Moraccan Chickpea Chili…

This came straight out of Clean Eating magazine. This recipe alone is enough to make me want to subscribe!

This is a quick and easy recipe. It’s a little expensive if you don’t have the spices. Luckily I live with an executive chef so no lacking in this department. I made a double batch on Saturday and it was gone by Monday.

Total prep time is about 30 minutes (longer if you make double batch!)

What you need:

The Meat

1 lb top-round buffalo steak or lean beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes.

I didn’t take a picture of this to keep it “clean” for my veggie friends! Buffalo is hard to come by in my area. Only one store in my area (Fred Meyer) even carries buffalo and mostly it’s ground. They only get steaks 4 x a year and this was not one of the times so I went with a nice lean beef instead.

Vegetables

• 2 1/2 cups yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 2 cups carrots, cut into match sticks
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 cups tomatoes, chopped

Spices

• 2 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp cumin, ground
• 2 tsp dried coriander
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp saffron (*optional)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 bay leaf

The saffron is optional and if you’ve ever looked at the price of saffron you’ll probably be thankful that it is. I opted to leave this out. I’m sure you will too.

Other Stuff

• 3 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1 6oz jar tomato paste
• 2 lemons (optional)

How to put it all together

In a large nonstick pot, cook steak for 2 minutes over med heat. Add garlic, onion, celery, carrots, and all spices. Cook for 5 minutes. Then add chickpeas, cooking for 2 more minutes. Turn up heat to high and pour in 4 cups water, corn, tomatoes, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then stir in tomato paste. Reduce heat to simmer and cook uncovered for 35-45 mins. Stir occasionally, until liquid reduces and chili thickens. Squeeze juice of lemons into chili, if desired, and stir. Remove bay leaf before serving.

The Result and Nutritional Info

2 cup serving is:

397 calories

9g fat

11g fiber

29g protein.

As a side note, this is a spicy chili. Not burn your spicy mouth but body warm spicy. One serving (2 cups) is plenty filling, though I did pair it with a nice mushroom/arugula salad with 2 tbsp of mango dressing for an extra 100 calories.

Enjoy!