Moroccan Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew

Before you go judging based on the picture, let me tell you, this dish is AWESOME!  It looks a little crazy but it is mad delicious.  Oh, and the smell...  your house will smell divine!  Cinnamon and ginger are just such delightful smells in the kitchen.  Think plump, sweet, dried apricots and raisins with cinnamon, savory cumin and paprika all coming together with a little kick...  Let's just say your taste-buds are going to jump!!!

I had the pleasure of first taste testing this recipe at Whole Foods during a healthy eating, plant strong, no oil, event.  If I had seen the dish below on a blog, I'd have probably passed on it  I'm so thankful for having the opportunity to try it.  I may have never known this deliciousness had I not first tried it by someone else's hands.

Moroccan Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew

I begged for the recipe from the Whole Foods Chef and she was happy to give it to me.  You can find the original recipe here.  The Chef made it pretty spicy, hot.  My kids liked the sweet but they didn't care for the heat so I adjusted ours and added only a tiny bit of heat.  My kids love the dish!  All 3 of them!

I didn't totally follow the recipe.  I added 50% more spice across the board i.e. 50% more cumin, cinnamon, paprika and ginger.  I added more raisins and omitted the wine and almonds.   I reduced the sodium by half.  For some reason the dish didn't quite give me the WOW factor that the Whole Foods version did by straight up following the recipe so I upped the spices mentioned and added more raisins and that was it.  Wow, wow, WOW!!!

The big upside to this dish is the time it takes to put it together.  It's a one pot dish, so easy and under 30 minutes to make!  Come on?!  I like it best after it sits for a little bit and the spices have had a chance to all meld together.  So exotic and so yummy!  If you try it, be sure to come back and let me know how you like it.

Ingredients:


3 small onions or 2 large onions, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 TB. fresh ginger, minced
water or broth for sauteing
1 TB cumin
1 TB cinnamon
1 TB paprika
1 tsp crushed red pepper flake (more or less as desired,  I use much less for the kids)
2 cups water (or chickpea liquid)
1/2 tsp salt
4 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 to 2" chunks
1/2 cup diced dried apricots
3 cans of low sodium chickpeas (4.5 cups of cooked chickpeas)
3/4 cup raisins
juice from 1 lemon

Method:


On medium-high heat, cook onion in 1/4 cup of water for 5 minutes until browned.  Add water as necessary to keep onion from sticking.

Add garlic, ginger and additional spices and cook, uncovered for a minute.  Add the water/chickpea liquid, salt, sweet potatoes and apricots.  Bring to a boil, then, lower the stove temperature medium-low to allow it to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.  Simmer until the sweet potatoes are fork tender but not overdone.  Add the chickpeas, raisins, and lemon juice.  Continue to cook until the chickpeas are heated through.  Allow the dish to sit for 4 to 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 8.

Nutritional Information:

 Calories 294.8
  Total Fat  3.0 g
     Saturated Fat 0.1 g
     Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g
     Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g
  Cholesterol 0.0 mg
  Sodium 175.0 mg
  Potassium 856.0 mg <----- awesome potassium/sodium ratio!
  Total Carbohydrate 63.6 g
     Dietary Fiber 10.2 g
     Sugars 15.3 g
  Protein 20.0 g

I provide nutritional information as a rough guide.  Always check your own nutritional information for accuracy.