It’s bittersweet to be home again. Maui was amazing! Such a great vacation full of adventure and relaxation but it’s also nice to be back in my cozy bed, cooking in my kitch, and getting into the swing of routine again. That doesn’t mean I’m not already planning our next vacation though I just love to travel!

Before we left I had gone out for brunch to this great little spot in Edmonton called Culina. I had a dish that used plenty of fennel and it reminded me how much I truly love fennel as I hadn’t eaten it in a while.

Fennel is full of potassium, Vitamins A, B, and C and is a natural immune booster! I stopped by the grocery store a day later and bought some then decided to put it to good use along with the rest of the food that had to be eaten before we took off for our vacation!

I swear, some of the absolute best meals I have ever made, or actually a lot of them, have been created by just throwing together what’s left in the fridge and pantry!

I decided to combine the fennel with ground turkey and then spotted the tomato paste in the pantry and instantly thought of a stew, chili, or ragout. I opted for chickpeas as a healthy fiber-rich complex carbohydrate to add to the dish and then figured that I couldn’t go wrong with onions and garlic!

Mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini were my vegetables of choice, and again, what needed to be used up in the fridge. Then, I went to town on spices!

As soon as I saw the ginger in my fridge I paused and thought, “could this work?” and I grabbed some other great spices to go along with the ginger – coriander, paprika, and cinnamon!

I know, you might be thinking I was smoking some herbs of my own that day… but no, I just decided to get reaaaally creative – and trust me, it worked!

I used a little bit of raw honey to finish the dish with a touch of necessary natural sweetness to balance out the rich savoury combination of flavours. Then, I took a bowl, piled it all in and gobbled it up!

I was worried that the fennel might get lost in all of the flavours but it didn’t – it stood out as the star of the dish in all the right ways.

In the end, the ragout turned out better than I expected and is definitely going to become a batch meal staple at home.



5.0 from 1 reviews Sweet & Savoury Fennel Chickpea Turkey Ragout Print Prep time 5 mins Cook time 25 mins Total time 30 mins Serves: 5 Ingredients 500g ground turkey

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

½ tablespoon olive oil

1½ cups organic chicken or vegetable broth

1 8oz can tomato paste

1 zucchini, diced

1 fennel bulb, diced, sprigs chopped (reserve some sprigs for garnish)

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

½ small red onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1 tablespoon raw honey

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or 1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper Instructions Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add in olive oil and garlic and onion, Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add in ground turkey and spices and cook for 5-6 minutes, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. Add in the zucchini, fennel, mushrooms, and tomatoes and sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and in a bowl whisk together tomato paste, honey and broth then add to the pan. Add in the chickpeas and stir until everything is well combined. Allow ragout to simmer at low heat for 10 more minutes, then serve with a garnish of fennel sprigs. Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe 3.5.3208

Have a lovely Sunday!

Christal

Nutritionist in the Kitch