North African Stew

A few weeks ago, I promised this recipe… takes me a while to get around to these things, but here it is, eventually!(The loaf is another recipe from the book, similar to the Simple Tea Brack– just not as fruity)

Sadly, this is not my recipe, but from one of my favourite books. I’m rather picky about cookery books, and I cannot encourage you strongly enough to do yourself a great favour and treat and buy this one.

I’m sure I have shared about this one before: Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s “Veg Everyday”. A superb book, full of accessible, tasty recipes with not a piece of meat in sight! For vegetarians and any meat eaters wanting to eat more veg, this is a must-have.

HFW North African Squash & Chickpea Stew

(I am writing it here as I make it, slightly adapted)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 2 large onions
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalk
• 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon of ginger
• 100g of red lentils
• 400g tin of chickpeas – drained
• 500mls roasted tomato sauce or passata (When I have neither, I’ve used two tins of chopped tomatoes and tastes just fine too)
• A handful of parsley and coriander (I have omitted this when I have had none. Still tastes delish)
• 300g of squash
• 1.2 liters of vegetable stock

The recipe adds in saffron threads but I have never remembered to add them and also calls for 50g of vermicelli or small pasta, but I’m cutting out pasta in my diet so don’t add this at all. Still tastes delish.

1. Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat.
2. Add the diced onions and sauté until golden brown, then turn the heat down to medium-low.
3. Add the chopped garlic, celery, pepper, turmeric, cinnamon and ginger, and continue to sauté for a few minutes.
4. Add the lentils, chickpeas, tomato sauce, parsley and half the coriander, then cook on a low heat for 15 minutes.
5. Peel the squash, get rid of any seeds and cut into chunky cubes. Add it to the pan with the vegetable stock and cover with a lid. Leave to simmer for around 30 minutes.
6. Add the pasta if using and simmer until cooked.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Serve, adding the rest of the coriander leaves to each portion as a garnish.

• chickpea,
• Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall,
• lentil,
• North African Stew,
• pumpkin,
• recipe,
• vegetarian