Moroccan Chickpea Stew

If we ever go out to eat (so very rare, sniff sniff), we usually prefer thai and indian cuisines. The exotic tastes and ingredients are so flavorable and I find it so very hard to find easy authentic recipes to make at home. Either I am missing some of the ingredients or I've never heard of some of them or the recipe is just so labor intensive that it usually puts me off.

This recipe is awesome. It reminds me of an Indian dish and I have made this often. Every time I have made it, people have asked me for the recipe.  It's creamy with a great spicy peanut butter taste.  Sometimes I add a bit more peanut butter than the recipe asks :)

I have substituted different things in this recipe and it turns out every time. I either use fresh tomatoes or salsa because sometimes I don't have a can of tomatoes kicking around. Got extra veggies needing to be used up?  Sometimes I leave out the potatoes and bulk it up other vegetables.  Spinach? Kale? Chop it up & throw them in there!  Shopping through your pantry is great!

It goes great atop a bed of rice or couscous. I've eaten it solely with naan bread or pita bread too. It's definitely made my "recipes I make often" list. Try it out, I'm sure you will make it more than once too.



...

Moroccan Chickpea Stew
serves 6.

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup chopped pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup of water or broth
3 cups peeled, cubed sweet or regular potato
1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp grated gingerroot
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup peanut butter (or to taste!)
1/4 cup sugar or to taste

Over medium high heat, saute onions, celery, green pepper & garlic in olive oil, about 3 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients, except for peanut butter & sugar Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 20 minutes.

Stir in peanut butter & sugar. Mix well. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Recipe adapted from: Rockin' Moroccan Stew, Crazy Plates Cookbook.