Winter squash/pumpkin and kimchi chickpeas
Winter squash (pumpkin) and kimchi chickpeas
A note, this makes a pretty big portion which is by design because I love leftover pumpkin. This is what I did with leftovers: I blended it up (add a bit more water if has thickened up) and then heated it with grated cheddar cheese, added pasta and it turned into a pumpkin-y Mac and cheese. Big hit!
Serves 4 — 6
Ingredients
- extra virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed and peel removed
- 900g (2 pounds) winter squash / pumpkin such as honey nut or butternut, peeled, seeds removed and cut into 2-3 cm (1-inch) chunks
- sea salt and black pepper
- 1 ½ cups vegetable stock
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained (about 500g cooked chickpeas)
- 1 cup vegan cabbage kimchi, roughly chopped (no need to drain)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons gochujang paste (to your liking)
- ½ cup nutritional paste (or grated cheese)
- 200g (7 ounces) vegan or dairy feta, crumbled, for serving (optional)
- chopped coriander or parsley leaves, to serve
- bread, for serving
Heat a large Dutch oven on medium high heat. When hot, add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and then the smashed garlic, and allow that to sizzle for 30-45 seconds until fragrant. Add the squash/pumpkin and season with ½ teaspoon of salt and lots of black pepper. Pour in ½ cup water. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.
Uncover and stir the squash/pumpkin and garlic to break everything up. If it looks dry, add another 1/4 cup of water. Cover again and cook until the squash/pumpkin is completely tender, about 5 minutes. Uncover and stir again until it’s roughly mashed. Add the vegetable stock, chickpeas, kimchi and gochujang and stir to combine. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes, to allow the flavors to meld.
Stir in the nutritional yeast (or cheese). Season with salt and black pepper.
Top with feta (if using), and herbs and eat as is as a stew or with bread on the side.
