There’s a longstanding, pervasive belief that vegan foods are flavorless and unsatisfying. As a meatless eater for 40 years now, I beg to differ. My unscientific opinion is that because meats have an inherently more aggressive flavor, carnivores’ tastebuds are not as attuned to subtler flavors. So they experience meatless foods as lacking.
It takes a while for tastebuds to adjust once you stop eating meat. When I first stopped eating meat, I craved heavy cheeses and eggs. I tended to spice things more aggressively. As time has passed, my tastebuds have adjusted to subtle flavors. Heavily flavored foods are not as appetizing as they once were.
That said, I do enjoy bold-flavored foods sometimes. That’s why I was attracted to Celine Steen’s Bold-Flavored Vegan Cooking. So far, every recipe I’ve made from the book has been a winner. This is also true for today’s Meatless Monday recipe: Chickpea Curry with Lime Broccoli.
The original recipe in the book calls for tofu scramble instead of chickpeas. Because I have a medical need to avoid soy for now, I substituted chickpeas instead. The recipe below reflects this change. You can find the original tofu scramble recipe here. I’m sure it’s wonderful. I do love tofu scramble; it just doesn’t love me.
This recipe goes together really quickly once you’ve done all the prep. So it’s a good idea to have everything ready beforehand.
Meatless Monday: Chickpea Curry with Lime Broccoli
For the chickpea curry:
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed oil. I used sesame oil.)
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- up to 1 tablespoon red curry paste (adjust as needed while the chickpeas are cooking)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon tamari or shoyu
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened canned coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon veggie broth
For the broccoli:
- 1 large head broccoli, trimmed and chopped
- 2 tablespoons veggie broth
- zest and juice from one organic lime (grate the zest before juicing!)
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened canned coconut milk
- Maldon sea salt or some other flaky-type sea salt
- Sliced scallions
Put it together:
- Chop the broccoli and peel and chop the stems. Set aside.
- Chop the scallions and zest and juice the lime. Set aside in separate small bowls.
- For the chickpeas: Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the chickpeas and stir to coat with the oil. Cook until they start to brown a bit, 5-8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the curry paste, nutritional yeast, tamari, coconut milk and broth in a small bowl.
- When the chickpeas have browned a bit, add the curry paste mixture and stir to coat. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for a few more minutes.
- For the broccoli: Cook on medium-high heat in a saucepan with the lime juice and broth until just tender, about 8 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk. Stir to coat and cook another couple minutes until the coconut milk is absorbed.
- Add the chickpeas and broccoli to a bowl. Top with the scallions, lime zest and a pinch of flaky sea salt.