For the last week of the term, let me return once more to my first love in winter cooking — soups and stews. Moroccan stew always caused a little bit of a scandal in my family — my sister is not a big fan of raisins, which are sort of a featured flavor in this dish. I personally love the hint of sweet amongst all that spicy, tangy goodness of tomatoes and cumin.
This particular version comes out of Nate Grady’s family cookbook and is a little different from the one I grew up with — we added sweet potatoes and kidney beans instead of cannellini and black beans. But that’s the great thing about stews: you can always improvise based on the ingredients at hand! So feel free to play around with your vegetable choices to find your favorite version of this delicious, winter-y, and hearty treat.
What you need:
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- about 4 cups broth — you know me by now, so you know I make this with Better than Bouillon
- 1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1 15-oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 10 oz. baby spinach — since it’s still winter here in Wisconsin, go for some frozen spinach!
- Also, feel free to substitute dry beans for the cans — just remember to soak them the night before!
What to do:
In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, stirring often.
Stir in your spices to make a paste, and then add all remaining ingredients except the spinach.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Now add the spinach and continue to cook for a few minutes, until the spinach is wilted.
Adjust seasoning to taste.
Serve it up with some fresh-baked bread and voilà! You’ve got a meal.
Serves about eight.
Guten Appetit!