Thickening sauces?
I am in week 1 of the program. I am making the middle eastern chickpea stew in the crockpot as I write. It seems a little thin to me, more like soup. Usually I would use some cornstarch for thickening, but since that's not allowed, I was wondering what to use for thickening. I have arrowroot and tapioca. I know both of those will thicken the stew, but I don't know if they are allowed. If they are, can you tell me how to use them for that purpose?
Hey TinaH,
That's good to know that the canned chickpeas made a difference taste wise and perhaps the slow cooking in the crock pot did as well with the dried beans.
I buy organic dry beans in bulk, so I either pressure can my own for ready-to-go beans, or start with the dry ones. I would like to try my homemade canned beans in there next time and see how that tastes.
Dawn
My husband and I really liked this recipe, too. It's fun to try new recipes on this program. I would have never thought of adding cinnamon to a stew, but it was delicious.
The first time I made it, I used canned chickpeas. The second time, I used dried. The second time was more bland, but I was cooking it on the stove top. Next time, I'll use the crockpot so the seasonings have more of a chance to absorb into the beans.
Anyway, it's my opinion that many members would be missing out if you removed that recipe.
Ok, if not using tomatoes, I would just use extra veggies as you did (maybe even adding additional ones of your choosing) and maybe use some homemade chicken stock as a base and different spices...you can definitely pay with herbs and spices at any point to make things different and more exciting. Thank you so much for your feedback- keep it coming!
Dr. Winnie Abramson
We enjoyed the recipe! My daughter used an immersion blender and made a blended version, which was also very good. I think it's a keeper as is, but I would be interested in your suggestions for substituting the tomato base with something else if one could not have nightshades. I think that might work out to be a good way to totally change the flavor of a good basic recipe and end up with 2 variations (or more).
Dawn
Arrowroot is just fine as a thickener. Sorry you didn't love the recipe. We may consider changing that/omitting it if its not popular.
Dr. Winnie Abramson
At the time I wrote last night, it had been in the crockpot about 6 hours, on low.
It might not have been ask thick as normal because I had to omit the tomatoes, since I'm sensitive to nightshades. To add a little more bulk, I put in an extra carrot, a couple celery stalks, and added ground turkey for a bit more protein.
I ended up adding a little bit of arrowroot powder, and that helped a lot.
When I tasted the final product, it was edible, and even my daughter ate it, but it definitely would not be a favorite of ours. It was very bland at first, so I added some salt (about 1 1/2 tsp), some onion powder (about 1 tsp), and garlic powder (about 1 tsp). Then it was fairly good, but again, not something I'd probably go out of my way to eat.
Because I had to omit the tomatoes, which would add some sweetness, I think that I will probably add just a little bit of honey to it when I reheat it for another meal.
How long has it been in the crockpot so far?
Learn how to shed 1-2 pounds
of fat per week with The 7 Secrets To
Permanent Weight Loss.
This e-book is free when
you sign up for the Enlita
Life Coaching Newsletter
today.
Recommended Products:
Upcoming Webinars:
| Enlita.com's mission is to teach one million people how to achieve their ideal weight, optimal health, and life success. If you want these goals for yourself, sign up for one of our webinars. |
I'm thrilled that something I posted has gotten so much response! :lol:
I added some honey to the pot when we reheated it, and that helped a lot.
I also used homemade turkey stock as the base, rather than water, knowing it would add more flavor.
For those who have really loved the recipe, I would be interested in knowing if you like the stew without tomatoes. Tomatoes really do add a lot of flavor to a dish, but I can't eat them. I am sensitive to nightshades. :cry:
I'd like to hear if you still love it without the tomatoes or what things you added to make it more flavorful.
I am thinking about making it again, but using what we would consider more normal spices for a stew, like parsley, or maybe some fresh basil or something like that.
My daughter loved the chickpeas. We used canned beans for our trial.