Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Random North African stew

It was a night for cleaning out the fridge and I knew, this being another dreary afternoon and evening, that soup would be the outcome.  I wasn't starving, having had a pretty substantial breakfast and lunch, but I didn't want to let any of what had been in the fridge for days (especially the celery) go bad.  So, I basically just chopped up everything that I knew had been in there a while, plus a zucchini that Steve brought home from the store this evening, then added some spices and our evening meal was ready by the time Jeopardy came on!


Random North African stew:
2 tbsp Earth Balance
2 tbsp olive oil
6 ribs celery, sliced, including leaves
1 small onion, diced
1 medium or large zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1" chunks
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 medium carrots, cut into 1" chunks
2 small red potatoes, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2" pieces
4 cups vegetable broth
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained
1 8-oz. package seitan, cubed
2 tbsp ras el hanout (I made mine from a Vegetarian Times recipe, but here's another one)
1 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
1 tbsp dried cilantro
black pepper to taste

Heat Earth Balance and olive oil in a 4 quart pot over medium heat.  Add celery, stir and cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes.  Add onion and cook another 3 minutes.  Add zucchini and tomatoes and cook another 5 minutes.  Add carrots and potatoes and cover with broth and tomato sauce.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.  Add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer until potatoes and carrots are cooked, another 15 minutes.  Serve immediately.