#34. Mediterranean Garbanzo Stir Fry

I found this recipe printed on the side of a can of Westbrae Natural Vegetarian Organic Garbanzo Beans. You only need small quantities of the herbs, so it was good that I had oregano and mint plants growing in pots on the patio. (I can't stress enough how awesome it is to have culinary herbs growing outside your kitchen door while working on a year-long cooking project.)

Looking at the ingredients, I thought this recipe would be really horrible, but, despite its obvious vegan-ness, it's actually pretty good. Here's the recipe as it was printed on the can, minus all the shout-outs to particular brands:

Serves 4

1 cup uncooked rice (white, jasmine, or basmati, etc.) (I used jasmine.)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon oregano (I think they mean dried, so I used 2 tablespoons fresh)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large zucchini, halved and sliced (I quartered and sliced 2 small zucchini)

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced (If you like mushrooms, use more. This was barely 1/3 of a box.)

1 can garbanzo beans

2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped (Tear your herbs!)

1 tomato, chopped

Cook rice according to package directions, then set aside. (You can let the rice cook while you're making the stir fry. Then it will be hot and done just as you're finishing up the stir fry.) Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Stir in oregano and garlic and saute one minute. Add zucchini, mushrooms & beans, stirring well to coat with oil and herbs. Stir fry for ten minutes or until zucchini is crisp tender. (THEN TURN THE HEAT OFF! (That's my note--the mint and tomato don't need to get very hot.)) Add fresh mint & fresh tomato & stir to heat, about 5 more minutes. Serve over cooked rice.

My camera was broken, and this dish was difficult to plate elegantly, so here's an ugly, blurry web-cam photo of it:

B+