Lemon-Balsamic Glazed Chickpeas and Broccoli

So Rob is gone and I am out to play!

A few years ago, I read What We Eat When We Eat Alone by husband and wife team Deborah Madison and Patrick McFarlin. I was so fascinated by their stories that I wrote my own series about eating for 1. At the time, I had been living by myself for over 6 years (plus another 4 years I lived with roommates). I was fascinated by what people ate when not with their significant other. Truthfully, I don’t really modify my habits too much when Rob is away. I try to stay on track.

However, I emailed Rob about being influenced by the Bad Idea Bears (bonus points if you have any clue what I am referring to). After going to the gym, I was so energized post-shred that I went grocery shopping. My email to Rob:

The bad idea bears helped me reason out why I should buy 8 lbs of chickpeas for $5, spinach (3/$2), baby bok choy (79c/lb), lots of bananas (29c/lb), grapefruit (4/$1) among other things. I bought you some rolled oats, too. 🙂 oh, and some yogurt (it expires in April so you are still good post-SXSW).

I know my Mom is shaking her head. I thought about it, too. I reasoned it out. Our chickpea stash was getting low!! I am on a chickpea phase! The other beans will not suffice! They are on sale! They will keep. I will eat them. I want my chickpeas!

Plus, my Mom gave me a nice balsamic vinegar for Christmas, so I need chickpeas and greens to eat through that! 😉

(I am thinking about depleting my pantry…)

So now I have lots of chickpeas and lots of greens. Which is better than a case of beer, right? (Rob thought so, too).

You may have noticed I am posting more and more simple recipes. This is possibly one of my easiest recipes (the broccoli was an afterthought, so the hardest part is chopping the broccoli). In a saucepan, put all your ingredients and make a balsamic reduction with a touch of tomato, garlic and lemon. Within a few minutes, it glazes the chickpeas with a sweet-tart sauce. The original recipe called for ketchup, which I replaced with tomato paste and sweetener. The quality of your balsamic vinegar will dictate how tart it will become and how much sweetener to add. Taste as you go. You could just make the chickpeas, but I found the broccoli to be a perfect match, sweet and crunchy, to balance the strong balsamic reduction. Next time, to make this even easier, I may just whip out my mosto cotto instead.

This is my submission to this week’s Weekend Wellness, this month’s My Legume Love Affair.

Lemon-Balsamic Glazed Chickpeas and Broccoli
Adapted from Happy Herbivore Abroad

1.5 cups cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained if canned
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
zest of half a lemon
1 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
sweetener, to taste (I used 3 drops of stevia)
1 crown of broccoli, finely chopped (120g)

1. In a medium saucepan, place the chickpeas, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste and garlic. Raise heat to medium and stir until vinegar is mostly evaporated. Stir in the zest, lemon juice and sweetener. Add more to taste.

2. Meanwhile, steam broccoli for 2 minutes, or until slightly al dente and a brilliant green. Stir into chickpeas. Allow to marinate for 5 minutes, to absorb the flavours.

Serves 2.