Moroccan Vegetable Stew with Couscous

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While I didn’t use a tagine for this recipe, it could actually be cooked in one easily enough (I don’t have one, or it would have been), I used my slow cooker for this, (you all know how much I love my slow cooker!) but if you don’t have one, it could just as easily be done in a big pot on your stove top at a low temperature.

Moroccan Vegetable Stew with Couscous

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium carrots, chopped roughly
1 medium butternut pumpkin peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
2 potatoes peeled and cut into 1.5cm cubes
1 medium leek, chopped
4 large mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup pitted prunes, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon chili flakes
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

1 cup couscous, prepared as directed on packaging
Chopped walnuts and raisins for garnish

Method:

1. Turn your slow cooker to LOW heat, add olive oil, leek, carrots, potato, pumpkin, mushrooms, prunes, walnuts, chickpeas, tomatoes, cinnamon stick, cumin, coriander, paprika, chilli flakes and vegetable stock. Stir well, cover and cook for 6 – 8 hours.

2. Prepare the couscous according the directions on the packaging.

3. Before serving, stir parsley into stew and season to taste with salt and pepper, remove the cinnamon stick and serve over hot cooked couscous. Garnish with parsley and a few chopped walnuts and maybe a handful of raisins for some extra sweetness.

NOTE: Almonds are more traditionally used in Moroccan cooking so you could substitute the walnuts for almonds if you like. If you don’t have prunes, raisins would work equally well.

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Vegan Minestrone (slow-cooker)

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”]Well after the success of slow-cooker week I think I’m going to declare next week slow-cooker week too. All of these recipes were so easy and SO cheap as well, which is good because the foodie car needs new tires!

All-Day Minestone:
(Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion leek, minced
1 celery rib, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 garlic cloves, minced
4 ounces green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 medium sized zucchini or yellow summer squash – diced
6 cups vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup raw ditalini or other small soup pasta
1/4 cup pesto

Method:
1. Pour the oil in the bottom of the slow-cooker. Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Cover and cook on high while you assemble the remaining ingredients.

2. After they’ve been prepped, add the green beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, zucchini and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for for 7 to 8 hours.

3. About an hour before you’re ready to serve, add the raw pasta to the slow cooker and cover.

4. Just before serving, stir in the pesto.

NOTE: you can use cooked pasta if you prefer instead of raw, just add it to the soup when you add the pesto.
The omnivore of the household sprinkles grated parmesan cheese on top for extra delish.

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”]This recipe was such a pleasant surprise.. I always feel a mix of anxiousness and excitement when we try a new recipe, never quite sure how it will turn out and hoping so much that it turns into another favourite dish. Tonight we tried something new from the Vegan Planet cookbook and it was so good that it has shot to the top of my favourites list. We modified the recipe a little because we didn’t have all the ingredients but I will explain that as I go along.

Ultimate Shepherd’s Pie
(Vegan Planet)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped (we – as always – used leek instead)
1 carrot, chopped
2 cups button mushrooms, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons tamari or other soy sauce
1 cup basic vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
3 frozen veggie burgers, thawed chopped or crumbled (here, we used 1 can chick peas, 1 can kidney beans, 1/4 cup urid dahl lentils)
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1/3 cup ground walnuts
1/4 teaspoon sweet hungarian paprika
3 cups mashed potatoes (mashed with Nuttelex)

Method:

Prehead the oven to 180°C. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan, add the onion leek and carrot, cover, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, tamari, stock, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper. If you are using beans instead of vegie burgers, add them now. Stir in the cornstartch mixture to thicken slightly.

Spoon the mixture into a lightly oiled baking dish. Stir in the peas and walnuts (and vegie burgers if you are using them instead of the beans).

Spread the mashed potatoes over the top.

Sprinkle with the paprika and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Bake until the potatoes are hot and bubbly and the top is golden brown – about 30 minutes. Serve Hot.

This is such a great comfort dish, it is so warming and hearty. Perfect for winter time and so delicious, I am really happy with this one!

Lebanese Vegetable Soup

Tonight I had the delight of trying another Moosewood Soup. A work friend of mine – we’ll call her the Malaysian Princess – lent me her copy of “Sunday’s at Moosewood Restaurant” after hearing me rave about the Minestrone in the Moosewood book we own. Another work friend – soccer playing scoundrel – saw the book and instantly pointed out her favourite recipe to me.. Lebanese Vegetable Soup. I took note of the page number (#69! So easy to remember!) And here we are a few days later, full bellied and oh so satisfied. This is only the second Moosewood recipe I have tried, both have been soups and both have been wonderful! I am definitely a fan of these books.

Before we get started, just a quick note about our food choices since this is a new blog. We try to use organic ingredients wherever possible. We buy all our fruit and veg from an organic farmers market each Saturday, and always choose organic supermarket options over non organic. All our chocolate, coffee and tea is fair trade as well as organic. While chef extraordinaire is not vegetarian he does try to make ethical choices about his meat production where possible. We try to stay away from processed foods whenever we can.

So here we go..

(Note: The bare-chested chef is an optional ingredient!)

Lebanese Vegetable Soup
Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant
(Serves 8 generously)

1 large Spanish onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium carrots, chopped (2 1/2 cups)
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1-teaspoon ground coriander seeds
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups chopped potatoes
1-teaspoon salt (or to taste)
4-5 cups vegetable stock (bare-chested chef makes his own using a meat grinder to mince the veggies)
2 large tomatoes
10 artichoke hearts cut into eighths
3/4 cup canned or cooked chick peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 lemons cut into wedges

Method:

In a large soup pot sauté the onions in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrots. Cover. Stir again after 3 minutes. Add the ground red pepper, coriander and garlic. Cover and cook for a few more minutes. Add the potatoes, salt and 2 cups of the stock.

Cover the pot and bring the soup to the boil. Reduce the head and simmer until the potatoes are nearly tender. Be careful not to overcook them. Gently stir in the tomatoes, artichoke hearts and cooked chickpeas. Salt to taste. Cover and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, just to heat the tomatoes. Add the remaining 2 – 3 cups of stock or even more if a brothier soup is desired. Heat gently. It is important not to overcook or boil this soup. The potatoes, tomatoes and artichokes should be heated just enough to blend the flavors or they might lose their shape and disintegrate.

Sprinkle each serving with fresh parsley and garnish with a wedge of fresh lemon.

The great thing is that is was ready in less than half an hour (though this is because we used canned chick peas, if you are using dried it will take longer than that).

Enjoy! We sure did!