Saffron Vegan Morrocan Stew - This week's lunch.

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.