Diane Kochilas is a daughter of Ikaria, Greece, a Blue Zones region where people often live past 100. Her cookbook, The Ikaria Way, is filled with easy plant-based contemporary recipes rooted in her Ikarian heritage, steeped in ancient culinary traditions and employing the most prized ingredients of her region: herbs, olive oil, nuts, honey, legumes and more.

“The smoky, spicy-sweet flavors of the vegetables are a delicious addition to the earthy flavor of the chickpeas. Orange is one of the ingredients in my secret arsenal of flavor enhancers, up there with lemon zest and a few other ingredients.”
– Chef Kochilas

Ingredients for the sheet-pan vegetables:

Fresh strained juice of 1 orange
½ cup extra-virgin Greek olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Greek pine honey, or more to taste
2 heaping teaspoons ground cumin
1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 heaping teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne or hot paprika, or more to taste
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 medium head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into small florets
2 carrots, pared, halved lengthwise, and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 large red onions, peeled and quartered

For the chickpeas:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin Greek olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 large red or yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups cooked chickpeas (good-quality canned are fine), rinsed and drained
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
1 small seedless orange, preferably organic, cut into 4 wedges
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
2 to 4 cups hot vegetable broth or water, or more as needed
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the orange juice, olive oil, mustard, honey, and all the spices including the salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables in this mixture to coat evenly. Spread the vegetables in one layer onto the sheet pan. Roast until tender and lightly charred, about 20 minutes, removing vegetables as they cook to avoid burning them. Set aside to cool and then cut into smaller pieces, a little larger than the chickpeas.

In the meantime, prepare the chickpeas: Heat the olive oil in a large wide pot and sauté the onion until translucent. Stir in the garlic. Add the chickpeas and stir. Stir in the tomato paste. Squeeze the orange wedges into the chickpeas to get out their juice and add the wedges, peel and all, to the pot. Add the rosemary and 2 cups of the hot broth or water. Season to taste with salt and pepper, partially cover the pot and cook the chickpeas on low for the flavors to meld, about 15 or 20 minutes. If you want the mixture to be thick and creamy, you can mash a handful of chickpeas against the side of the pot.

Add the root vegetables to chickpeas, heat all together for about 5 minutes, stir in the balsamic vinegar and serve. Serves 6.