Vegan Pilaf with Sweet Potato

This is a flavorful vegan pilaf with brown rice, sweet potato, chickpeas, and walnuts.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 onion, minced
1 cup (200 g) brown rice
1/2 cup (50 g) walnuts
1 large sweet potato (650 g), cut into 2-3 cm cubes
1/2 cup (75 g) dried cranberries
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 orange (zest grated)
1 can (400 g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed under running water
1 ½ cups (350 ml) vegetable stock
Half a lemon (juice squeezed)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 °C.
2. Heat the oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan over medium heat (if you don’t have one, see below for another method). First, sauté the onion, garlic and ginger on the stovetop for 5 minutes (until soft and golden).
3. Then add the rice and walnuts. Stir-fry for 2 minutes (until lightly fragrant).
4. If you don’t have an ovenproof frying pan: mix the onion, garlic and ginger with the oil in an ovenproof frying pan. Then cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes (until soft). Then add the rice and walnuts and stir to coat them well with the oil.
5. Add the remaining ingredients to the frying pan, making sure the vegetable stock completely covers the rice. Cover the dish with a lid (or two layers of foil) and place in the oven for 40 minutes.
6. After 40 minutes, remove the lid (or foil) and fluff the pilaf with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste; stir in the lemon juice. For fluffier rice, remove the dish from the oven, cover again and let stand for 10 minutes to allow the rice to steam.

Yield: 4 servings
Recipe: forkfulofplants.com