At the end of January I found myself in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a Rockapella concert! Rockapella is my favorite group of all time and I was excited to go! My best friend and my boyfriend went with me as well. My boyfriend proposed to me at the Rockapella concert so since the end of January I have been planning a wedding that will take place this summer.
Anywho, last night for dinner I was craving a soup like dish because it snowed yesterday and soup is one of my favorite things to eat on a cold day. I found a recipe online for a Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew. I reviewed the recipe and realized I had everything on hand. I didn't have any harissa but I did have a different kind of hot sauce (Chipotle Tabasco), so I used it instead, but everything else was a go.
The recipe suggested serving the stew with rice or couscous. This recipe definitely has Indian influences, so it was easy to see why it suggested rice and couscous. Well, I didn't have any rice and because I can't have gluten, couscous was out. I then remembered I had some quinoa in the pantry. So, I cooked some of that up instead. It turned out very well and quinoa has all nine essential amino acids which makes up protein so it was much healthier too.
The recipe also called for a fresh butternut squash. Whole squash is very affordable, but butternut squashes can be very time consuming in terms of peeling, cleaning, and slicing. I was very lazy last night and a few weeks ago I had purchased some frozen butternut squash at the grocery store, so I just used that. The flavor was the same only I didn't have to clean a squash.
My fiance has decided that this recipe is definitely a keeper! Full of flavor this dish was and neither one of us missed the meat! And it was very friendly on my diet as well! Happy eating people!
Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew With Quinoa:
