Fall

Smoked Paprika Wild Rice, Sweet Potatoes andĀ Chickpeas

by:
October 11, 2012
5
1 Ratings
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

With a fusion of orange, rust and brown ingredients this dish screams, "Autumn." In addition, the aroma of smoked paprika, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg push the fall-cool-weather-thanksgiving theme even more. Even so, I never save this dish just for Autumn.
I was inspired by the recipe from http://www.foodandwine... and made several adjustments to suit my tastes. The roasted onions and spices play nicely with the sweetness of the potatoes while the wild rice and chickpeas counterbalance the sweetness. If you have whole coriander and cumin seeds then use them. Toast the seeds in a small pan and grind them fresh. I like this dish fresh from the oven, but, I always enjoy the next-day, reheated lunch version even more. —viblanco

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Ingredients
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes (~4 cups), peeled and cut into ~1/2" cubes
  • 1 1/2 yellow onions (~2 cups), cut into ~1/2" pieces
  • 3/4 cup dried chickpeas, soaked, cooked and drained (yields ~2 cups)
  • 1/4 cup dried wild rice, cooked and drained
  • 5 teaspoons Spice Mix (see below)
  • 3/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil (divided into 1/4 cup and 1/8 cup)
  • yogurt, greek yogurt or sour cream for garnish
  • Spice Mix
  • 2 teaspoons ground smoked paprika (or chipotle chili powder)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder (omit if using spicy chipotle chili powder)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
Directions
  1. Cook the wild rice (according to package instructions) and dried chickpeas ahead of time as they both take some time to prepare. Put both aside until you are ready to make this dish. (See http://food52.com/blog/4634_how_to_cook_dried_beans regarding cooking dried beans.) To save time, substitute 2 cups of canned chickpeas in place of preparing dried chickpeas.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375F.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients of the spice mixture and set aside. (Note that there will be remaining spice mixture after preparing this dish.)
  4. In a large bowl, combine the onion chunks, sweet potato cubes, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, and 3 teaspoons of the spice mix. Mix well so that the onions and sweet potatoes are evenly covered with oil and spice. Pour and spread out the onions and sweet potatoes onto a large baking sheet. Put the mix into the oven and roast for 25 minutes, flipping/mixing after 15 minutes to avoid burning.
  5. While the onions and sweet potatoes are roasting, add to the large bowl the cooked wild rice, cooked chickpeas, 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil, and 2 teaspoons of the spice mix. Mix well.
  6. After the 25 minutes of roasting the onions and sweet potatoes, remove them from the oven and add the wild rice and chickpeas to the mixture on the baking sheet. Mix well and spread evenly. Return the mixture back to the oven for an additional 10 minutes of roasting. Continue roasting if the sweet potatoes are not tender.
  7. Serve as a side dish or a main dish, with or without a dollop of plain yogurt.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • vvvanessa
    vvvanessa
  • Annie Bee
    Annie Bee
  • Elise T.
    Elise T.

3 Reviews

Annie B. November 11, 2023
Just made this tonight!! Loved it! I made 1 cup of long grain and wild rice and added it all at hubby's request, it was delicious, will defintitely make this again! So yummo!!
 
Elise T. July 4, 2016
Made this tonight with basmati rice and added a bit of garlic to the chickpea/rice mixture. Super delicious, thank you!
 
vvvanessa December 7, 2013
Oh, yum.