Moroccan Vegetable Stew

Pets'R'us's Note:

An easy flavorful dish, I like to serve this with couscous mixed with lots of finely chopped parsley and a dish of preserved lemons on the side. Reheats well.If you like the red peppers with more crunch, add them to the dish when you put the zucchini in.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion , chopped
• 2 cloves of crushed garlic
• 1 large carrot , diced
• 1 large red pepper , chopped
• 2 stalks celery , chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper , to taste
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 -1 ½ cup vegetable stock
• 1 cup chopped tomato , canned or fresh
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1 medium chopped zucchini
• ½ cup stoned black olives
• lemon juice , approx 1 tablespoon
• salt
• 1 ounce sliced almonds (optional)

Directions:

1. In a good size Dutch oven fry the onion, garlic, carrot, pepper and celery in the olive oil for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add all the dry spices and stir-fry this for 1 minute more.
3. To this add the stock and the tomatoes, simmer for 10-15 minutes.
4. Then add the chickpeas, zucchini and the olives, bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the zucchini is cooked, probably another 10-15 minutes Add lemon juice, taste, stir in the almonds and serve.

Reviews

[Pat from Ohio]

As I sit eating this for lunch at work I had to add a review. This is outstanding. I made a pot and froze it and it held up great. I have made this recipe about 10 times (no almonds) and it is my favorite lunchtime soup. The mix of spices is just right and the soup has a beautiful golden yellow color. This last time I added tofu and it took on the flavors of the spices nicely. In my recipebook this is labeled "guestworthy".

[Junebug]

This is an easy and fairly quick dish to prepare. The flavor is excellent. I used a medley of red, green and yellow peppers and did not use the olives. I did have to add more liquid as it simmered. Pets, thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!

[Folk Dancer]

I've made this stew three times and everyone has loved it. I just noticed that the last time, I added about four times the normal amount of sliced almonds. This makes it a thicker stew, but it was still delicious.