Mexican Chickpea and Brussels Sprout Casserole
- Selena Bean
- Sep 14
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 16
A tomato-based dish with the distinct Mexican aroma of cumin, coriander seed and chili. Turning the humble and much maligned Brussels sprout into the hero of a main dish.
Wondering whether to spell it Brussels or Brussel sprout, I found out a bit more.
Obviously being named after its place of origin, I assumed it was Brussels in Belgium, and this turned out to be the case.
Originally a wild cabbage from the Mediterranean area, they were cultivated widely between the 13th and 16th century in Belgium and became popular in the area around Brussels. Therefore, I am going to go with the "S on the end", even though it is very difficult to say Brussels Sprouts slowly.
Brussels sprouts are a low calorie, low carbohydrate source of protein, fibre and vitamins K and C, and 6 of the Bs in varying amounts. They contain potassium, manganese, phosphorous, and magnesium along with some iron, calcium, zinc and selenium. A lot of nutrition in a vegetable so small.
And cooked right, they don't taste that bad!
They are a dense and meaty little morsel with quite an earthy flavour, slightly nutty and a wee bit sweet. Feeling in the mood for a hot dinner and something that might resemble my former way of eating, I decided on Mexican and set about trying to cook them just enough to be full of the sauce flavour, but not a composty kind of mess as in the days of yore! Turns out, they held their shape well, the fragrant sauce seeped into the folds of the baby cabbages, and served with some brown rice, Black Beans and Garlic and a fresh green salad, they made a tasty and nutritious dinner.
A little bit of prep involved in this one, but you can always make it in bulk when the Brussels Sprouts are in season and have a quick, go to meal in the freezer at any time of year.
1
Chickpeas
Using Canned: rinse and drain the chickpeas before use
Using dried: Quick soak by boiling for 2 mins and leave aside for 2 hours. Boil for 2 - 2 1/2 hours
Remove any skins that float to the surface with a slotted spoon.
2
Oil
Use your own preferred oil or if trying to avoid fats, use some vegetable stock to start the sweating process.
3
Browning onions
Onions will not brown until the water content has been reduced greatly. This requires quite a long stir-fry type process in order to not burn the outside and have raw crunchy onions in the dish that are not imparting their true flavour.
Notes
1
*Toast cumin seeds by tossing in a hot dry frying pan until starting to pop. Remove from pan to cold plate immediately and leave aside.
* Peel off outer layers of the Brussels, trim the stalk end and make a deep cross in the stem with a paring knife.
*Precook the sprouts by plunging into a pot of boiling water and allow to boil for 20 minutes until just able to pierce with the paring knife
*
2
*Dice onion, crush garlic, chop chili,
*Heat saucepan and add oil or vege stock (see note)
*Add onion. reduce heat to medium and allow to sweat until softened, stirring often (see note)
*When onions are starting to brown, add the cumin seeds and stirfry for 2 minutes
3
*Add the garlic and chili, stir-fry another minute or so until you start to smell the garlic.
*Add the chickpeas, stir into the mixture
*Pour in the vegetable stock
4
*Add the dry spices and stir-fry until most of the liquid is absorbed, add the tomatoes
*Stir until sauce starts to boil.
*Cut Brussels sprouts into quarters and add to the pot. Simmer for 30 - 40 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper
Instructions
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 onion diced
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 chilies
2 tsp whole cumin seeds toasted
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 cup vege stock
1 tbsp oil (optional)
salt and pepper
Prepare Ingredients
Mexican Chickpea and Brussels Sprout Casserole
Chef, R&D, Photographer, Author
Selena Bean
This tomato-based dish turns the humble Brussels sprout into the hero of a main dish
Servings :
4 Servings
Calories:
Prep Time
30 min
Cooking Time
40 min
Rest Time
0
Total Time
1 hour 20 min
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