Lemony Asparagus and Chickpeas with Polenta
For some reason, I always cooked this meal when it was rainy outside. Maybe because polenta gives me a cozy homey feeling. All of these simple ingredients together work so well, you or your guest will ask for seconds. It’s filling and the taste is so unexpected. A lot of people are staying away from asparagus because when it’s not cooked the right way, it just tastes very bland. A very easy way to cook it is to boil it for 2-3 minutes only and afterwards to add it to very cold water to rinse them. Put the asparagus on a plate, pressure salt & pepper and lemon juice. You will want to add asparagus to all your dishes. Trust me! :)
This is Daniel’s favorite recipe and he became the polenta master in our home. He loves to sauté the chickpeas in onion, loads of garlic and nigella seeds.
If you are looking for an easy, hearty meal, ready in 30min - this is the one for you!
Lemony Asparagus and Chickpeas with Polenta
Ingredients:
Yields 2
1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
1 ½ cups asparagus
1 lemon
¼ cup pine nuts
2 cup vegetable broth (or 2 cups water + 1 tbs bouillon)
1 cups polenta flour
½ cup plant based milk (almond, soy, oat or whichever you have in your pantry)
Instructions:
First, start by preparing the polenta. Boil 2 cups of veggie broth/ water + bouillon and the plant based milk. Add salt if the broth is not already salted. When little bubbles appear in the pan, incorporate the polenta very slowly while mixing with a wooden spoon. Let it boil on low temperature for about 15min. The polenta should be thick enough to hold itself on a plate when turned upside down.
While the polenta is cooking, bring a pot of water to boil. Cut the asparagus into 2-3cm pieces. Add them to the boiling water and leave them there for 2-3 minutes. Take them out of the water and add a pinch of salt and the lemon juice. Set aside.
To slightly toast the pine nuts (I might have overdid it while cooking this), put a pan on the stove on high heat. When the pan is heated enough, lower the heat and add the pine nuts. Don’t leave them unsupervised and constantly shake them or mix them with a wooden spoon. After all of them are toasted (hopefully not black), set aside.
To serve, add polenta to the plate and a couple of spoonfuls of chickpeas and some asparagus. Sprinkle the pine nuts and serve it while it’s hot.