Cathy, Chris, and Theo were visiting from Sacramento this weekend, and we wanted to find an easy recipe that would be both filling and use the vegetables newly-arrived via the CSA box. We adapted this winter vegetable stew recipe from Epicurious, increasing the chicken and modifying a few things based on comments from those who had previously tried it out. There was quite a variety of vegetables in this one — sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots, and rutabaga. We served the stew over a bed of couscous cooked with garbanzo beans, yum!
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Chris S. says:

Thanks for cooking dinner guys, this looks great!

Cathy says:

Do I have to think of something witty to say for the food blog?

Chris says:

Nope — but I’ll put what you just said up there.

Cathy says:

Oh excellent…

Lisa says:

This is spicy!

Chris says:

What? Are you sure?

Lisa says:

Hmmm, well my first two bites were, but it doesn’t seem very spicy now.

Chris says:

Okay, good — because there’s really not a lot of spice in there, just the hot curry powder I used.

Chris S. says:

We’ll have to get the recipe for this…

Cathy says:

I think we’ll know where to find it… 🙂

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Moroccan-Style Chicken and Root Vegetable Stew
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb each boneless skinless chicken breast and boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled red-skinned sweet potatoes
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled parsnips
1 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled turnips
1 large carrot cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup 1/2-inch pieces peeled rutabaga
4 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup dried currants or raisins
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
Juice and zest from one lemon
Chopped fresh cilantro

In a small pot, bring chicken broth to a boil, continue to boil until reduced by half, then set aside.
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pot and sauté until light golden but not cooked through, about 1 minute. Transfer chicken to bowl.
Add onion to pot and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and stir 1 minute. Add curry powder, cumin and cinnamon stick and stir 30 seconds. Add sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrot, rutabaga, broth and currants. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Add tomatoes, lemon zest with juice, and chicken to pot. Simmer until chicken is cooked through and flavors blend, about 5 minutes longer. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve over couscous cooked with garbanzo beans.

6 Servings