It's stew time!

Food: Stew
Music: Lauryn Hill (or Destiny's Child according to Sarah)

The nights are cold, the wind is bitter, and our stomachs are empty. What better way to clean the fridge and pantry and fill our grumbling stomachs than with homemade stews inspired by completely different regions of the world? I was bored. I'd much rather stand around in kitchen, chopping, than do any sort of reading.

On the menu we had a Moroccan chickpea stew and a Korean chicken stew. Both very tasty. We're saving the Moroccan one for another occasion. There's nothing better than making a giant batch of something and savouring it later on.





Here it is, in all it's glory. The Korean chicken stew or takdooritang. (I hope I didn't butcher the name.) Plated in one of Sarah's lovely bowls, topped with some freshly chopped cilantro and green onion. Literally made with only 8 ingredients, it's one the tastiest and easiest meals I have ever made.



This was the Moroccan stew. Completely vegetarian, it's a great thing to make for dinner parties when you've got a mix of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian guests coming over. It's awesome served with some couscous. Here's the recipe.

Moroccan Chickpea Stew
Serves 4
2 tsp. olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 (15.5 oz) chickpea cans
1 (14.5 oz) diced tomato can
2 tbsp fresh cilantro
1 tbsp lemon juice


Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to pan; saute for 5 mins.
Stir in cumin, and next 7 ingredients (through red pepper); cook for 1 min, stirring constantly.
Add water, tomato paste, chickpeas, and diced tomatoes; bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 mins.
Stir in cilantro and lemon juice.

I found this recipe somewhere on the internet. Personally when I make this, I double it. I leave some of the chickpeas out and toss in potato instead. I think it helps to give it a thicker consistency. This particular time we also added some zucchini and I let it simmer for a couple hours. I find it gives it a much better flavour when it's allowed to stew longer. The spices are also there to help give you an idea of what's in it, but of course toss out what you don't like and add in more of what you do. It's just a recipe, it's not the law. Feel free to tinker with it however you like.

That's all for now. Happy cooking.