Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Thirty-Five (Vegan Spiced Turnip Wraps)

This recipe was pieced together from a handful of random recipes by Tim. It has a pretty distinctive Indian/African flavor and it is a little more involved than most of our recipes, but it's not really that hard. It needs a little work on the flavors (I think I overdid the turmeric) and I'll bet someone would have a suggestion on how to give it just the right twist to be really delicious.

I made this for my kids as a kind of thick stew over rice and used the leftovers (no rice) in the spelt wraps.

Ingredients:
3 small turnips, cut into small cubes
3 medium leeks, use the white part, cut into small rounds
3 medium carrots, cut into small cubes
1 small eggplant, cut into small cubes
1 medium onion
1 tsp ginger root, minced
1 can chickpeas (rinsed) - I didn't have time to soak dried beans
4 - 5 cups, vegetable broth
1 Tbs ground cardamom
1 Tbs ground coriander
1 Tbs ground allspice
1 Tbs ground cloves
1 Tbs fenugreek
1 Tbs paprika
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 Tbs black pepper
1 Tsp cayenne
1 Tbs sea salt
1/2 cup plain soy milk

Notes: I took all the peels from the vegetables and added to about 5 cups of water and boiled to make the vegetable broth. Pretty good!

Also, I didn't have all these spices, so I just picked up small amounts at the bulk section of our local natural foods store. Looks like alot, but it was pretty easy. Just blend them together in a small bowl with the salt and pepper.

How to prepare: Sautee the onions in olive oil until golden brown. Added ginger root and the spice mix. Then throw in all the other ingredients, except the soy milk. Cook for about 30 minutes on a medium heat - you want the turnips to cook all the way through. I had to add a little bit more veggy stock to keep it from drying out. Once everything is tender, take out about half the mixture and blend in a food processor. Throw it back in the pan with the soy milk.

This makes quite a bit, so have this as a meal with a spelt pita bread (see last post) or try it in a spelt pouch.

Stay tuned for a special treat from Emma and Adam, coming up soon!