Moroccan Spiced Winter Stew, Vegan, Gluten Free

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth..." Edith Sitwell

Hello followers, old and new alike! Before we get started, may I ask you take a couple of minutes to watch this video. It's about buying locally grown goods and how by speaking up we can give much needed support to our Canadian farmers and their farmlands!
Today's recipe is the result of a request to make something vegetarian, No problem! Living here in Ontario we have so many different vegetables to choose from that making a vegetarian meal is easy! For today's request I decided to go with a hearty stew, highlighting Ontario produce available throughout winter. Locally grown onions, butternut squash and sweet potatoes are the stars, along with the ever versatile and protein rich chick pea. To spice things up a bit I decided to check out the fridge and pantry to see what I had. My quick search found cumin, cinnamon, saffron and ginger, all flavours that one would find in a typical Moroccan stew. Does that sound alright, Catherine and Rachel? I certainly hope so, because this one's for you!

Moroccan Spiced Winter Stew, Vegetarian, Gluten Free
(serves 4 to 6)

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, rough chop
4 garlic cloves, rough chop
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
Pinch of saffron
1 small butternut squash, large cubes
1 large sweet potato, large cubes
1 540ml tin chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 540 ml tin diced tinned tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock or water
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
* fresh coriander, chopped for garnish (optional)

Heat the oil on medium heat in a large saucepan that has a lid or French oven (my 3.3L Le Creuset worked perfectly!). Add in the onions, stir and fry until transparent, about 5 mins. Toss in the garlic, cumin, cinnamon, ginger and saffron, stir and fry for another minute or so until fragrant. Add the squash, potatoes, chick peas, tomatoes and stock with a generous pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Give everything a good stir and allow the stew to come to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover with the lid and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender. This can take anywhere from 15 to 25 mins, depending on the size of the veggies. Taste and adjust seasoning, serve with or without the coriander garnish. Enjoy!

Savour this wintry stew by itself or serve it with warmed pita, over your fave rice or with traditional Moroccan couscous. Make sure that your squash and potato are cut roughly the same size to ensure equal cooking time. Not only does this stew taste wonderful, but just the fragrance of the spices wafting throughout your house will leave your taste buds tingling. I really enjoyed getting out these spices today and playing around with them. I hope you will too!
Bye for now my fab followers and I'll be back next week with another request!