Chickpea & Butternut Squash Stew with a Poached Egg



In my house—because there are only two of us....and because one butternut squash (even a small one) is typically too large for two people—one dinner featuring butternut squash is almost always followed in a day or two by another dinner featuring butternut squash. And I don't mind this at all. I love butternut squash. Besides being delicious, it is quite versatile. It can be roasted (whole or in pieces), braised, sautéed, or steamed. It's wonderful in soups or stews...on pizza...in pasta or a salad...or as a side dish. Furthermore, it goes well with a long list of winter vegetables—greens like kale and chard, Brussels sprouts, onions (all kinds), root vegetables, mushrooms, and dried beans. I could probably eat it for several night's running and not get bored.

In my last post I shared what I made with the first half of a butternut squash. Today's post is about the second half—in a Moroccan-inspired vegetable stew. This stew has been in my regular winter rotation since last January when I found it in Martha Stewart Living Magazine. I have tweaked the recipe a bit to accommodate my personal tastes (smaller chunks of vegetables) and my pantry (instead of finishing the stew with Harissa I have incorporated a suitable mix of spices in the aromatic onion base and then finished the stew with some preserved lemon). I also thought this stew was begging for the added richness of a freshly poached egg




...but you could forgo this addition and still have a delicious dinner.

The contrast between this bright and spicy stew and the rich and savory pasta where my butternut squash made its first appearance could hardly be more pronounced...no "same old-same old" here. And both of these dishes are seasonal eating at its best: Each—in their own way—are a perfect antidote for a dark and cold January night.

Chickpea & Butternut Squash Stew with a Poached Egg

2 1/2 to 3 cups diced (3/4-inch) butternut squash

olive oil

salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion (about 8 oz.), finely diced
3 or 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 t. caraway seed (toasted and ground)
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. coriander
1/8 t. cayenne

2 medium carrots (about 5 oz.), topped, tailed, peeled and thinly sliced (scant 1/4-inch)

1 14 oz. can plum tomatoes,—passed through a food mill, pulsed in the food processor or crushed with your hands

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 c. chicken stock (or water)—plus more as needed
1 or 2 pieces preserved lemon (pulp removed), finely julienned (optional)

3 eggs

2 to 3 T. thinly sliced fresh cilantro

Toss the squash with a scant tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated 400° to 425° oven until tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Warm 2 T. of olive oil in a wide, deep sided pan set over medium heat. Add the onions along with a pinch of salt and cook until very soft and beginning to turn golden. Add the carrot, garlic and spices and toss to coat in the fat. Cook until fragrant—about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer until thick (10 to 15 minutes). Add the chickpeas and stock and simmer, covered until the carrots are tender—about 30 minutes. Add the roasted squash and preserved lemon, if using and cook another 5 minutes or so to heat the squash through and allow the flavors to blend. Add more stock or water if the stew is too thick. Taste and correct the seasoning.

Set the stew aside and keep hot while you poach the eggs.

Ladle the stew into warmed soup bowls, sprinkle with cilantro and top each with a poached egg. Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately with some warm, crusty bread. Serves 3.



Note: The original recipe was twice this size...obviously you should feel free to make as large or as small a batch as you need. If you double it, you will be able to use the whole butternut squash.

(Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living, January 2012)

Printable Recipe

Leftovers for lunch...with crumbled Feta instead of a poached egg.

Braised Moroccan Spiced Chicken

I am often asked what is my favorite thing to cook. The (possibly) disappointing truth is that I don't have one favorite thing to cook—my favorites change from day to day, season to season and year to year. Certainly I love to cook whatever I'm hungry for. And for me, what I'm hungry for is frequently a function of the weather. I think if you were to look back over my blog you would find many posts that begin with a discussion of the weather and how it relates to the recipe I'm posting.

Today is no different. I had planned on posting a recipe for baked salmon and vegetables. But it is cold and rainy outside and that particular dish somehow didn't seem like such a great fit. This is a day for a deeply flavorful braise...or a stew—something like the Moroccan Spiced Chicken I made the other night.

with plain couscous and roasted carrots and turnips

If, after reading my recent post on braising/stewing, you have been looking for recipes to practice with, this would be a great one to try.

The recipe for Moroccan Spiced Chicken is a very simple and basic braise. A blending of a recipe for Chicken Tagine by my good friend Nancy and one for Braised Moroccan Chicken that I found at FOOD52, it begins like all braises with the browning of the chicken and the cooking of the aromatics—in this case onion, garlic and a generous quantity of spice. Nancy's recipe adds tomato and I have followed her lead in that. Both recipes end with olives, fragrant preserved lemons and cilantro. It is a warming and hearty dish...just the kind of thing I crave at the end of a damp and chilly day—which would make it one of my favorite things to cook....at least, for today.

Moroccan Spiced Chicken

2 T. olive oil
4 chicken thighs and 4 legs (or 8 thighs)
salt and pepper
1 medium onion (8 to 10 oz.), cut in a small dice
4 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1 1/2 t. ground coriander
1 t. ground ginger
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. turmeric
1/4 t. cayenne
14 oz. can whole tomatoes—passed through a food mill, pulsed in the food processor or crushed with your hands
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken stock (or canned low-salt broth)
2/3 to 1 c. black or green olives (Kalamata, Gaeta, Picholine or a mix)
1 preserved lemon (see note), cut into sections (if not already), pulp removed and cut cross-wise into fine strips
2 to 4 T. chopped cilantro

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan or braiser set over medium-high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and add to the pan, skin side down. Brown the chicken until the fat is well-rendered and the skin is golden brown; turn and brown the other side. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Do not crowd the pan while you are browning the chicken—fry in batches if necessary.

Remove the pan from the heat and pour off all but a couple tablespoons of the fat. Reduce the heat to medium, return the pan to the heat and add the onions along with a pinch of salt. Cook the onions until soft and golden—about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and spices and cook until fragrant—about a minute.

Add the tomatoes and use them to deglaze the pan, scraping up the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick and reduced—5 minutes or so.

Return the chicken to the pan (along with any accumulated juices) and turn to coat in the onion/spice/tomato mixture.

Add enough chicken stock to come a third to half way up the sides of the chicken.

Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and cook at a gentle simmer until the chicken is cooked through and almost tender—about 30 to 40 minutes. Add the preserved lemon and olives and continue to cook covered until the chicken is very tender—another 10 to 20 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and keep warm. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened. Taste and correct the seasoning.

Serve the chicken on a bed of couscous (or rice) with the sauce spooned over. Scatter the cilantro over all. Serves 4.



Leftovers for lunch (excellent, even on a bright and sunny day)


Note: Preserved lemons are an indispensible ingredient for many Moroccan dishes. They can of course be purchased, but it is easy to make your own and recipes abound on the web. The most traditional versions take three weeks (as this one posted by David Lebovitz). There are also "quick" methods that are ready in just 7 days. There are also "cheater" recipes that only take a few hours and although I haven't tried one of these, I imagine they would probably be fine in a pinch.



The beginnings of the "7 day" version