Tonight’s recipe-North African Squash and Chickpea Stew

As some of you will know, I set myself a challenge to cook one recipe a week using my extensive cookbook collection. Tonight I chose a recipe from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s Veg book. North African squash and chickpea stew is a lovely warming and filling winter dinner. With around 10 minutes prep time and just over 30 minutes cooking it is a perfect midweek meal and even leaves enough left over for lunch tomorrow-a great way of eating economically.

The stew is full of chickpeas and lentils which provide fibre and protein, both important parts of any meal. Some of my favourite warming spices are added; turmeric, cinnamon, ginger and black pepper. Turmeric is a great antioxidant and immune booster and cinnamon is very important for helping to balance blood sugar. I used a winter squash in this recipe, full of vitamins A and C which are both important immune boosters.

Hugh suggests serving this with dates but I only had prunes which worked just as well. Sprinkled with some coriander (anti-inflammatory and great for blood sugar control) this is a delicious and filling budget meal, perfect for long winter evenings.