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Sweet Potato, Spinach & Chickpea Bake

A comforting bake made with roasted vegetables, spinach, chickpeas, tomatoes, and spices. Very easy and a real crowd-pleaser.

Sweet Potato, Spinach & Chickpea Bake

THE FRUGAL COOK


This scrumptious comfort bake is from The Frugal Cook by Fiona Beckett. 

Fiona writes over at Matching Food & Wine.

She is one busy lady, as well her website, she's also authored and co-authored 23 cookbooks and is currently wine columnist for The Guardian and Guardian Green, contributing editor to the wine magazine Decanter and wine writer for Fork magazine. 

Way back in 2008 Fiona got in touch with me asking if I would like to review her new book The Frugal Cook. 

It sounded great and I was happy to oblige. 

It never did turn up and I forgot all about it. Roll on three years and I'm browsing through the shelves of my local library and I come across it. 

After a flick through I decided it was well worth a read and to share with you.




The Frugal Cook was relevant in 2008, but I would say it's still relevant now. 

We all need to tighten our belts and think more carefully when shopping, including food shopping. 

This isn't a vegetarian cookbook, but it does have enough recipes and ideas to be worth buying. 

Fiona gives us a thrifty tip with each recipe and advice on how to have a thrifty store cupboard and fridge along with ideas for leftovers as well as information on how to be energy efficient. 


Sweet Potato, Spinach & Chickpea Bake

SWEET POTATO, SPINACH & CHICKPEA BAKE


I really loved this recipe as soon as I saw it and it has proved to be as good as it looks. 

I've made this several times now and we all enjoy it. 

One night when my friend was coming to dinner I made it and spooned it over potato wedges, topped it with cheese sauce and grated cheddar and popped it back into the oven to brown. 

Mmmmmmmm, that was so good! 

Just perfect for a dull, dreich evening, served with salad and garlic bread. 

My mouth is watering just thinking about it.




HOW TO SERVE SWEET POTATO, SPINACH AND CHICKPEA BAKE


    This delicious bake is very versatile. There are lots of ways you can serve it. Here are a few ideas.

  1. Spooned over a fluffy baked potato while it's still hot
  2. Served hot or cold with couscous
  3. Served hot with rice and a dollop of mango chutney
  4. Served hot over potato wedges and topped with a dollop of sour cream
  5. Spooned over potato wedges, topped with cheese sauce, grated cheddar and baked until the cheese has melted
  6. Piled on top of fries and topped with grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream and guacamole (we call this dirty fries
  7. Served cold on pitta with salad and a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce
  8. Served on a wrap with cream cheese and salad

HOW LONG WILL THIS BAKE KEEP?


This bake once cool, can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

I've never frozen it so I won't give you advice on that.


MORE SHEET PAN DINNERS TO TRY





sheetpan dinner, sheetpan recipe. chickpea bake, sweet potato bake. vegan sheet pan, vegan bake, chickpea recipes, sweet potato recipes
dinner
vegan
Yield: 4-5
Author: Jacqueline Meldrum with kind permission
Sweet Potato, Spinach & Chickpea Bake

Sweet Potato, Spinach & Chickpea Bake

A comforting bake made with roasted vegetables, spinach, chickpeas, tomatoes and spices. A real crowd-pleaser.
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Ingredients

Moroccan Spice Mix
  • 3 tsp ground cumin 3 tsp dried coriander  
  • 5 tsp ground turmeric  
  • ½ to 1 tsp chilli powder or hot paprika 
Savoury Bake
  • 2 tbsp olive oil 
  • 3 medium onions (peel 2 of them and cut into wedges, set the other aside for the sauce) 
  • 450g (16oz) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks 
  • 2 red peppers, quartered, de-seeded and cut into thick strips 
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed 
  • 3 tsp Moroccan Spice Mix (method below) 
  • 400g (14oz) can whole or chopped tomatoes 
  • 250ml (9fl oz/1 cup/ 1/2 pint) vegetable stock 
  • 400g (14oz) can of chickpeas drained 
  • a good handful of fresh spinach leaves  
  • a generous pinch of sugar (optional) 
  • salt and pepper 
  • 1 small carton of sour cream (see notes for alternatives) to serve (optional)

Instructions

Spice Mix
  1. Add all the ingredients to a tub or jar. Fix the lid on and shake to mix. It's as easy as that. 
  2. Keep leftover spice mix in a small airtight tub in your store cupboard ready to use.
Savoury Bake
  1. Preheat the oven to 200c/180c fan/400f/Gas 6. Spread out the onion wedges, red pepper and sweet potato on a sheet pan or in a roasting pan in a single layer.   
  2. Drizzle with a little oil and season with salt and pepper.  
  3. Roast for 20 minutes. 
  4. While the vegetables roast, peel and roughly chop the other onion.  
  5. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion until beginning to soften.  Add the garlic and spice mix and stir well.  
  6. Add the tinned tomatoes and their juice, breaking them up if necessary with a wooden spoon and cook for 5 minutes. 
  7. Stir in the stock and the chickpeas and season with salt pepper and a pinch of sugar.  
  8. When the vegetables in the oven are roasted, pour over the spiced tomatoes and chickpeas and mix well. 
  9. Turn the oven temperature down to 190c/170c fan/375f/Gas 5 and cook for another10 - 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
  10. Just before the end of the cooking time wash the spinach, remove any tough stalks, and stir them into the bake. Return to the oven for the rest of the bake time. 
  11. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
  12. Enjoy!

