Recipe: Chickpea and Aubergine Stew

This chickpea and aubergine stew is a take on a Lebanese dish called ‘maghmour’. The dish is packed with fibre from the various vegetables and the chickpeas are also a great source of plant based protein. It’s super versatile as it can be served both warm and cold, making it the perfect recipe to prep in advance and enjoy any leftovers the next day.

Number of servings: 4 servings 

Preparation & cooking time: 1 hour 

Ingredients

2 medium aubergines 

2 bell peppers, chopped 

3 tomatoes, chopped 

1 red chilli, chopped (optional)

1 teaspoon salt 

½ teaspoon black pepper 

1 tablespoon tomato paste 

½ tablespoon red pepper paste 

1 400g can chickpeas 

Optional: fresh parsley and pomegranate seeds to garnish

Instructions

  1. Chop the aubergines into medium pieces and toss with a drizzle of olive oil.

  2. Roast the aubergines at 180 degrees (Gas mark 4) for 7-10 minutes or until golden. 

  3. To start the stew, saute the chopped bell peppers and optional chilli in a drizzle of olive oil in a large saucepan for 5 minutes.

  4. Add the salt and pepper and mix to toss the vegetables in the seasoning.

  5. Add the red pepper paste and tomato paste to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes.

  6. Once the peppers are coated in the paste, add in the chopped tomatoes and cover the mixture with 2 cups of water.

  7. Bring the mixture to the boil then cover the pot and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. 

  8. Add in the drained chickpeas and cover the pot again, allowing the stew to simmer for a further 10 minutes.

  9. Finally, add in your roasted aubergines and leave to simmer for a final 10 minutes, until the aubergine begins to break down and the sauce thickens.

  10. Garnish with chopped parsley and pomegranate seeds and enjoy!

Top tips

  • When roasting the aubergines, feel free to use either an oven or air fryer. Cooking times may vary between appliances so be sure to keep an eye on them. 

  • Red pepper paste can usually be found in Middle Eastern or Turkish grocery stores.However, if you don't have access to it, just replace it with the same amount of tomato paste.

  • We suggest enjoying the stew warm with rice or either warm or cold with bread as a dip. But feel free to also enjoy it with any other grains such as couscous, quinoa or freekeh.

  • Traditionally, this dish contains onion and garlic in the base of the sauce. However, we have excluded them here to make it low fodmap friendly. If you would like to include onion and garlic in the sauce, just add one chopped onion and 2-3 cloves of garlic at step 3. 

If you’re looking for recipe inspiration, then head over to our recipe page for more delicious healthy recipes.

Previous
Previous

Navigating Gut Health: What is the Best Probiotic for PCOS?

Next
Next

Protein powder for PCOS: Are some better than others?