Moroccan Vegetable Stew

March 4, 2009 at 7:14 pm (Healthy Recipes, One-Pot Recipes, Rice recipes)
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Spicy Moroccan vegetables in a delicious sauce with a crazy but oh-so-perfect secret ingredient served with wild rice and fresh flat leaf parsley all for under 400 calories.

5 mins prep :: 25 mins cook :: 30 mins total :: 4 servings :: 380 cals per serving :: Doubler :: Lazy Leftovers

Ingredients:
* 2 sweet potatoes
* 2 courgettes
* 1 onion
* 1 red pepper
* 2 garlic cloves
* 1 inch cube of peeled ginger (approx)
* 400g tin of chickpeas
* 1tsp dried cumin powder
* 1tsp dried curry powder
* 1tsp dried chilli flakes
* 1tsp dried cinnamon
* 1tsp dried coriander leaf
* Big pinch of salt (this is for 4 servings)
* 350ml of vegetable stock
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 400g tin of tomatoes
* 1 tbsp lemon juice
* 2 tbsp peanut butter
* 2 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley
* 40g of wild rice & basmati brown rice per person (makes 100g cooked serving per person)

Directions:

1. Boil a kettle of water and cook the wild rice as per pack instructions (about 25 minutes).
2. Meanwhile, crush the garlic; grate the ginger and cut the sweet potatoes, courgettes, onion and red pepper into similar sized pieces (about 1 inch).
3. Heat the olive oil on a medium heat in a large pan, then add the garlic and ginger and fry gently for 1 minute to release the flavour. Then add the sweet potatoes, courgettes, onion, red pepper and salt then stirfry for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the cumin powder, curry powder, chilli flakes, coriander leaf and stirfry for a further minute before adding the tomatoes, lemon juice and stock.
5. Bring to a gentle simmer and keep simmering for about 20 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked. In the final couple of minutes stir in the secret ingredient – peanut butter to warm through and thicken the sauce. Then serve with the rice, scattered with the fresh parsley.

Foodwitch Factoid:
Enjoy leftovers the next day with a pitta bread instead of rice for about the same calories or you can even enjoy it cold for lunch with a green salad to save 150 calories per serving (that’s a mere 230 calories and about 4 portions of veg per serving!).

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Mushroom & Rustic Lentil Sauce with Wild Rice

February 25, 2009 at 10:41 pm (Healthy Recipes, Pasta Recipes, Rice recipes)
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Velvety portobello mushrooms in an aromatic lentil sauce infused with garlic and rosemary, served with wild rice and scattered with fresh parsley.

5 mins prep :: 20 mins cook :: 25 mins total :: 2 servings :: 486 cals per serving :: One-off wonder

Ingredients:
* 8 large flat portobello mushrooms
* 1 red onion
* 200ml vegetable stock
* 3 garlic cloves
* 4 tbsp fresh parsley
* 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
* 1 tbsp brandy or white wine (vegan friendly)
* 400g tin of brown lentils
* 80g wild rice
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* Black pepper
* Sea salt

Directions:
1. Boil a kettle of water, wipe the mushrooms, rinse the herbs and cook the rice following pack instructions (usually 20 minutes).
2. Slice the mushrooms into 1cm slices, finely chop the onion, crush the garlic and finely chop the fresh herbs.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat, add the crushed garlic and onions and fry for 3 minutes until the onions are softening, then add the mushrooms with the rosemary and half the parsley and cook for a further 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, boil a kettle with enough water to make 200ml of vegetable stock; drain and rinse the lentils and make the stock.
5. Add the lentils, brandy and stock to the mushrooms and adjust the heat to keep at a gentle bubble, stirring occasionally and cooking for 10 minutes until the rice is ready. By this time, the liquid will have reduced to leave you with a wonderfully aromatic sauce. Drain the rice and serve scattered with the remaining fresh parsley.

Suggestions & Alternatives
You can serve the mushroom and rustic lentil sauce with pasta or a jacket potato instead of rice. If you can’t decide, why not make double the amount to have a different way another day. Simply cover and refrigerate overnight then reheat in the pan on a low heat for 5-10 minutes. If you choose pasta for the 2nd time your dinner can be ready in under 10 minutes!

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