North African Stew
My Aunt Norma, who is a veggie lover, gave me a really awesome cook book for my birthday, Jump Up and Kiss Me: Spicy Vegetarian Cooking, by Jennifer Trainer Thompson. This is a wonderful book for me because 1) Tony and I love spicy foods and 2) Handling raw meat is nasty. A "limited preview", which seems to me to be the entire dang book, is available on GoogleBooks. I am posting a rendition of the recipe, but, of course, all the credit should really go to the author.
Reagents:
2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbs. diced jalapenos (i used a refrigerated canned version)
1 medium yellow onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
3 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup lentils (washed and picked over)
1 medium butternut squash, diced
1 bunch of kale, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
*If you're really daring you could add in some crushed red pepper for extra heat, but this recipe is pretty spicy as it is*
Procedure:
1. Chop and mince the onion and garlic. If you want to use fresh jalapeno chilies, use about 3 and also dice them finely. I ended up having some jalapenos diced in a jar, so I took the lazy route and just measured out about 2 tablespoons.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large stock pot, until the veggies sizzle upon contact. Cook the onions, garlic and jalapenos until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the chili powder and cumin to the pot, allowing them to mix with the chopped veggies for about 1 minute.
4. Add the broth, can of tomatoes and lentils to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
5. Meanwhile, chop up the butternut squash. This is actually surprisingly easy, especially if you follow this tutorial from Simply Recipes. Also take this time to wash and chop up the kale.
6. Add in the butternut squash, and simmer on medium-low heat until the squash is tender (about 20-25 minutes). At this point your whole house (or teensy apartment) will smell incredible.
7. As the last step add the kale and allow it to wilt for about 5 minutes in the stock pot. Season the stew with salt and pepper to taste.
This, by far, is now one of my favorite recipes. Tony also enjoyed it (or at least he ate all of it), which I was very happy about. He normally doesn't enjoy going the "vegetarian" route. This stew tastes delicious left over as well, probably because the flavors melded after the stew was ...um...stewing? :)
Enjoy!
2 Tbs. diced jalapenos (i used a refrigerated canned version)
1 medium yellow onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
3 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup lentils (washed and picked over)
1 medium butternut squash, diced
1 bunch of kale, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
*If you're really daring you could add in some crushed red pepper for extra heat, but this recipe is pretty spicy as it is*
Procedure:
2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large stock pot, until the veggies sizzle upon contact. Cook the onions, garlic and jalapenos until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the chili powder and cumin to the pot, allowing them to mix with the chopped veggies for about 1 minute.
4. Add the broth, can of tomatoes and lentils to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
5. Meanwhile, chop up the butternut squash. This is actually surprisingly easy, especially if you follow this tutorial from Simply Recipes. Also take this time to wash and chop up the kale.
6. Add in the butternut squash, and simmer on medium-low heat until the squash is tender (about 20-25 minutes). At this point your whole house (or teensy apartment) will smell incredible.
7. As the last step add the kale and allow it to wilt for about 5 minutes in the stock pot. Season the stew with salt and pepper to taste.
This, by far, is now one of my favorite recipes. Tony also enjoyed it (or at least he ate all of it), which I was very happy about. He normally doesn't enjoy going the "vegetarian" route. This stew tastes delicious left over as well, probably because the flavors melded after the stew was ...um...stewing? :)
Enjoy!
