Chunky Vegetable Stew
As the weather turns a bit colder here in North Dakota, our appetites have turned to heartier dishes. Yet we still cannot forget the bounty of fresh produce that still abounds in the local farmer’s markets. This dish is a fairly good compromise between cold-weather heartiness and summer produce.
Chunky Vegetable Stew, based on this recipe
1 T olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
zest from 1 orange
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
12 oz zucchini cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 15 1/2 oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
12 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add next 4 ingredients; stir 1 minute. Add zucchini and tomatoes with juices; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until zucchini is tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add garbanzos and olives; simmer 3 minutes.
Serve over potatoes. Potato pancakes are a nice choice.
The stew tastes wonderfully fresh due to the tomatoes and the zucchini but is simultaneously earthy from the garbanzo beans and onion. The zest adds a nice lightness and uniqueness while the olives add a nice bright salty punch that really finishes the dish well. It goes uncommonly well with potatoes (more earthiness while adding some substance to the dish). We used a simple pan fried new potatoes. Here’s a picture:
Enjoy!
It looks so pretty! I’ve got this bookmarked to make some time this week!