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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-Vaughn
https://www.hellofresh.com/recipes/middle-eastern-chickpea-bowls-5eb082c2ff8d2876ce4bf9a2
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
Keyword: rice, vegetarian
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:
      •  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
Mix the ingredients and store in a closed airtight bag, jar, or bottle.
https://littlespicejar.com/shawarma-seasoning/