All summer I witness friends from all parts of
the globe gush over the hot weather while I hide under hats and try to survive
the heat. The shift to cool weather brings me great relief and ironically,
warms my heart and my kitchen. I love bundling up in scarves and cozy
sweaters and shifting from the refreshing cold salads and meals of summer to
the steamy stews of fall and winter. This recipe is rich in spices and a huge
hit (with kids and adults) every time I make it. Last winter I cooked this recipe on the TV show CT Style to promote the CitySeed Winter
Farmers' Market, and locally grown foods (the meat, canned tomatoes, cooking
greens, onions and squash were all available from CT farms through the winter
months). This is one of those recipes that people always ask me for while
they're eating it, so it's about time I shared it here.
Last week I cooked this up but left out the
chili pepper so the younger kids at the table would eat it, but didn't want the
rest of us to suffer for the lack of heat, so I made up a last minute spicy
green tomato condiment to stir in. It was one of those inventive moments
where I lacked the main ingredients for a recipe (in this case, cilantro and
parsley for the Yemeni condiment zhoug), but realized I had plenty of green
cherry tomatoes in my garden which added a bright tanginess to the rich red
spiced stew and transformed the sauce into an entirely new thing. I'm
including that recipe below as well.
Moroccan Spiced
Chili with Winter Vegetables
Recipe courtesy of CitySeed, Inc.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, finely diced
1 pound ground beef, lamb or small diced stew
meat
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 teaspoons sea salt (or to taste)
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
½ cup French lentils (grey green lentils that do
not mush when cooked, or substitute 1 can chickpeas)
1/2 small winter squash (such as butternut or
acorn) cut into ½-inch cubes
2 cups water
2 cups frozen or fresh chopped greens such as
spinach, collards or kale
Instructions
1. In a large stockpot or
Dutch oven, heat the oil. Brown the meat and break it into small pieces. As
meat starts to brown add diced onion and sauté with meat until translucent. Add
garlic and spices, continue cooking until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
2. Add the tomatoes, water
and lentils and stir, scrapping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
Simmer for 20 minutes. Add diced squash and simmer 20 minutes more or until
squash is tender and lentils are cooked through. Add finely chopped greens and
cook a few minutes more until tender. Adjust seasoning as needed. If you have
the time, you can cook this chili slow and on low heat for a few hours,
stirring occasionally, and adding the greens a few minutes before you are ready
to serve.
3. Optional: serve the
chili with yogurt and cilantro or parsley (or the Green Tomato Zhoug below).
This spicy salsa type condiment is inspired by a Yemeni green
sauce called zhoug which consists of garlic, chili peppers, cardamom, caraway
seeds, cilantro and parsley, salt and olive oil.
4 cloves garlic
Seeds from 3 green cardamom pods, ground (or 1/2 teaspoon ground
cardamom)
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 small fresh chili pepper or dried chili to taste
8 green cherry tomatoes or 2 green tomatoes
Using a mortar and pestle
or a food processor, first grind the garlic, salt and spices into a paste.
Quarter cherry tomatoes or chop the large tomatoes, add to the garlic paste and
pound or pulse until the desired texture is reached. Adjust seasoning as
desired.
Do you have a favorite chili recipe? Please
share below!