Notes:

You can keep any leftover spice in a dry, airtight container for months and use it as you need it.

If you can't find vegan sour cream, you could use vegan creme fraiche or vegan plain yoghurt instead.

This bake, once cool, can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

I've never frozen it so I won't give you advice on that.

Calories

406.05

Fat (grams)

14.05

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.22

Carbs (grams)

66.13

Fiber (grams)

15.67

Net carbs

50.46

Sugar (grams)

19.02

Protein (grams)

14.47

Sodium (milligrams)

324.42

Cholesterol (grams)

1.88

38 comments

  1. This sounds great, Jacqueline. I'm always on the lookout for frugal options. I wonder if there's a dairy-free sub for the sour cream? :)

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  2. To be honest Ricki, that is optional. More a serving suggestion. If there isn't a dairy-free substitute then you are definitely the lady to figure one out :)

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  3. looks lovely - will have to give it a try x

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  4. That looks really tasty, will have to give it a go!

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  5. It is so good Qwerty Mum and Hungry Hinny :)

    They are the best Nayna, less dishes, always a good thing :)

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  6. Looks just perfect for this awful weather and cold bleak days. Love all those colours in the first photo too.

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  7. It is vile outside today Chele, I had to put the heating on for a while today. Shocking for September.

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  8. What a scrumptious-sounding colourful bake. Love all the ingredients and think this would make an excellent autumnal lunch. Even better that it is frugal!

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  9. It looks great, lots of good stuff in there. Like your cheese sauce idea. Was miserable today and so dark.

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  10. I could eat it any time of the day, but I know what you mean Antonia :)

    It was completely over the top and fabulous with the cheese sauce Janice, a real treat. And yes, today was awful. I had to put the heating and lights on during the day.

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  11. Just shows that I am really unobservant lol! Never even noticed you'd changed things around. There seems to be more room - is it 3 columns now?

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  12. LOVELY looking recipes and I did notice the there was more width! Have you added Print Recipe as a feature too, or did you always have that? I am not sure now......
    I LOVE your photo too!
    Karen

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  13. Yes, I added another column. I might have been in the middle of changing things around when you dropped by Janice :)

    Thanks Karen, I use recipe wiz to type up my recipes and it gives me a print button. Nice and easy :)

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  14. great blend of garden goodies, and i love that spice mix! this would work for any season--bravo!

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  15. It is rather fab Grace and I am really proud of it, even though it wasn't my recipe :)

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  16. wow, that's my kind of food, love spices and chick peas, all the healthy ingredients in their should try out this moroccan spice mix you have posted I have one from a book I found. beautiful clicks

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  17. That's a killer combo right there. I love the colors they have when put together as well.

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  18. Thanks Jayasri, I am loving Fiona's recipes :)

    It does look really appealing doesn't it TB? I think that is half the battle, making something look so good you can't wait to eat it.

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  19. It does sound comforting Jacqueline with melty cheese and chickpeas in the equation.

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  20. Oh that does sound good Jac, especially topped off with cheese sauce - mmmm. I'm just about to bookmark this. Did you ever find out why you didn't get that copy to review?

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  21. Never the most observant of people, I've just realised you've changed the look of your blog and very nice it looks too.

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  22. Comfort food at it's best Val :)

    I don't know what happened Choclette, must have got lost in the post. Thanks, I am glad you like the new look. I went a bit crazy last night. I have been meaning to take the plunge for a while :)

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  23. Yeah!! you have used tinned tomatoes, I`ve been waiting ages for you to. They are my fav (good job being a vegge). I will definately give this a try, spice and sour cream mmmmm. It looks lovely as always as does the new look xx

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  24. I know Lisa, I rarely live up to my blog name. In fact I wish I had chosen another, but I fear it is too late to change it now. Glad you like the new look :)

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  25. Fun story about rediscovering the cookbook years later, Jacqueline! I'm not familiar with Fiona, but this sure looks good. I love the flavors in the spice mix and healthy AND frugal is the way to go. Sweet potatoes are a favorite in my family.

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  26. There are some great recipes in the cookbook Barbara, but this one instantly got my attention. After the first mouthful I had a big smile on my face :)

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  27. mmm, that does look hearty. My roasting dish is in constant use at the moment dealing with all the cherry tomatoes from the plot so this would be a great way of using some up (and the kale too which would be a fine alternative for the spinach). I think I have all the ingredients in ... and I love your variation over spuds.

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  28. A great way to use them up Nic, I think you could vary this dish in so many ways :)

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  29. This is so my kind of dinner especially coming into autumn this recipe has been printed ready to be made!

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  30. You are going to love it Miss Cake Baker, it is lip slurpingly good :)

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  31. exactly my sort of dinner - I don't know why but I keep thinking halloumi would be great with this - even thought I saw it in the recipe

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  32. Halloumi would be fabulous with this bake Johanna. I must try that!

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  33. Oh I love the sound of this, especially with that gorgeous spice mix!

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    Replies
    1. It's really good Elizabeth. We have had it quite a lot now.

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  34. wow this looks so delicious! The recipe sounds great, i'm going to have to try making this!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Harriet, it's really good. We like it with rice or couscous mostly and leftovers, if there are any are good on wraps with salad.

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I love reading comments, so thank you for taking the time to leave one. Unfortunately, I'm bombarded with spam, so I've turned on comment moderation. I'll publish your comments as soon as I can and respond to them. Don't panic, they will disappear when you hit publish. Jac x