For a Chilly Night

                         

 The weather has been rainy and chilly--and pleasant to sleep under blankets at night. A good time for a warming dish of Thai curried chickpeas, spinach, and tomatoes in coconut milk.

It's a quick and easy recipe using canned chickpeas and canned diced tomatoes. Fresh spinach is a nice addition for color.

                             

Here's the recipe:

Preheat oven to 350

1 can chickpeas, drained

1 tsp. garam masala

1 TB olive oil

Garlic, onion, and ginger

Thai red curry paste

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can full fat coconut milk

fresh spinach

Limes, cilantro, basil, and/or parsley for garnish          

                         

Toss chickpeas and garam masala together in a saucepan, then remove with slotted spoon to a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Roast at 350 for 20 minutes. (If you're in a hurry, you could probably skip the roasting and just add the drained chickpeas.)

Meanwhile, chop your onion and garlic and add to the pan you used to coat the chickpeas (olive oil being such a price that I like to make it do double duty.) Add the ginger, either minced or squeezed through a garlic press. Saute briefly then stir in a tsp or more, depending on your tolerance for heat, of the curry paste. Cook a minute then stir in the tomatoes, cook a few minutes, now add a few handfuls of spinach. When the spinach had wilted, add the coconut milk.

Serve in a soup bowl over jasmine or basmati rice. We had a spinach and mango salad with vinaigrette on the side--a nice complement.