Fertility Recipe: Spanish-Style Chickpea Stew

Because you don't eat enough legumes

Foodbaby is a weekly fertility lifestyle newsletter packed with recipes, meal inspo and easy-to-digest nutrition science by dietitian Ami.

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One of the things I really want to share in this new newsletter is recipes. It’s one thing to learn about how food affects your fertility but it’s a whole other thing to work out exactly what to eat. 

And I’m working on a new fertility cookbook and would LOVE your opinions on the recipes! 

Here’s one that’s been on high rotation in our house recently, Spanish-style chickpea stew. 

Why it’s fertility friendly:

Legumes. IMO these are the most commonly neglected food in almost everyone’s diet. And they are so healthy and so good for fertility.

They’re a good source of folate, (our number one fertility nutrient) and fibre, which helps keep our microbiome happy, which may be a key factor in supporting implantation. Plus choosing a plant-based protein means less meat, which can be inflammatory in high quantities and isn’t great for the planet. 

Make sure you get a glass jar of chickpeas as cans contain BPA and/or other plasticizers that mess with our hormones. If a jar is too expensive or not available, go for dried and cook them first. 

Spanish-style chickpea stew

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 red onion, diced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

• 2 tomatoes, diced (or a punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved) 

• 1 red capsicum, diced

• 1 zucchini, diced

• 1 jar chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1 jar passata

• 4 tablespoons capers

• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Crusty bread, to serve

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes until the onion is translucent.

2. Add the smoked paprika, cumin, and coriander and stir through the onions and garlic until fragrant, about a minute. 

3. Add the tomato paste to the pot and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the tomato paste has darkened in colour.

4. Add the tomatoes, capsicum, zucchini, chickpeas and passata to the pot and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let cook for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

5. Serve the chickpea stew hot topped with cheese and capers with crusty bread on the side.

That’s it! Dinner on the table in about half an hour.

Thoughts? Questions? Recipe Requests? HMU, I’d love to make this cookbook with you!