flavorful mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer.
- Arrange your browned Andouille on top.
- Cover your pot snugly and let that simmer/braise for 30 minutes, low & slow Baby!
- Uncover and add in your finishing touches- lemon zest & juice, rose petals, cilantro and mint. Stir in and let sit for 10 minutes to develop the relationship between all
those flavors! - Serve over a halved, roasted sweet potato.
- Garnish with more rose, cilantro & mint.
- Eat it up!
*serves 4 with plenty of leftovers!
Finish plating by spooning the chickpea wonderfulness atop your sweet potatoes. Garnish with extra herbs and rose petals.
Are you gonna finish that, Mumsie?
Hey Ma, can I have some?
Eventually…the woman caves. Sweet potatoes for me, yay. I become unhinged when it comes to sweet potatoes!