Chickpea, tomato and eggplant casserole

Last week I decided to make a chickpea casserole. On occasion I've made falafels (recipe to follow) but I generally only use chickpeas in salads or pureed as hummus. I also only use use canned chickpeas; the dried variety takes far too long to soften.

Chickpeas are legumes. These edible pulses are high in dietary fibre, low in fat, contain a significant amount of calcium and are a valuable source of protein. Chickpeas are also knows as garbanzo beans.

I found an easy recipe on the Internet and tweaked it a little (I added corgettes/zucchinnis and pumpkin) It was delicious.

Baked Eggplant, Tomato and Chickpea Casserole – http://www.cooks.com/

3 cups cooked Chickpeas (I used canned, drained)
2 eggplants, unpeeled and cut into 2 ins/50mm cubes
3 onions, sliced
1 cup diced butternut or pumpkin of your choice
2 corgettes, sliced
2 tomatoes, thickly sliced
1 ½ cup vegetable stock
10ml olive oil for frying

Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C
Add a little olive oil to a pan and heat
Brown the eggplant and onion rings, remove and place in casserole
Brown the pumpkin and corgette, remove and add to casserole
Add the chickpeas and decorate with sliced tomatoes
Gently pour the stock over, cover and bake in oven for 30 minutes
Remove the cover and grill for a further 5-8 minutes
Serve immediately with rice and a green salad