Moroccan Stew 2 Ways
Moroccan food ... mmmm ... this Moroccan stew 2 ways has so many things I love. Spices I associate with curries and others that are mysteriously like you'd find in pie. Garbanzos and vegetables. Often, a fun surprise flavor kick, in this case raisins. And it's hearty, filling and colorful.
Servings 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup carrots sliced in thin (¼") wedges while rotating the carrot
- 2 cups onion chopped
- 2-3 large cloves garlic chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper cut into ¼" strips
- ½ yellow bell pepper also cut into strips, optional
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon each ground allspice ginger, turmeric, sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon each cayenne pepper and ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup water
- 3 large ripe tomatoes chopped (3 cups ) or 2 14-ounce cans of diced tomatoes
- ½ cup raisins or currants
- 2 ½ or more cups cooked chickpeas or 2 cans, drained see note
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour optional
- 2 cups plain cooked pulled chicken
Instructions
- Heat oil in Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add carrots and cook gently until the oil turns slightly golden, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in onions and cook for an additional 3 minutes until slightly softened.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
- Add bell peppers, spices and ¼ cup water. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
- Add all remaining ingredients except chicken.
- Cover and simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently during cooking. Test for doneness, especially at high altitude where you may need to cook the stew longer.
- A few minutes before serving, separate the stew into two containers and stir the chicken into one portion.
- Serve the Moroccan Stew 2 ways on its own, or over rice or couscous.
Notes
I soak and cook my chickpeas in the Instant Pot since it's so easy and I can make exactly the amount I want. Start with 1 ¼ cup dry garbanzos. Soak for at least an hour, preferably overnight. Rinse, place in Instant Pot with water to cover. Pressure-cook on manual or on bean setting for 30 minutes, allow pressure to reduce slowly. Two cans of garbanzos will give more than 2 ½ cups, depending on the brand, but they are so wonderful in this dish you won't be sorry there are more.