Braise

Coconut Braised Chickpeas & Broccoli

September 29, 2015
3.5
10 Ratings
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Put the entire head of broccoli to use in this creamy chickpea dish with sun dried tomatoes, hot pepper, and ginger. —Vicky | Things I Made Today

Test Kitchen Notes

Good! I was pleasantly surprised, being not a big broccoli fan. Lots of good flavors that melded together really well. Very comforting dish, and easily one-pan, and the lemon added at the end went a long way towards omitting any salt. Broccoli florets and stalks are diced and added separately, so it would have been a touch more helpful to have the word "divided" included in the ingredients list. Next time, I'll add some garlic at the beginning, maybe in between the onions and the broccoli stalks. —Omeletta

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 large head broccoli, stalks chopped and florets cut into small pieces (florets and stalks added separately, so divide these)
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger
  • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained from oil, chopped
  • 1 hot pepper (jalapeño or Anaheim work well here), chopped
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
Directions
  1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in broccoli stalks, ginger, sun-dried tomatoes, hot pepper, lemon zest, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  2. Mix in chickpeas and broccoli florets and cook for 1 minute. Pour in coconut milk and stir to combine. Lower heat and braise for about 10 minutes, until broccoli florets are bright green and coconut milk has mostly been absorbed. Stir in lemon juice, and adjust salt to taste.
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17 Reviews

MrsBeeton November 4, 2021
I was a bit skeptical, I'll admit. Ginger and sun-dried tomatoes and lemon zest together with coconut milk? But strangely, it works! (And it's even better the next day.) I'd suggest that you not skimp on the heat - I used a very hot pepper and it gave it the kick it needed. I also gave it a generous showering of toasted, and slightly salty, cashew pieces after I'd ladled it over rice. And it was perfect.
 
Suzanne M. April 15, 2020
I could see this working with a lot of different vegetables, with adjusted cooking times. I didnt' have sun dried tomatoes, so I just added a tiny amount of tomato paste after the onions and before the broccoli. It worked well and next time I'll try carrots or cauliflower
 
Jenny August 5, 2019
I guess I am the outlier in this group, but my husband and I didn't enjoy this dish. We felt the sun dried tomatoes tasted out of place. And maybe my lemon gave off too much juice (but it was quite small) as we also thought it was a little too sour. There is quite a bit of prep work involved (zesting, chopping, grating, rinsing, etc.) and it just wasn't worth that much effort. We ate it as a side dish with our dinner but unfortunately the rest went in the trash. We both decided that we didn't want left overs. I rarely leave recipe reviews, however this isn't an inexpensive side dish to make so I wanted to leave this review for a different perspective.
 
Heather H. January 1, 2020
Add more salt. If something is too sour, a little more salt fixes it. Trust me, I'm a mom with a 6yr old who has an aversion to lemon in savory foods. A little extra salt and boom, he likes it.
 
SBQueen January 2, 2019
Super easy and flavorful! The lemon really brightens it. I added cubed chicken thighs in with broccoli, and didn’t have a jalapeño so used hot pepper flakes instead. I also just used the tomato oil in place of the olive oil to get it all started.
 
Sharlene November 19, 2018
Just made this for dinner and I’m obsessed. Love these flavors and that it’s vegan/vegetarian (though I am neither). Will definitely be adding this to the rotation!
 
Sami A. November 11, 2018
This is one my favorite things to cook as a meal prep for work. And as a non-vegetarian, this dish makes me avoid eating meat all week if I just take it with me to work. I eat this dish on a bed of fluffy brown rice (sometimes I add warm toasted pine nuts into the rice and some ghee as it sits in its heat) and I garnish it with a some arugula leaves and a few cubes of feta. It's such a satisfying, acidic, salty outcome that is very filling but never stuffy. I will make this dish over and over again!
 
ghainskom April 24, 2018
Just as good as stew as it is as a side to rice.
 
Christine February 24, 2018
We really liked this dish, although we thickened the coconut milk with a little cornstarch slurry. Served over farro, the textures of this dish are amazing. So easy, it's sure to become a weeknight staple!
 
Wendy B. January 24, 2018
FYI I just ran this through my recipe builder and it came to about 225 Calories per serving.
 
Adrienne January 22, 2018
This recipe was a life savor after a long day and work. Delicious especially with the addition of minced garlic and a little curry powder. FYI if you’re the idiot who forgets to buy onions a tablespoon of onion powder added at the ginger step works perfectly :)
 
Adrienne January 22, 2018
*saver - pun not intended haha
 
Kristie January 8, 2018
Tried this last night. Loved it!
 
Linkevica April 27, 2017
Really nice dish, loved the flavor combinations.
 
Tom February 22, 2017
Dish lacks depth, flavor and soul.
 
Vicky |. February 23, 2017
Hi Tom - so sorry that you didn't like the dish :(
 
Alex September 29, 2016
Use purple cauliflower instead of broccoli to add some brightness, love the flavor and the color of the dish