Thursday, December 4, 2008

Tunisian Vegetable Stew

A few weeks ago, I mentioned using the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home book for inspiration, and that was my resource for this meal. I was hoping to find an interesting way to use some cabbage and possibly some other vegetables I had on hand. When I arrived at the page for this Tunisian vegetable stew, I thought, ok, this sounds good and looks simple enough for a serviceable, weeknight meal. That proved to be true, but it was also really flavorful, vibrant, and satisfying. In fact, it was so good it really took me by surprise.

To start, onion is sautéed, thinly chopped cabbage is added with sliced green bell pepper, canned tomatoes join the mix along with chickpeas, then ground coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, and cayenne are added, and it’s covered and left to simmer for 10 minutes or so. I need to pause and ask if you’re aware of the health and wellness benefits of turmeric? Turmeric is known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties among a host of other healthful qualities. I’m always happy to add some turmeric to a dish, and I tend to add a little more than is requested. So, the spices added great flavor and the mixture gave off a lovely aroma as it simmered. At the end of the simmering time, fresh lemon juice was added.

To serve, any grain would do, but I chose quinoa. The stew was ladled over a mound of fluffy quinoa and then topped with crumbled feta and some slivered almonds. Kurt and I were both expecting an eat your vegetables kind of meal, but we discovered it to be so much more. The diversity of textures, the bright lemon in combination with the spices, the fresh cabbage and bell pepper, the savory rounded flavor of chickpeas, the tanginess of the feta, and the crunchy almonds all made this a surprisingly delicious and enjoyable dinner. The Moosewood book continues to do well by me, and everything I’ve tried from it has or will become a repeated meal.



12 comments:

  1. That sounds really satisfying. All those veggies and proteins--makes healthy look great!

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  2. It's tough to use Molly's Moosewood books in this house.
    I wish I could eat like this just sometimes, but it's tough when there is a carnivore living in the house, and a 6 ft. 5" one at that!

    Well, I can dream.
    Your vegetarian stew looks wonderful.

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  3. This looks great, very healthy too!

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  4. looks very healthy and delicious. Turmeric is something I hope to try in the future ;D

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  5. Lisa - I am new to your site - love it and the pictures are great. This may be a dumb question, but do you post the recipes somewhere?
    Thanks :)
    Sam

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  6. Hi Sam,
    Thanks for visiting! I don't actually re-print recipes from books. I do provide links when I use recipes that can be found online, and when a dish is from a book I link to the book. The recipes that appear on some posts are either my own inventions or drastically changed versions from another source.

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  7. Lisa - thanks so much for your quick response. I have been hearing alot about the Moosewood Restuarant cookbooks - I need to check these out :) Thanks for all your wonderful meal ideas - I just love food!

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  8. A very healthy and filling dinner. I can see the steam even come up in the pictures. Looks lovely.

    I also tagged you on my blog. Hope you play and have fun.

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  9. i had no idea turmeric was so magical! stunning stew, lisa, and good call with the quinoa!

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  10. looks super tasty and healthy all at the same time! Nice photo's

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