Spicy Chickpeas and Greens - Greenslove Blog Hop

Greens of some sort make a daily appearance in the meals served at our house. I'm in the midst of planning my garden, and next to tomatoes, greens will have the largest presence. Right now we are planning what to plant where in the beds, trying to decide the best material to use to build them, and starting seeds. I'm so excited to have a garden again! I'll share pictures once we get things rolling.

Being a co-host of the #greenslove blog hop, I've got a virtual cookbook showcasing some of the most drool-worthy recipes from some of the best bloggers right at my fingertips.  And so do you.  That's a pretty cool thing, if you ask me. Be sure to check out the bloghop going on beneath this recipe to add to your collection of healthy greens based recipes.

In Spicy Chickpeas and Greens, nutty chickpeas mix with fresh greens in a spicy tomato sauce and are served over a bed of brown rice.  Yum!

Spinach is my favorite green to use when making this dish, but chard works well, too.  You may notice in the photo that this time I used collard greens because that's what I had on hand.  While it was still tasty, I don't really suggest using collard greens because they were a little more bitter than what works well with the spices.  If you decide to use chard, be sure to cut out the stems and use only the leaves.

Spicy Chickpeas and Greens
serves 5-6

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp crushed red chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups) *you can use the same amount of purchased chopped tomatoes
• 3 c cooked chickpeas
• 4-5 c fresh spinach or chard, roughly chopped
• 1 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 c cooked brown rice
• Crumbled feta cheese and lemon wedges for garnish, if desired

In a large deep skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Saute the onion for about 10 minutes or until tender.

Stir in the lemon zest, cumin, chili flakes, salt and pepper.  Heat for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.

Add the tomatoes and chickpeas. Cook for about 2 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Mix in the spinach or chard.

Cover, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 8-12 minutes, or until greens are wilted and sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the lemon juice and adjust salt accordingly.

Serve over brown rice. Top with feta and more lemon juice, if desired.

March is #greenslove month!

Please join in the #greenslove fun by linking up any leafy green recipe from the month of March 2012.  Don't forget to link back to this post so that your readers know to come by the #greenslove event!  The twitter hashtag is #greenslove.

Check out the #greenslove co-hosts!

Al Dente Gourmet ~ Aldy ~ @AlDenteGourmet

ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~  @astigvegan

Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl

Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins

BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker

Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth

CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog

Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess

Cheap Ethnic Eatz ~ Evelyne ~ @cethniceatz

Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies

Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes

Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica ~ @kbelleicious

Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk

My Twisted Recipe ~ Dudot ~ @mytwistedrecipe  

No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley

Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose

Queen's Notebook ~ Elizabeth ~ @Mango_Queen  

Rico sin Azucar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar

Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla

Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem

Soni's Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood 

Sprint 2 the Table ~ Laura ~ @Sprint2theTable

Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna ~ @tspbasil 

That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick

The Art of Cooking Real Food ~ Laura ~@TAofCRF

The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd 

The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian

Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack

Vegetarian Mamma  ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma