Split Pea - Artichoke Heart Stew with Tricolor Quinoa-Spinach and Corn-off-the-Cob (No Added Fat)

I love ArtiHearts™, packaged grilled artichoke hearts. I wanted to make a dish with them and came up with the unusual idea of cooking them with split peas or lentils. Here is what I did:


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup green (or yellow) split pea
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Vegan bouillon cube
• 1/4 t finely chopped (1/8") ginger
• 6 kale leaves, stems excepted (composted or discarded), roughly hand torn into approximately 3/4" leaves
• 2t chopped basil (I used frozen cubes)
• Approx. 1 cup artichoke hearts (I use most of a packaged ArtiHearts™) roughly chopped into approximately 3/4" pieces
• Approx. 1/8 t each dried oregano and lemon pepper
• 1/2 t or to taste salt
• Lemon juice to taste (I used about a teaspoon of fresh squeezed Meyer lemon juice)

Process

1. The normal way to cook green split peas is to sort through them, eliminating any debris, then to rinse them, which I did.
2. The next step calls for cooking in a 1 part to 3 parts water ratio for a 45m simmer or 6-10m high pressure cook. I used my Instant Pot pressure cooker to cook the split peas, water, and bouillon cube for 5m under high pressure; the split peas tasted good and just a bit undercooked.
3. I added the ginger, kale, and basil, and cooked on high pressure for another minute.
4. When I was ready to serve, I gently let out the remaining pressure and added the artichoke, oregano, lemon pepper, salt, and lemon juice.

I also made some tricolor quinoa with 1/2 cup of quinoa, 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup frozen spinach, a vegan bouillon cube, maybe 1/4 t salt, and a teaspoon of tomato paste brought to a boil and simmered on low for a few minutes, then kept covered, off the heat, for about 10m till the moisture was absorbed. I flame-roasted two corn cobs, stripped the kernels, and mixed in a bit of salt and Meyer lemon juice.

Results

I took a risk today as the main course combination was rather unusual and just the product of my imagining what may work. But it came out great! We all loved the dish. I am coming to the conclusion that the tricolor quinoa is not as enjoyable to eat the fluffier yellow only, but the quinoa dish was good, as was the corn.

Ideas for the future

I don't take credit for anything but the combination, as the Instant Pot and ingredients really made the main course. Surprisingly, I can think of no improvements - the spices were "just right". Yay!!