As the weather turns cooler I find myself drawn to soups and stews – comfort foods. A new favorite of mine is a version of Moroccan Lentil Stew from Vegetarian Times magazine. With a unique blend of spice and cinnamon, this recipe has everything you could want in a stew (well, unless you are addicted to meat) and will leave your insides warm and your tummy quite pleased. I usually make a pot of brown short grained rice or quinoa to accompany this hearty entree. As an added bonus, the combination of grains with beans and lentils means complementary amino acids and a “complete protein”.

Moroccan Lentil Stew and Brown Rice

Moroccan Lentil Stew

Cook Time: ~30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 6 Roma tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 white or yellow onion, diced
  • 1 can of Chickpeas, drained
  • 3/4 cup dry lentils, cooked and drained
  • 1/4 cup Golden raisins
  • 2 teaspoons ground Cumin
  • 1 Tablespoon ground Cinnamon
  • Salt to taste (optional)
  • Plain Greek Yogurt

Directions:

  1. In a medium sized sauce pan, add lentils and cover with water – about 1 inch above lentils. Set stove to High heat and bring water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender (not mushy!). Once lentils are cooked, drain and rise with cold water to stop cooking.
  2. Meanwhile, on a separate burner, add olive oil and diced onion to large pot. Set stove to Medium-High heat and cook onion until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Reduce heat to Medium and add diced tomatoes. Let tomatoes cook down until mushy. Add chickpeas, lentils, golden raisins, cumin, cinnamon and salt. Cover pot, reduce heat and allow to simmer for at least 10 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
  3. Serve stew by itself or ladled on top of brown rice or quinoa. Add a liberal dollop of Greek yogurt on top.
  4. ENJOY!

Roasted Cauliflower

It’s hard to get the recommended 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables in everyday and so I try to squeeze in a veggie side where ever I can.  Along with the stew, I also decided to roast a cauliflower head (one GIANT head was only $1.99 at Central Market!). If you have the time (at least 30 minutes), roasting is a wonderfully simple – and amazingly delicious – way to cook up some extra veggies. The denser the vegetable the better. I love to roast small fingerling potatoes with onion wedges and carrots.

Roasted Vegetables

Directions: Throw roughly chopped veggies into a baking pan and drizzle enough olive oil to lightly coat the surface and keep from burning. Add salt, pepper and italian seasoning to taste. Set oven to 415F and roast for 30-45 minutes. Stir veggies around every 10 minutes or so to prevent burning.

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