It's Time for STEWS

I love fall. I love it when it gets cold enough to really appreciate a nice hot bowl of soup or stew. It's here. Stew Time. Here's my latest creation, a composite of several recipes. You can leave out the lamb to make it vegetarian.

Moroccan Stew
serves 6 or so

In a small bowl, combine 1 tsp each ground cinnamon, cumin, coriander and sea salt; 1/2 tsp ground ginger; 1/4 tsp each ground nutmeg, turmeric, and curry powder. Set aside.

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook 1 chopped sweet onion and 3 chopped garlic cloves until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1 lb ground lamb, cook another 5 minutes or so. Stir in 2-4 cups finely shredded kale (I like kale so I put in at least 4 cups) and the reserved spice mixture. Cook for 2 minutes until kale begins to wilt and spices are fragrant.

Pour 6 cups of vegetable broth into the pot. Stir in 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (undrained -I still had a bunch of tomatoes from my garden so I used them), 1 Tbs honey, 4 large chopped carrots, 1 large peeled and diced sweet potato (I used a butternut squash instead which I peeled, cubed and roasted first), 2 diced potatoes (I used one red skin, one yukon gold because that's what I had on hand- you can use more potatoes, esp if you are making a vegetarian version), one can garbanzo beans (drained), 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, 1 cup dried lentils (I used Tru Roots sprouted bean trio that I get at Costco) and 2 Tbs tomato paste. Bring to boil then reduce heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes or until veggies and lentils are cooked and tender. Season with black pepper to taste.

We had this Thursday night for dinner. I'm looking forward to a repeat tonight. I just might throw in the rest of that bag of kale I got at Trader Joe's the other day....