Sunday, November 11, 2007

Yummy squash stew

My guests really liked this. I did too! I recommend some kind of bread or biscuit to go with this.

You'll need:
To start:
1 spaghetti or butternut squash, peeled*, scooped out, and chopped into chunks
2 parsnips chopped into chunks
2 large carrots chopped into chunks OR a couple handfuls of baby carrots (use what you've got)
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 15.5 ounce can chick peas, drained and rinsed (or use dried ones you've cooked, whatever)
1 chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons fresh or jar ginger
2 teaspoons garlic (or 2 cloves)
freshly ground pepper (as much as you like)
1 or more teaspoons sea salt (as much as you like--taste and adjust before serving!)
2 cups vegetable stock (I use "Better than Bouillion" to make mine)
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Put all of the above into a crock pot. Let it cook for about 5 or 6 hours.

About half an hour before serving, put in the following:
1/2 cup green beans (frozen or fresh)
1/2 cup peas (frozen, NOT canned)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots and golden raisins (proportions up to you)

Stir it up before serving; there's a LOT of stuff in this to mix together. If you use spaghetti squash, it will disintegrate slightly. That's normal and okay.

If you don't have a HUGE crock pot, by the way, you may want to halve this recipe!

* I've found a regular vegetable peeler works well for these two squashes. It's harder to use it on an acorn squash because of the ridges, but smooth-skinned squashes are no trouble

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