My friend Esha also has coeliac disease and she is, like me, a massive foodie. I love going to her flat for dinner because she’s a great cook, our tastes are very similar, and I get to have a nosey in her food cupboards.
One of the best dishes she has served me is this gluten-free spicy tomato chickpeas on baked sweet potato, with fresh coriander, lemon juice, and a dollop of creamy Greek yoghurt on top. It’s such a comforting and flavourful dish, and it’s incredibly healthy, full of Vitamins A and C! And without the yoghurt (or with dairy-free substitute), this is 100% vegan too.
The sweet potato craze hasn’t been one I’ve been particularly into… I’d still rather have a plain ol’ white or red potato for my mash or wedges. I watched a programme a while back about superfoods, and on it, they showed how one community had eliminated eye diseases amongst the children by growing sweet potatoes – the Vitamin A is found in the beta carotene in the potato, and this aids healthy eye sight! Ever since then I’ve tried to have sweet potato more often, and it’s natural sweetness goes really well with the heat of the spicy chickpeas here.
This is the perfect dinner for those cold nights we’ve had lately in Glasgow… you can whip it up in 45 minutes, depending on the size of your sweet potato, and you need very minimal equipment to whip it all up, just a pot and a baking sheet!
Chickpeas are a fantastic source of iron, with just over 6mg per 100g. They’re full of fibre and protein too. The combo of fresh coriander, toasty cumin seeds, zesty lemon, and a hint of chilli is insane. This recipe is so more-ish that you might want to cook another extra baked sweet potato for your lunch the next day!
- 2 tbsp cooking oil, divided
- 3 good sized sweet potatoes for baking
- 1 medium red onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp chilli powder
- 1 x 400g tin of tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
- Juice of one lemon
- Handful of chopped coriander
- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C.
- Scrub your sweet potatoes clean and pat dry. Prick holes all over each potato with a knife. Coat with a light layer of cooking oil and place on a baking sheet in the preheated oven. They should be ready in 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your potato.
- Meanwhile, in a pan, heat remaining tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Fry onion for 8-10 minutes until soft.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for a further minute. Then add the cumin seeds and chilli powder for another minute.
- Chuck in the tin of tomatoes and tomato puree and bring to the boil. When boiling, reduce to a simmer and leave for 15 minutes to thicken.
- When thickened, add in your chickpeas and simmer to heat through for another 10 minutes.
- When ready, squeeze the lemon juice in to the mixture along with the chopped coriander.
- Halve your baked sweet potato, place on a plate and spoon some of the chickpea tomato mixture. Serve with green veg (I had steamed sprouts, peas, and kale!).
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