Thursday, October 04, 2007

Moroccan-Style Lentil, Chickpea & Orzo Stew with Dates

Lentil, Chickpea & Orzo Stew

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1-1½ hours
Serves 8

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 can (19oz/540ml) chickpeas, drained
12 cups chicken broth (the recipe called for vegetable broth, but I didn’t have any and no time to make the best roasted vegetable stock)
½ fennel root, cored and chopped (about 1 cup)
3-4 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 handful each fresh cilantro/coriander & flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
½ can (28 oz/796ml) tomatoes, (I prefer San Marzano, but any will do), pureed
1 cup green or yellow lentils
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
½ tsp sweet paprika
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
Pinch of ground cloves
¾ cup orzo
½ cup pitted dates, chopped

Garnish:
Freshly chopped parsley
Lemon wedges

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add everything but the dates and orzo and simmer, covered until the lentils are tender (about 40-45 minutes).

2. Add the orzo and dates and cook for at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges and serve with a salad and some crusty bread.

Related link:

2 comments:

Cara said...

oh wow this sounds delicious... totally my kind of dish, I am definitely saving this one!

Katie Zeller said...

Bean and pasta.... my favorites! And then add lentils to make it perfect!
I'm starting to get in to winter cooking!