Chef Makeda Freeman-Woods, executive chef with Catholic Charities of Louisville’s Common Table outreach, has prepared a meatless recipe for the Lenten season.
Her Moroccan Chickpea Stew features sweet potatoes, butternut squash and chickpeas. “The spices are mild yet surprising, blending cumin, cinnamon, and lemon,” she said, noting that it’s also simple to prepare.
Moroccan Chickpea Stew
INGREDIENTS
1 large onion finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoons cumin
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon chili powder
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups butternut squash cubed
1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas
1 can diced tomatoes
1 medium sweet potato cubed
1 medium lemon thinly sliced
2 small zucchini cubed
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
DIRECTIONS
1. In a Dutch oven, sauté onion in oil and butter until tender. Add garlic, cumin, cinnamon stick, and chili powder. Sauté one minute longer.
2. Stir in broth, squash, chickpeas, tomatoes, potatoes, lemon and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes and squash are almost tender.
3. Add zucchini; return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Discard cinnamon stick and lemon slices. Stir in cilantro.
Common Table is the culinary arts job training program at Catholic Charities of Louisville that provides eight weeks of training at no cost to participants. To cover tuition costs, the program sells six-week subscriptions for weekly offerings of homemade soup and artisan bread delivered to locations with 10 or more subscribers. Currently, pickups are available at 15 parishes. Learn more about the job training program and soup subscriptions at cclou.org/commontable.
