Vegan Sumagiyya (Palestinian Stew)

A delicious stew of mushrooms, chickpeas and rainbow chard. Inspired by the flavours, this is my vegan take on a signature Gaza City dish called Sumagiyya.

Earthy, tangy and a comforting sumac-infused stew..

COOKBOOKS

The UK has many Charity Stores and are great places to find second hand cook books.

Spending a few minutes in the cookbook section last weekend, I came across a book from Yasmin Khan called Zaitoun. It is little gem and is a collection of recipes, ancient recipes from Palestine. It has utterly delicious recipes!

This is a recipe adapted from her book, I tweaked the recipe a bit and of course made vegan friendly.

The traditional dish is made with sumac berries, but as that is not something I can get, I used ground sumac instead.

TO MAKE THIS YOU WILL NEED

• mushrooms, I used a mix of oyster mushrooms and chestnuts

• a small onion

• garlic

• tomato paste

• chickpeas

• vegetable stock

• ground all spice

• ground cumin

• fennel seeds

• a good runny tahini paste

• sumac

• sesame oil

• pomegranate molasses

• fresh chard or spinach

MAKE AHEAD

This is one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day. Make a bigger batch and enjoy throughout the week.

ALTERNATIVES

Replace the mushrooms with cooked seitan pieces.

Substitute the chard with spinach or other leafy greens.

THE CONCISTENCY

If the sauce is too thin to your liking, you can thicken it with a bit of corn starch. Just make sure to cook it enough so you don't taste the corn-starch.

Alternatively you can also mash some of the chickpeas, as this will thicken the sauce a bit too.

ENJOY WITH

• Pita bread

• Rice

• Potatoes

OTHER RECIPES TO TRY

greens, beans and vegan sausage stew

easy butterbean curry

aubergine, lentil & mushroom ragu

aubergine & butterbean stew

VEGAN PALESTIAN STEW

A delicious stew of mushrooms, chickpeas and rainbow chard. Inspired by the flavours, this is my vegan take on a signature Gaza City dish called Sumagiyya.

Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 3 or 4

INGREDIENTS

• 260g mushrooms, roughly torn or chopped, I used a mix of oyster mushrooms and chestnuts

• a small onion, finely chopped

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 - 2 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp tomato paste, finely diced or crushed

• 1 can cooked chickpeas, drained

• 400ml vegetable stock

• 2 tsp corn starch

• 1 tsp ground all spice

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds

• 2 tbsp tahini paste

• 1 tsp sumac

• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

• 1 bunch fresh chard, chopped

• sea salt and black pepper to taste

• pomegranate seeds to serve (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a pot or deep sauce pan, fry the onion in the olive oil on low for 8 - 10 minutes. Until golden and translucent.

2. Add the garlic and fry for another 2 - 3 minutes.

3. Add the mushrooms to the pan, and fry until browning and reduced in size, about 6 - 8 minutes. You might have to increase the heat a bit for this.

4. Add the all spice, cumin and fennel seeds. Fry for a few minutes, stirring to avoid burning.

5. Add the tomato paste, stock and chickpeas. Let it simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Add the tahini paste, sumac, sesame oil and pomegranate molasses. Taste and add salt & black pepper if needed.

7. Add the chopped chard and cook for a few minutes or until soft and wilted.

8. Taste again and adjust as needed.

9. Spoon over rice or potatoes or with pita bread. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and enjoy!

HAVE YOU MADE THIS?

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Make sure to leave a review below and give it a rating.

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