Carrie's Moroccan Style Stew.

This is a recipe that I came up with quite unintentionally. I had a lot of bits and pieces in the cupboards and in the fridge, so decided I would try and make a stew and this is what I came up with, measurements are approximate feel free to alter quantities as appropriate. This served my husband and I twice. It was really good and worth the long cooking time. If you would rather use a slow cooker I should imagine you could throw all the ingredients in together and cook for 3-4 hours until the chicken is tender and the vegetables cooked through.

If you do not have the exact vegetable, just use what ever you fancy, I just used what I had in the fridge at the time. It really isn't a hard and fast recipe and can be changed each time you have it to suit your pocket.

The chicken is optional and there is plenty of protein from the chick peas so if you forgot to defrost the chicken as I frequently do, or are vegetarian or vegan, the recipe is fine without meat.

For the more adventurous you can replace the chicken with a meat of your choice, lamb works especially well with this.

If you can't tolerate corn flour, replace with the thickener of your choice. Xanthan gum or arrowroot work well but ensure you follow the instructions on the jar/tub as I am not sure of the quantities.

If omitting the chicken add the harissa paste with the vegetables.

Carries Moroccan Style Stew.

~Ingredients~

optional - 2 diced chicken breasts or 4-6 chicken thighs (dependant on size and weight)

1 to 2 heaped teaspoon of harissa paste dependant on spice tolerance (found in most supermarkets)

1 can of chopped tomatoes in natural juice (check there is no sugar added)

¼ - ½ teaspoon of ground Himalayan salt

100ml of chicken stock, either from a good quality bought stock (I use stockpots) or homemade

1 small tin of tomato paste


Juice of half a lemon (optional)

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

About an inch slice of fresh ginger cut into strips

1 tin of chick peas drained and rinsed.

1 pepper (sweet) diced

1 courgette cubed

1 sweet potato diced into small pieces

1 onion diced

100g ready to eat dried apricots chopped in half

1 small handful of raisins

Brown rice to serve either boiled or steamed

Approximately 1 tablespoon of organic unsalted butter

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Serves 2-4 dependant on size of vegetables and appetite




~Method~

1. Heat the unsalted butter and olive oil in a deep pan preferably an enamel stock pot or other large pan.


2. When hot add the chicken and harissa paste and stir thoroughly to coat the chicken, turn the heat down and cook gently for 3-4 minutes.


3. Add the pepper, courgette, sweet potato and onion and salt and sauté gently for a couple of minutes until the vegetables started to soften.

4. Add the ginger, cinnamon and lemon juice and mix well to coat the chicken and vegetables, being careful not to burn the ginger. Add the apricots and raisins and combine well.
 

5. Add the tin of tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock and chickpeas and bring to the boil, turn down the heat so it is simmering gently and cover.

6. Simmer with the lid on for approximately 20 minutes then remove the lid and boil until the stock is reduced,

                                oops pan wasnt big enough

 

7. Let simmer for a further 15-20 minutes till reduced

8. Serve with cooked brown rice and enjoy!