Sweet Potato Chickpea and Spinach Coconut Curry

All things have their cycles, and I wonder if mine is swinging back around to food. I spent some time this past weekend just reading a cookbook, something I haven't done in ages. I'll hunt through them for a recipe I want, or entertain wistful memories of a more ambitious period in my food-life and then move on to something else, but I haven't been reading them.

It was Patricia Wells' Vegetable Harvest, by the way, a lovely volume and a pleasure to browse through. I found some soup recipes I had quite forgotten about, and look forward to trying them when the weather cools off.

Last night was another Pinterest find, however, Sweet Potato Chickpea and Spinach Coconut Curry, which apparently was sourced in turn from a different blog, which has altogether too many recipes on it for me to find the page for this one. The whole cumin seeds in this added a very different flavor, and we agreed that it was an excellent recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp neutral cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
• Salt to taste
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 4 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch
• 1 14-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juices
• 1 14-ounce can light coconut milk (or if you're me and think "light" products are ridiculous, use full-fat)
• 5 oz baby spinach
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. The oil is hot enough when a cumin seed sizzles when tossed into the pan. Add the cumin seeds and toast for about a minute, until fragrant and lightly darkened in color (be careful not to burn them). 
2. Stir in the onion, season with a pinch of salt, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent.
3. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and sauté for a couple of minutes, until the garlic softens.
4. Add the sweet potato, chickpeas, tomatoes with their juices, and coconut milk. Stir to combine, cover, and simmer over medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender.
5. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted. 
6. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve over rice.