Chickpea Bajane (Food Storage)

Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free, Dairy-Free

This one had seat on my Pin Board for a while, and I finally got brave enough to try it.  It has many layers of flavor and textures: fennel licorice , savory chicken broth, crunchy carrots and chickpeas, intense thyme, fresh spinach all over quinoa.  It was a winner, my kids downed it.  Granted it wasn't their first quinoa experience, but they loved it. Definitely making this again.

Serves 4

Quinoa:
1 cup uncooked Quinoa
1 cups chicken broth, divided
2 cup water
1 clove of garlic (1 tsp minced)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried thyme or 1 1/2 tsp fresh, chopped

Chickpea Mixture:
(2 tsp) olive oil
1-2 tsp dehydrated minced garlic (4 cloves garlic, minced)
1/4 cup dehydrated celery (or 2 1/2 cups fresh Fennel bulb)
1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled, 1/4 in slices
1 medium onion (or leek), thinly sliced

1 tsp fennel seeds (or anise seeds)
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tsp vinegar
 1-14.5 oz can Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans), drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp dried thyme (2 tsp chopped fresh thyme)
1 TBS lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
8 oz fresh spinach

To prepare Quinoa: Rinse quinoa and add to rice cooker with other ingredients listed.
To prepare Chickpea Mixture: Heat oil in medium sized sauce pan. Saute fennel if using fresh, onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Add carrots an saute for 8 minutes or until veggies are golden.  Add dehydrated celery. Add vinegar and cook until evaporated.  Add broth, thyme, chickpeas; cook about 1 minute to heat through.
Remove from  heat and stir in spinach, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Serve over quinoa.  May sprinkle with more thyme.

Notes:
Dehydrated veggies do not need to be saute'd.  The amount of oil will be affected by your pan.  The spinach should be crispy or lightly wilted; fresh spinach is a must for this recipe.  Also, there are several ingredients that are in both the quinoa and the chickpea mixture (they are italicized).