Middle Eastern Chickpea Rice Bowls with Savory Pistachio Rice & Garlicky White Sauce
COVID brought us Hello Fresh — and Hello Fresh brought us this dish, which has become a regular vegetarian meal chez Kudler-Vaughnhttps://www.hellofresh.com/recipes/middle-eastern-chickpea-bowls-5eb082c2ff8d2876ce4bf9a2
Servings: 2 people
Equipment
- •Paper Towel
- •Strainer
- •Zester
- •Small pot
- •Baking Sheet
- •Small Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Red Onion
- ¼ ounce Cilantro
- ½ ounce Pistachios ContainsTree Nuts
- ½ cup Basmati Rice
- 13.4 ounce Chickpeas 1 can
- 4 tablespoon Sour Cream
- 1 clove Garlic
- 1 Lemon
- 4 ounce Grape Tomatoes
- 1 unit Veggie Stock Concentrate I leave this out most often
- 1 tablespoon Shawarma Spice Blend See notes
- 1 teaspoon Hot Sauce I use Chilula, but Sriracha works
- 2 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoon Butter
- Kosher Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
Prep
- Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry all produce.
- Halve, peel, and cut onion into ½-inch-thick wedges; mince a few wedges until you have 2 TBSP.
- Peel and mince or grate garlic.
- Roughly chop pistachios.
- Drain and rinse chickpeas; pat very dry with paper towels.
- Roughly chop cilantro.
- Zest and quarter lemon
Cook Rice
- Melt 1 TBSP butter in a small pot over medium-high heat.
- Add minced onion, half the garlic, half the pistachios (save the rest for serving), half the Shawarma Spice (you’ll use the rest in the next step), and a pinch of salt.
- Cook, stirring, 1 minute.
- Stir in rice, ¾ cup water, stock concentrate, and a big pinch of salt.
- Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.
- Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. Keep covered off heat.
Roast Veggies & Chickpeas
- Meanwhile, toss onion wedges, tomatoes, and chickpeas on a baking sheet with a large drizzle of olive oil, remaining Shawarma Spice, pepper, and a few pinches of salt.
- Roast on top rack, tossing halfway through, until veggies are tender and lightly charred and chickpeas are crispy, 18-20 minutes.
- TIP: It’s natural for chickpeas to pop a bit.
Make Sauce
- While veggies and chickpeas roast, in a small bowl, combine sour cream and remaining garlic to taste.
- Season with salt.
- Stir in water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.
Mix Rice & Toss Veggies
- Fluff rice with a fork; stir in 1 TBSP butter and half the cilantro.
- Season rice with salt and pepper.
- Once veggies and chickpeas are done, remove from oven and toss with lemon zest.
Serve
- Divide rice between shallow bowls.
- Top with veggies and chickpeas.
- Drizzle with garlicky white sauce and hot sauce to taste.
- Sprinkle with remaining pistachios and cilantro.
- Top with lemon juice to taste; serve with remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Notes
You can find shawarma at some markets, but unless they specialize in Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food, it’s hard to find. Fortunately, it’s not hard to make, and really tasty.
Here’s a shawarma recipe that I’ve used:
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- 1/4 cup ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup ground allspice
- 1/4 cup garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon salt
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