* Thanks to Julie Bunnell for her assistance with some of the photography for this post
Ingredients:- For the broth:
- 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 large celery stalks, sliced
- 1/2 pound (8 oz) of portobello or "baby bella" mushrooms, sliced (or chopped - see below)
- 4 average sized bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp celery seed
- 1 tsp rubbed sage
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
- 9 cups water
- For the spice mix:
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground Saigon cinnamon (not regular cinnamon!)
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp extra hot cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- For the stew ingredients:
- olive oil
- 2 medium (or 1 large) ripe tomatoes
- About 11/2 pounds red potatoes, cut up into wedges about 1 inch thick
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- chopped cabbage to taste
- 1 bunch chopped curly (aka "Scots") kale
- 1 cup red lentils
- For adding to the stew:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 11/2 cups water
Let me start off by saying this: Don't use canned produce for this recipe! Get fresh carrots, fresh tomatoes, fresh mushrooms... do not use canned or frozen!
Prepare all the stock ingredients and place them into a large pot or Dutch oven.
Chop up all the stock vegetables and combine them with the other stock ingredients
Add in 9 cups of water
Mix well and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
While the stock is simmering, cut up the tomatoes into cubes, spray them with olive oil, and roast or broil them on a pan in the oven until they're blackened to taste. If you don't want to do that, add the cubed tomatoes to a skillet sprayed or coated with a light film of olive oil and cook them for 2-3 minutes at medium heat. You don't want to turn them into a tomato sauce, but you do want to bring out their flavor a bit.
I'm using the skillet method here for the tomatoes
When the stock is ready, strain out the large pieces, wipe down the inside of the pot, and return the broth to it, pouring slowly so as to exclude the nutritional yeast and spice powder residue. You'll end up with between 8 and 8 1/2 cups of broth.
A giant 9 or 10 cup size measuring cup and fine mesh strainer work very well for this step
At this point you can remove any stock vegetables that you don't want in the final stew. I personally am not a fan of mushrooms, so I remove them before adding the carrots back to the broth, and then discard (or compost) them along with the celery bits and bay leaves. On the other hand, if you like the mushrooms and/or celery, leave them in there. I would recommend chopping during the initial prep (rather than slicing) if you intend to keep these ingredients.
I don't like mushrooms, so I'm removing them from the broth
Adding the strained broth back in
This is the reason for the ninth cup of water earlier - you probably don't want the yeast-spice residue at the bottom of the prepared broth to end up in your stew, so the added water is there to allow for this to be discarded
Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, spice mix, potatoes, chopped cabbage, lentils, and chopped kale.
Cut the potatoes into slices about an inch (2.5 cm) thick, then into wedges
I like to cut the cabbage and the kale into strips a little over an inch wide and then cross cut at a 90 degree angle, and I personally prefer to remove the thick stems running down the middle of the kale leaves
Adding in the coconut milk, spice mix, tomatoes, lentils, potatoes, and the leafy greens.
Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and cook, covered, at just above a simmer. There should be a slow, light bubbling under the lid but nowhere near a full on boil. Make sure to stir very well at the start and then occasionally afterward to ensure everything is well combined and all the flavors meld properly.
Make sure to cover and cook at just above simmering temperature. Don't overcook!
When the stew is near done, add the quinoa and water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover, cooking until done.
Serve the finished stew in a bowl with the cooked quinoa mixed in. Warm ciabatta bread from the oven makes a perfect accompaniment.
Finished vegetable stew
Cooked quinoa makes an ideal addition to the stew, but if you prefer, use rice instead
Moroccan Spiced Vegetable Stew
Ingredients
For the broth
- 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 large celery stalks, sliced
- 8 oz portobello or "baby bella" mushrooms, sliced or chopped
- 4 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp celery seed
- 1 tsp rubbed sage
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
- 9 cups water
For the spice mix
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground Saigon cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp extra hot cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
For the stew
- olive oil
- 2 medium sized ripe tomatoes
- 1/2 lb red potatoes
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- chopped cabbage to taste
- 1 bunch curly (aka "Scots") kale, chopped
- 1 cup red lentils
For adding to the stew
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- Put all the stock ingredients into a large pot or Dutch oven. Mix well and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- While the stock is simmering, cut up the tomatoes into cubes, spray them with olive oil, and roast or broil them on a pan in the oven until they're blackened to taste. Alternatively, add the cubed tomatoes to a skillet sprayed with some olive oil and cook them for 2-3 minutes at medium heat to bring out the flavor a bit.
- When the stock is done, strain out the large pieces, clean out the pot, and return the broth to it, pouring slowly so as to exclude the nutritional yeast and spice powder residue. Remove the bay leaves and transfer the carrots (and, if desired, the celery and mushrooms) back to the broth.
- Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, spice mix, potatoes, chopped cabbage, lentils, and chopped kale, making sure to mix everything very well to ensure all the flavors meld properly. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally to ensure everything is well mixed. The cooking element temperature should be such that there is a slow bubbling under the lid. The stew is done when everything is cooked and the potatoes are soft but not mushy.
- When the stew is close to done, add the quinoa and water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover, cooking until done. Serve the finished stew mixed with the cooked quinoa.