Roasted Broccoli and Chickpea Stew over Couscous

The semester is finally winding down. It's hard to believe I've been here nearly a year already! Time flies. I'll soon be driving down to Louisiana to pack Scott up and move him here. I'm so excited!

Since I'll be leaving town for several weeks, I'm making an effort to use up the things I have in my pantry. I had a can of chickpeas, a can of roasted tomatoes, and some couscous. Enter chickpea stew!

Notes: If you're trying to expand your palate, here's a good tip: the next time you make a dish add one new ingredient you've never tried before. It's much easier to meal plan if you build a dish around one or two ingredients rather than a long list of them. Plus, if you end up not liking the new ingredient, you won't waste as much time or money.

My new ingredient was anchovies. I've only cooked with anchovies once before and it was years ago. I know, I know -- everyone thinks they're gross. They really aren't. They don't taste fishy and they only smell fishy for a few minutes right when you take them out of the jar. Once you get them in the pan with your other ingredients, you won't even know they're there. But you will surely taste the difference in your tomato sauce! I couldn't believe the depth of flavor they added. I'll definitely be adding them to my tomato sauce in the future.


Ingredients:
1 15 oz. can chickpeas
2 small broccoli crowns
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 cloves garlic
2 shallots
4 anchovy filets
1 15 oz. can tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup couscous
1 1/2 cups water
Salt
Pepper
Butter
Olive Oil

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400. Cut the broccoli crowns into florets. Toss the florets in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder. Spread them out in one layer on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Add butter or oil to a skillet and heat over medium high. Chop the shallots and mince the garlic. Add them to the pan along with the anchovy filets. Smash the anchovies so that they break down in the pan. Saute until the shallot and garlic are tender and the anchovies have melted. Add the tomato paste, the tomatoes, and thyme. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and add them to the pan. Season everything with salt and pepper and let simmer while the broccoli roasts.

Bring the water to a boil in a 2-quart sauce pan. When it boils, stir in the couscous, turn off the heat, and let stand for 5 minutes.

Melt two tablespoons of butter into the chickpea stew and add the roasted broccoli when it's done. To serve, put some couscous in the bottom of a bowl and ladle the stew on top. Enjoy!