Crisp tender asparagus spears with creamy chickpeas, sautéed sweet onion and garlic, and crunchy toasted walnuts lightly coated with dill pesto, mustard and a fresh squeeze of lively lemon. This easy dish is bursting with flavors, fiber and nutrients and makes a beautiful side for pork or chicken. But it can also can stand alone as a plant-based main dish or easy spring lunch. A bit of chopped sausage is a really nice addition for a quick one-dish meal.
After I returned from my Memorial Day trip to visit my parents, I found myself with a veggie drawer chock full of asparagus. My parents have a HUGE asparagus bed that they’ve been tending for many, many years. And every year, this bed provides all of the asparagus we crave. Plus extra for lots of our friends and neighbors. Over the many years I have been blogging, I’ve posted sooo many asparagus recipes. Sometimes I feel as if there can never possibly be anything new left to share. But yes, once again, I’ve found one more way to enjoy my favorite spring vegetable.
On this particular trip, I returned feeling like my digestive system needed a little boost. As I age, I’m finding that getting enough fiber every day means so much more than it used to. Luckily, I happened to have some chickpeas in the fridge. So once again, I discovered a new delightful way to enjoy my precious asparagus. And all it took was a simple 15 minute sauté on the stovetop.
Do Asparagus & Chickpeas Go Together?
I think asparagus and chickpeas make a perfect pairing! First, the crisp tender texture of asparagus contrasts beautifully with the creamy, lightly gritty texture from the chickpeas. Then, the sweet-bitter earthy flavor of asparagus partners nicely with the nutty flavors from the chickpeas.
I don’t think I’ve ever thought to pair asparagus with chickpeas before. Or any bean, for that matter. But I just happened to have some leftover chickpeas in my fridge that I hadn’t eaten yet. And these chickpeas seemed to shout out at me that I should pick THEM out of all the foods vying for my attention. Yes, I know, food can’t really talk. But when I’m wondering what to add to a dish, I swear I feel “vibes” from certain ingredients that seem to whisper to me. Like they really want to join the party. So you know, what can I do then, but just go with it?
The Lowdown on Nutrition Facts for this Dish
Nutritionally, this pairing makes sense too. Not only is asparagus super low in calories, it’s also high on flavor and nutrients. You’ll get a good boost of antioxidants including vitamins A, C, E, K, folate, potassium and phosphorus from the asparagus. Also, asparagus has both soluble fiber (which feeds the good bacteria in your digestive system) and non soluble fiber which acts as roughage, helping to move things along in your system.
In contrast, chickpeas are high in minerals and protein. For example, chickpeas (a.k.a., garbanzo beans) provide a good source of iron, manganese (74%!), copper (64%), magnesium, zinc, thiamine, and selenium, to name a few. Additionally, 1 cup of chickpeas includes 14.5g of protein and a whopping 71% of folate.
Together these nutritional superfoods provide such a wealth of health benefits. With the added heart healthy fats in the olive oil and walnuts, and the extra boost of nutrients from the herbs and lemon, your body is going to love how this dish makes you feel.
Almost as much as your taste buds are going to love the lively spring flavors and contrasting textures. Mine totally did! I ate a full half the batch the first time I made this … I had such a hard time stopping myself from munching.
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Lemony Dill Asparagus & Chickpeas with Walnuts
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 25 min
- Yield: 2 – 4 servings 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
- 2 cups chopped fresh asparagus
- 3/4 cup cooked chickpeas
- 1 Tablespoon dill pesto (recipe here)
- 2 Tablespoons Trader Joe’s Mustard Aioli (or 1 Tablespoon good quality mustard, plus 1 Tablespoon veganaise or mayo)
- 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted & chopped
- Juice from fresh lemon , to taste
- Salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a medium frying pan over medium heat, drizzle with the oil and swirl to coat. Add the onion and saute until the onion is soft and translucent, then add the garlic and asparagus and cook until the asparagus is bright green and still crisp.
- Stir in the chickpeas, pesto and mustard aoili and cook until the asparagus is crisp tender.
- While the veggies are cooking, chop and toast the walnuts in a toaster oven (on toast setting) or in a separate pan on the stovetop until fragrant but not burnt.
- Toss the walnuts with the veggies, squeeze with fresh lemon juice and add salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- If you don’t have enough fresh dill to make dill pesto, simply use fresh dill along with a little extra olive oil and garlic. Or you could try a different kind of pesto: basil pesto, mixed herb pesto, cilantro pesto or even sun dried tomato pesto would work in this recipe. Pesto freezes beautifully, so whenever you get a bunch of fresh herbs, make pesto and freeze it for later!
- RECIPE SOURCE: Sumptuous Spoonfuls – https://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/ … © Copyright 2022, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.
