Moroccan Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew

I am quite fond of Portland and am blessed to be able to visit often.  There is so much to love.  Local coffee roasters, died-and-gone-to-heaven vegetarian scratch cuisine, juice bars, vegan eateries, beautiful parks, craft cocktails, yoga, co-ops, and the list goes on.  Though P-town is known for its dreary weather, there are days of sunshine that make you forget about the doom and gloom.  This past week I was kissed with sun rays every single day (in the middle of winter) and was tickled by all the people running, cycling, sipping on mid-day cocktails, dining al fresco, and soaking up some sun in the parks.

Due to the unusually warm and bright day, Mom and I shopped till we dropped and instead of eating out again (though it’s hard to turn down a restaurant meal in this magnificent food mecca), we wanted to stay in tonight and cozy up with a homemade pot of stew and watch Forks Over Knives.

She had never seen this life saving film and though curious about a plant-based diet, hadn’t quite taken a deep plunge.  I thought this would be a good movie to share.  In honor of the film, I made a vegan dinner of a hearty and richly spiced stew, and a shallot, radish, and kale salad.  Both were absolutely scrumptious and worthy of a post.

Ingredients:

1 Tb. coconut oil

1/2 cup yellow onions, diced

4 small garlic cloves, minced

2 Tb. fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and (1-in.) cubed

2 medium carrots, peeled and rough chopped

1 head cauliflower, broken into small florets

1 1/2 tsp. turmeric

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. curry powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 (15-ounce) can light coconut milk

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Preparation:

1.  Heat coconut oil in a large sauce pan and add onions, garlic, and ginger.  Sauté for 2 minutes.  Add sweet potato and carrots and stir to coat, about 1 minute

2.  Add cauliflower, turmeric, cloves ginger, cumin, curry, and salt and heat 1 minute.  Pour in vegetable stock, coconut milk, and diced tomatoes, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

3.  Stir in chickpeas, peas, and cilantro and heat for 5 minutes more.

4.  Serve alone or over cooked rice.

Variation:

If you dig African peanut stew, you can get a similar flavor by adding 1/2-1 cup almond butter to this recipe as well as 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.  Add in during step #2.

 

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