Moroccan lentil & chickpea stew with tahini yoghurt
Is it a soup, or is it a stew?! I’m going with stew today as it ended up so nice and chunky, but you can call it a soup if you prefer! I like to have a big tub of something tasty in the fridge, so there’s an instant lunch or dinner ready for me when either I can’t be bothered to cook, or I’m starving and need to eat immediately! In the winter it’s a stew or soup and in the summer a salad with roasted veggies and grains. So this is what’s in my fridge at the moment and I’ve been loving it. It’s really warming and quick to make, apart from chopping a few veggies, you just basically chuck everything in the pan and leave it for half an hour.
To make this recipe vegan, all you need to do is switch the plain yoghurt for a plant based variety or just whip up the tahini with water, it’ll still make a nice creamy dressing.
Ingredients
Serves 6-8
2 red onions, chopped
2 sticks celery
2 large garlic cloves, grated
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
4 carrots, cubed
1 tbsp rose harissa
2 x 400g chopped tinned tomatoes
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, or 125g dried
150g cavolo nero, stalks removed, chopped roughly
1 ½ tsp sea salt
A handful of fresh coriander leaves
Tahini yoghurt
240ml (12 tbsp) plain yoghurt
6 tbsp tahini
6 tbsp water
1 ½ tsp sea salt
Method
If you’re using dried chickpeas, soak them overnight and then cook in boiling water for about
45-60 minutes.
Heat ½ tbsp olive oil in a large pan and fry the onions and celery for 10 minutes.
Next add the garlic and ground spices, let them warm through for about a minute.
Add the carrots, rose harissa, lentils and tinned tomatoes, plus 3 tins of water.
Simmer with the lid half on for 30 minutes.
Mix the tahini, yoghurt, water and 1 ½ tsp sea salt in a medium sized tub or bowl.
Serve with a drizzle of tahini yoghurt, coriander and a chunk of sourdough or brown rice.
Tip
You could use red lentils instead of green, but they absorb more water so you would need to keep an eye on the stew getting too thick.
If you’re looking for another recipe to use up some rose harissa, then try this Butternut squash & spelt salad, it’s really good and another one you can store in the fridge for tasty lunches, dinners or as a side.
If you don’t have tahini, you can just use plain or coconut yoghurt instead.