a saffron spiced moroccan stew
This is my first time cooking with saffron, and the stew turned out wonderfully! I was inspired by a recipe from My Moroccan Food, but I added a few of my own twists. Instead of chickpeas, I used lentils. I also added some heat with crushed red peppers and grown cayenne pepper. I ran out of vegetable stock, so this dish wasn’t entirely vegetarian :( but at least I tried.
I learned that another name for eggplant is aubergine, pronounced “oh-
br-zheen.” Aubergine is a much more elegant name than eggplant, in my opinion. According to my research, Europeans named eggplants after the variet that they had in the eighteenth century, which were vegetables with a whitish or yellowish color and short, egg-like shape. The Latin/French term aubergine originally derives from the historical city of Vergina in Greece. Interestingly, these days, the word “eggplant” is widely used in the United States, and the word “aubergine” is widely used in Europe.
Ingredients:
- 3 medium-small sweet potatoes
- 2 large aubergines
- 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 generous pinches of saffron
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Just over 2 cups stock
- 130 g lentils, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 pack spaghetti, broken into thirds
- Parsley for garnish
Directions:
- Bake potatoes and aubergine at 392F with oil, salt, pepper for 25–30 min on foil. Add optional cayenne pepper to the potatoes.
- Cook some olive oil, shallot, tomato paste, turmeric, red pepper, pepper for 10 min in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot.
- Add stock, 4 cups water, lentils, bring to a boil then simmer for 40 minutes.
- When vegetables are done, fold over foil and seal, allow to steam at least 10 minutes, until soup is ready.
- Add vegetables, spaghetti and simmer 12 minutes, until spaghetti is cooked.
- Serve with parsley for garnish, along with salt and pepper. Enjoy!
