Since Monday I've been eating the same lunch. I made a huge batch of Moroccan Vegan Stew on Sunday night and I found that it keeps very well in a sealed container in the fridge. It's day four now, I think it's this stews last day. The flavour got much better throughout the week! This stew would also freeze well.
I find that Quinoa bloats me in a big way....so my advice is to soak your Quinoa overnight
as it enhances digestibility and neutralizes phytic acid. I used organic red quinoa in my recipe. Those little white threads indicate that i've cooked my quinoa properly....I had to get a second opinion on that one from my colleague :)
This is the perfect lunch because it has heaps of protein and keeps you pretty full. Personally I don't get dinner until fairly late due to my work/gym schedule so this tides me over until then. I found I needed a small snack in between (opted for goji berry trail mix).
In my stew I used Yams because they are better for you than sweet potatoes and subbed in ground saffron instead of saffron threads. Saffron threads are extremely expensive! I also swapped maple syrup instead of brown sugar because I'm trying to cut down on my refined sugar intake.
Here is the original
RECIPE:
Saffron-Spiked Moroccan Stew
From Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The Vegan Table
1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoon vegetable stock, divided (you can use water, and more stock if you want a soupier stew)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 large red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1 teaspoon grated or minded fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
2 sweet potatoes cut nto 1/2" cubes
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (don't drain them)
1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat
3 tablespoons of the stock in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the
onion, peppers and garlic and sweat the vegetables until the onions are
translucent. This should take between 5-7 minutes. You can add more
liquid if it starts to evaporate too much.
Add
the brown sugar, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, ginger and
saffron, and stir to coat well. Cook for 1 minute, then add the sweet
potatoes and continue stirring. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices,
the remaining stock and the chickpeas. Make sure the potatoes are
submerged in the liquid so they'll cook. I found that this amount of
liquid didn't quite cover everything, but I also didn't want my stew to
be overly runny so it would be more transportable.
Bring
the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the
sweet potatoes are cooked, but not overly. This will take about 30
minutes. Season with salt and pepper to your taste, and serve over
quinoa or couscous.
