Pass the naan, man

photos by pwisenberg

This week has been brutally cold in Toronto. In this type of mind-numbing weather there's nothing quite like a hot meal to warm you up from the inside out. And so the spicy baked chick peas, cherry tomatoes and green bell peppers with warm naan bread and a cool soy yogurt cucumber sauce was born..It certainly is a mouthful, but oh what a mouthful it is! But really, this recipe is much easier than it looks and sounds. You could substitute any type of bean in place of the chick peas and basically go nuts with the veggies. What really makes this beauty a winner is the delicious and spicy mixture it all gets tossed in. Mmm!

Spicy baked chick peas with cherry tomatoes and warm nan bread

Serves 4

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup plain soy yogurt
1/4 cup cucumber, diced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 28-oz can chick peas, drained and rinsed
2 12-oz containers cherry tomatoes
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
4 slices of store bought naan bread
4 cups loosely packed baby spinach (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the first 7 seven ingredients, reserving 1 teaspoon of mixture for the yogurt sauce. Add reserved spice mix, cucumber and lemon juice to yogurt. Whisk together and refrigerate until ready to serve. Add chick peas, tomatoes, green pepper and cilantro to spiced oil mixture and toss to coat. Roast everything until hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile brush naan bread with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Heat for 3-5 minutes immediately before serving.

Once the bean mixture is cooked, garnish with parsley and serve on a bed of fresh baby spinach if you so desire. Serve with warm naan and cool yogurt sauce. Sit back as your friends ooh and ahh at your culinary mastery!

Stay cozy my friends.