Balsamic Glazed Chickpeas and Kale

Submitted by Anne Sainz

"The balsamic vinegar gives this dish a lovely flavor. It is based on a recipe from "Wild About Greens" by Nava Atlas. I made some changes so it worked better with my Nutritarian eating style. You can reduce prep time by using pre-chopped or frozen kale, frozen onion and jarred garlic."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 15mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 lbs kale, de-stemmed & chopped
• 1 1⁄2 cups mushrooms or 6 mushrooms, sliced
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 9 garlic cloves, minced
• 1⁄8 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
• 3⁄8 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar
• 2 (15 ounce) cans low-sodium chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1⁄2 teaspoon oil (to coat pan)

directions

1. Remove the center stem from the kale and discard. Wash and chop kale leaves and set aside. If you don't know how to remove the stems from kale, Google: remove kale stems.
2. Prepare mushrooms, onions and garlic. Add pepper flakes and set aside.
3. Mix soy sauce, agave nectar and chickpeas and set aside.
4. Coat large frying pan or dutch oven (at least 5 quarts) with oil and cook mushrooms, onion, garlic and pepper flakes until soft, about 4 minutes. Add small amounts of water if needed to prevent sticking.
5. Add as much kale as will fit in the pot and small amount of water if needed. Cover and cook greens until wilted and soft. Continue adding kale until it all kale is in the pot, adding water if needed to prevent sticking and stirring frequently.
6. When greens are cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving liquid in the pan. If there is no liquid, add 2 tablespoons water.
7. Add balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and agave nectar to the liquid in the pan.
8. Add the chickpeas and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by about half.
9. Return kale to pan, combine and heat through.