Recipe: Mediterranean chickpea and green beans

I found this recipe in the book “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Cooking” by Beverly Lynn Bennett and Ray Sammartano. As the title of the book suggests, this is an easy recipe to use. My partner and I had this dish on a bed of quinoa. (Click here for easy to follow instructions on how to cook that grain in a rice cooker.)

What you will need:

1 cup onion, diced (optional)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 ½ fresh green beans, cut into 5 cm pieces

1 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then cut into 1cm thick slices

1 cup red bell capsicum, ribs and seeds removed and then diced (optional)

1 tbsp garlic, minced (optional)

½ tsp dried basil

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried ground cumin

½ tsp sea salt

¼ ground black pepper

1 can chickpeas

1 can diced tomatoes

Method:

In a large pot over medium heat, sauté onion an d olive oil for 2 minutes. Stir often. Add green beans, zucchini and red bell capsicum. Saute, stirring often, for 2 minutes.

Add garlic, basil, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. Saute for 1 minute.

Add chickpeas and tomatoes and stir well to combine. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender and tomatoes begin to break down.

Serve over quinoa, rice or pasta.