Winter Vegetarian Moroccan Stew

Here is a simple recipe for a vegetarian dish from a book One Thousand and One Nights.  I love this dish because it can be prepared with local and fresh ingredients and allows us to embark on a delicious culinary journey. Accompanied by wines that complement the flavor of North Africa, the only thing you will have to download is the music of Saad Lamjarred or Jamila El Badaoui or maybe Zina Daoudia. Bon Appetit.

Serves 4. Prep and cook time 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (Organic)
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 6 cloves of organic garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons of *cumin, toasted & ground
• 1 teaspoon *cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon *ground turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon *cayenne pepper
• 1 can (28 ounce) organic crushed tomatoes
• 2 ½ cups organic low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 can (15 ounce) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed (from about 2 pounds butternut squash)
• 1 cup organic green lentils, rinsed well
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• ½ Lemon, fresh juiced
• 1/3 Cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• Optional: Few basil leaves, chopped

*All spices are available at Curio Spice Co., Cambridge

Put your tagine (available at The Little Morocco Bazaar, 8 Eliot St., Cambridge) uncovered in the oven at 125ºF. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan or a small Dutch oven.

Sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes, until the onion becomes transparent. Then add the cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, and cayenne pepper, mix well with garlic and onion and let cook for 30 seconds until the spicy become very aromatic. Add all remaining elements (except, lemon juice and cilantro). Mix and bring everything to a boil, and reduce the heat to low, and cover the pan. Let cook for about 20 minutes until lentils are cooked and squash is tender. Take the tagine out of the oven (be careful not to burn yourself) and place your stew in it. Cover it and serve on the table. Accompany with sour yogurt, like labneh or dollo (if you are not vegan).

Bonde Wine Pairings: 

• Birdhorse Wine, Carignan 2020,  Poor Ranch Vineyards,  Mendocino County, CA
  
  
• Sawyer Lindquist, Carignan 2020, Feliz Creek Vineyard", Mendocino County, North Coast, CA
• 
  Bonny Doon Vineyard, Le Cigare Volant 2015, Central Coast, CA
  
  
• Terre Rouge, L'Autre 2013, Sierra Foothills, Sierra Nevada, CA