Roasted Broccoli and Chickpeas With Mole Verde
Published April 18, 2024

- Total Time
- 50 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2large heads of broccoli, cut into large florets, stalk peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
- 2(15.5-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2large chile poblanos, stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 5large scallions, root ends trimmed, coarsely chopped
- 5medium tomatillos, husked, rinsed and quartered
- 3garlic cloves, lightly crushed
- ¾cups pepitas (preferably toasted)
- ⅓cup white sesame seeds
- 5ounces spinach (preferably mature), coarsely chopped (if using baby spinach, no need to chop)
- ½cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, packed, coarsely chopped
Preparation
- Step 1
Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 450 degrees. Toss together broccoli, chickpeas and 4 tablespoons oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season generously with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing occasionally, until tender and browned, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium. Add poblanos, scallions, tomatillos, garlic and 2 teaspoons salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to brown and the tomatillos are beginning to fall apart, 7 to 9 minutes. Add pepitas and sesame seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until the seeds are fragrant and smell like roasted nuts, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in 2 cups water to deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Remove from heat.
- Step 3
Carefully pour mixture into a blender, then add spinach and cilantro and blend until completely smooth, working in batches if necessary (or alternatively, blend with an immersion blender until smooth). Taste and season with salt.
- Step 4
Divide mole evenly among the plates or shallow bowls, pouring about 1 cup into each. Top with roasted broccoli and chickpeas.
Private Notes
Comments
The sauce definitely needs an acid. I didn't have any limes, but added the juice of half a lemon, which brightened it up considerably (along with a healthy addition of salt). To make it more of a complete meal, I added tofu cubes, which roasted with broccoli and chickpeas. Overall a great meal -- different and healthy. Will definitely make again.
A jar of Trader Joes Salsa Verde substitutes very well for the tomatilloes & Poblano. A dollop of sour cream (maybe creme fraiche next time) was welcome. Other's comments of squeeze of lime juice as garnish was spot on! Thanks everyone. Love this recipe!
Okay, I read through all the notes, but forged ahead as I planned. Since I had a good supply of homemade tomatillo sauce frozen from last year’s crop I used that instead of fresh and adjusted the recipe accordingly. My sauce already had lime in to so no need to add more. Yes, lime should be used. Despite some’s criticism of the compatibility of the mole with roasted chick peas/broccoli, that’s what I had and used it. It was excellent! We plan to try the mole with a white fish of some sort.
The mole is lovely. Next time I'll substitute roasted tofu for the chickpeas, along with the broccoli, I think it'll be better enhanced by the the mole. (Or, as someone suggested, a white fish like cod, sable fish or halibut.)
Makes a good amount of sauce! We had leftover sauce and used the next day for baked tofu and sweet potato. As others mentioned, lime (and for us, more salt) was necessary - happy I read the comments before making!
Add lime, maybe quinoa to make a full meal
