Hot & Spicy Chickpea Jambalaya

Hannah Sunderani
Apr 22, 2016
3 min read

I have always been a BIG fan of rice dishes because they're so comforting. Hot and hearty rice bowls I swear is what keeps me sane. This is why I love to make Jambalaya - it warms my soul and has a spicy kick that keeps me wanting more.

Typically, Jambalaya is made with meat, but I like to do mine vegan! Toss in a few cups of chickpeas and I'm telling you - you won't miss the meat. It's impossible to keep this vegan jambalaya in the fridge when my Finance is home - he loves it!

This recipe requires a lot of ingredients, but the good news is that they're easy to find, and this recipe makes A LOT of food. In addition to all the veg, I use three cups of uncooked rice and 2 1/2 cups of chickpeas, so I pretty much have jambalaya coming out of my ears by the time I'm done. It doesn't seem to be a problem for us. By midweek I'm looking to the back of the fridge wondering when my jambalaya grew legs and left home!

Because this recipe requires more ingredients than the average dinner I like to write them all down and dedicate it to a weekend shop. Here in France I gather the ingredients at the Saturday/Sunday markets. This is a TOTAL perk about living in France; the weekend is buzzing with local food markets with wildy fresh produce, which is great for a veg-packed dish like this. (But shopping at your favourite supermarket will also do the trick!).

Once you have your ingredients the recipe is really straight forward. You just chop the veg and toss all your ingredients into a large pan on the stovetop. Then, VIOLA, you have have a mouthwatering pot of Jambalaya in no time!

Hot & Spicy Chickpea Jambalaya

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp coconut oil
4 garlic cloves
1 medium onion
2-3 celery stalks
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
3 vine ripe tomatoes
1 jalapeño pepper (or to taste)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
4 bay leaves
4 1/2 cups vegetable stock
10 dashes sriracha sauce (or to taste)
3 cups jasmine rice
2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
salt and pepper

For topping:

1-2 green onions (chopped)
1 cup parsley (chopped)
lemon wedges

DIRECTIONS:

Begin by chopping your garlic, onion, celery, green and yellow pepper, tomatoes and jalapeño.
Melt coconut oil in a large pot on medium/high heat and add garlic, onion, celery, green pepper, and yellow pepper (keeping tomatoes and jalapeño to the side). Season with salt and pepper and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until onion becomes translucent. Stir occasionally to ensure onion doesn't burn.
Toss in your tomatoes, jalapeño, tomato paste, and thyme. Add bay leaves and mix gently.
Pour in vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add hot sauce and season again with salt and pepper.
Pour in the rice. Bring the rice to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or as recommended on the package.
When cooked remove from heat. Add your chickpeas, more salt and pepper, and stir to combine
Top your jambalaya with chopped parsley and green onion.
Serve with fresh lemon wedges.