This is pure comfort food inspired by a frosty walk home one day. The creaminess of the coconut milk compliments the earthiness of the chickpeas and the sweetness of the roasted pepper. And all of that on top of a tender biscuit. The biscuits are a Reinhart-esque riff on The New Basics Cookbook recipe. The key here is to make sure all of the sides of your biscuit are cleanly cut–you can accomplish this with a good biscuit cutter, or by using a pastry cutter as I have suggested below. Cleanly cut sides allow the laminated dough to rise nice and high.
INGREDIENTS
Creamy Chickpeas
– 3 tbsp oil
– 1 medium red onion, diced
– 1 rib celery, small dice
– 2 cloves garlic, minced
– 1 large carrot, diced
– 1 medium (yellow) potato, diced
– 1 spring fresh thyme
– 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
– 1/4 cup all purpose flour
– 3.5 cups warm vegetable stock (more as needed)
– 1 can chickpeas (or white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
– 2 roasted red or orange pepper, peeled, seeded, and chopped
– 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
– 3/4 cup corn
– 3/4 cup peas
– 1 can light coconut milk
– salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion and celery for 5-7 mins, or until golden. Add garlic and saute for 1 min more.
2. Add carrot, potato, herbs, and a big pinch of salt and saute for 3-5 mins, until fragrant and sizzling. Add flour and mix well to coat. Cook for 1 min then stream in the stock, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
3. Add chickpeas, roasted peppers, and nutritional yeast and bring to bubbling. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 mins, uncovered, until veggies are tender. If the sauce reduces too much, add more stock.
4. Add corn and peas and cook for 3 mins, or until done. Remove thyme sprig.
5. Add in as much of the coconut milk as needed to get the consistency you want (I used the whole can).
Biscuits
– 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
– 1 tbsp baking powder
– 2 tsp sugar
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 5 tbsp (2.5 oz) cold vegan butter
– 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
– 3/4 cup plain soy milk
METHOD
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
2. Add the vinegar to the bottom of a 3/4 cup measure. Fill half way with soy milk and mix until thick. Fill the cup measure full and add to flour mixture. Bring together into a soft dough with a wooden spoon.
3. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. Roll/pat into a rectangle then fold like a letter. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. Repeat again. The dough should have firmed up by now. Roll into a rectangle, trim the outside edges with a pastry cutter, and cut into 6 or 8 pieces.
4. Brush the tops of the biscuits with soy milk and bake for 14 mins.
