Moroccan Squash Stew with Herb & Nut Topping
A warming Moroccan squash stew with fresh flavours
This recipe is my version of a Moroccan squash stew from the book Vegan Recipes From The Middle East. It’s a plant based cook book that’s been split into areas of the Middle East and their cuisine. I’ve used the Butternut Squash Tagine recipe then just added and replaced a few things according to what I had in already and it worked pretty well. I had the idea of adding crispy chickpeas and a herb topping from a soup with similar flavours I had made from Persiana, another great cookbook. Boasting plenty of rich flavours, a mix of textures and its subtle heat from the fresh chilli this recipe is a good go-to anytime of the year, the leftovers are even better the next day… if there are any!
For some more spiced cooking ideas check out this tasty Harissa Baked Cauliflower or take a look at my Instagram for other recipes!
Moroccan Squash Stew with Herb & Nut Topping
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 50 g Shallots Finely chopped
- 110 g Celery Thinly sliced
- 2 Cloves of garlic Chopped
- A small pinch of saffron
- ¼ tsp Ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp Crushed coriander seeds
- 3 tsp Cumin seeds
- 2 tsp Paprika
- 1 Tin of chopped tomatoes
- ½ Can of chopped tomatoes Blended
- 1 tbsp Tomato puree
- 450 g Butternut squash Peeled & cut into 2cm chunks
- 1 tsp Maple syrup
- 500 ml Water
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 Can of chickpeas Drained
- 1 Fresh chilli Sliced
Herb & Nut Topping
- 15 g Fresh parsley Roughly chopped including the stalks
- 15 g Pistachios
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 4 tbsp Plain yoghurt I used Alpro Soya yoghurt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C
- Heat the oil in a pan and sweat the shallots and celery until soft.
- Add the garlic, ginger, saffron, ground cinnamon, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and fry with the onion for 2 minutes until the spices are fragrant.
- Add the tomatoes and puree’, squash, maple syrup and water, season with salt and pepper and cook everything on a medium heat for around 30 minutes. Add more water if it starts to look too dry.
- Meanwhile, pour the drained chickpeas onto a baking tray, season with salt & pepper and give a light sprinkling of smoked paprika. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden and crispy.
- For the herb & nut topping, add the fresh parsley, pistachios, olive oil and lemon juice with a good grind of pepper to a blender and whizz it up until a paste is formed.
- Once the stew has been simmering for 30 minutes and the squash is tender, remove from the heat and check the chickpeas are crispy.
- Ladle the stew into a bowl then dollop a couple of teaspoons of soya yoghurt and dot the topping over the top, sprinkle over the crispy chickpeas and garnish with fresh parsley and chilli.
- Serve and enjoy!