Meatless Monday with Moroccan Vegetable Pie in Chickpea Crust

Hello and welcome (back) to the Miratel blog and thank you for stopping by for our  Meatless Monday vegetarian recipe share. The Meatless Monday pledge aims to reduce meat consumption 15% by eliminating it one day per week to preserve personal and planetary health. Miratel supports this great initiative and includes it as part of its CSR business strategies to spread awareness of the impact of food choices on our environment.

On the menu tonight is a hearty Moroccan vegetable pie with chickpea crust that is full of flavour and will satisfy both the vegetarians and carnivores in your life. This Moroccan vegetable pie with chickpea crust comes by way of CBC’s Best Recipes Ever. Don’t let the amount of ingredients deter you from trying this delicious dish because it’s well-worth the effort.

Moroccan Vegetable Pie with Chickpea Crust Ingredients (serves 6):

• 2 tbsp (25 mL) vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) cayenne pepper
• 1 sweet yellow pepper or red pepper, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 3 cups (750 mL) small cauliflower florets
• 1 cup (250 mL) rinsed drained canned chickpeas
• 1 cup (250 mL) tomato pasta sauce
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
• 1 cup (250 mL) frozen peas
• 2 tbsp (25 mL) fresh coriander or parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp (25 mL) almond butter or peanut butter

Chickpea Crust Ingredients:

• 1 cup (250 mL) rinsed drained canned chickpeas
• 1/3 cup (75 mL) cold butter, cubed
• 1 tsp (5 mL) salt
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) turmeric
• 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) milk or soy milk

Moroccan Vegetable Pie with Chickpea Crust Directions:

1. In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; fry onion, carrot, garlic, cinnamon, ground coriander, cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add yellow pepper, zucchini, cauliflower and chickpeas; fry, stirring often, until pepper is softened, 8 minutes.
3. Add pasta sauce and lemon juice; cover and simmer over low heat until vegetables are tender, 20 minutes. Stir in peas, fresh coriander and almond butter; let cool. (Make-ahead: refrigerate in airtight container for up to 24 hours; to continue, let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.)
4. Chickpea Crust: Meanwhile, in food processor, pulse together chickpeas, butter, 3 tbsp (50 mL) cold water, salt, cumin and turmeric until crumbly. Add flour; pulse until combined.
5. Turn out onto floured surface; knead until smooth, about 2 minutes. Cut in half; roll out each to 10-inch (25 cm) circle. Line 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate with 1 of the circles; spoon in vegetable mixture. Lightly brush pastry edge with some of the milk. Top with remaining pastry; trim edge. Using tines of fork, press edges together to seal and crimp. Brush top with remaining milk; slash steam vents.
6. Bake in bottom third of 400°F (200°C) oven until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. (Make-ahead: Let cool; cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Loosely cover with foil; reheat in 350°F/180°C oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.)

Serve this hearty dish with a large leafy raw salad with the veggies and dressing of your choice.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to visit the Meatless Monday website and join us in taking the Meatless Monday pledge today. Spread the word at home and at work to promote CSR business initiatives and make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant or salon even greener.

Enjoy!

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.