The words ‘lentil’ and ‘legumes’ used to make me shudder – all I would think was ‘no flavour’.  Boy was I wrong (but dont tell my husband that, I am always right you see…).  So this New Year will be a year of broadened horizons, and I am starting by embracing the chickpea (aka garbanzo bean) – high in protein and full of stuff thats good for you – this dish makes a delicious non-meat meal! 

But dont ask me what came first – the chicken or the chickpea … somet hings are meant to remain a mystery…

Spiced and Roasted Eggplant, Chickpeas and Peppers with Yoghurt Sauce

Spiced and Roasted Eggplant, Chickpeas and Peppers
Serves 4

• 4 cups eggplant – chunky bite-size dice
• 1 large red onion – bite-size wedges
• 1 large red or yellow pepper – bite-size wedges
• 1 15oz can of chickpeas – drained, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chilli powder
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to season

Preheat your oven to 450F.  Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine – I like to use a bowl with a lid, just add and shake and youre done!  Spread out evenly on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, turning once.  Increase heat to 500F and cook for a further 10 minutes until roasty-toasty deliciousness!

Yoghurt Sauce

• 1/2 cup nonfat plain yoghurt – such as strained Greek Yoghurt
• 2 small tomatoes roughly choped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Throw everything in a bowl and mix!

I like to serve this with a mini whole-wheat pita bread – its delicious eaten ‘taco style’.  Hearty and healthy – what can be better!  Even the man liked it – I was shocked, the buns of course ran from the room… little fuss pots