Creamy Chickpea Tahini Casserole

Okay so I have been dying to make more hearty casseroles that I can scarf down all week long. I did some checking up online and I found a recipe for a Chickpea Tahini Casserole. It sounded really really good so I went out grocery shopping to buy the items I didn't have already.

It took about an hour and a half to make and when it came out of the oven it looked like this:





And plated it looked like this:





It smelled and tasted kinda like pizza... I guess because of the tomatoes, oregano, and basil. But to me it was a little too tomatoey. When I dug in I added some vegan sour cream to the mix because it didn't turn out as creamy as I would have liked by itself.

I can't wait to see how it tastes tomorrow because I hear that casseroles always taste better the next day. woohoo!

Per Ronnie In Washington's request I will display the recipe I used.

Ingredients:

2 (15oz.)cans chickpeas(garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 (28oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley
3 Tbsp. sesame tahini (you can probably find this in the international aisle or jewish section)
3 Tbsp. water
small amount olive oil
1 tsp. or more salt
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted (optional)


1. Preheat oven to 375 deg. F.

2. Mix Tahini and Water until well-mixed (it should get kind of "fluffy"), set aside

3. Spray or lightly rub 9x13 baking dish with olive oil

4. Dump all ingredients into baking dish (except for tahini mix and sesame seeds)

5. Add pepper and salt to taste

6. Mix well

7. Add tahini mixture, stir well until combined

8. Bake at 375 for approximately 40 minutes or until top starts to brown

9. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake another 5 minutes

10. Serve

Although this is an okay dish as is, the next time I make it I am going to add double the tahini mixture (6 Tbsp. tahini, 6 Tbsp. water), maybe a tsp. lemon juice, and a little more salt. This dish is highly versatile so you could add other spices or vegetables, if you so desire.