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My Last Butternut Squash


After a week of unseasonably warm temperatures, the cold weather is back and along with it, my desire for a comforting stew. I wanted to use my last remaining butternut squash that I picked months earlier from my now-frozen vegetable garden. A richly flavored African stew sounded like a good match. I adapted this stew from the recipe for North African Pumpkin Stew in Vegan Fire and Spice. In straying from the recipe, I enriched the sauce with a bit of peanut butter, added a lonely sweet potato that was languishing in the fridge, and topped it with some steamed baby spinach, because we love our greens and also because spinach goes so well with the flavors in this stew. Served over brown rice, the result was a delicious one-dish meal that tasted even better when we had it for lunch the next day.

Butternut Tribute Stew
This yummy stew was a fitting tribute to my last garden-grown squash from the fall. The recipe was adapted from Vegan Fire & Spice. If you don’t like heat, just omit the chiles.

2 tablespoons cold-pressed canola oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 small, fresh hot chiles, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 small winter squash, seeded, peeled, and cut into bite-sized cubes
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, or a natural sweetener
2 cups water or vegetable broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15.5-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
Cooked brown rice or couscous, to serve
4 cups fresh baby spinach, steamed

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, chiles, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, and allspice, and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the squash and sweet potato and toss until evenly coated with the spices. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, water, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add the beans, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. A few minutes before serving time, remove about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and place it in a small bowl. Add the peanut butter and stir to combine, then stir the peanut butter mixture back into the stew. To serve, spoon some rice into the bottom of shallow serving bowls. Top with the stew and place a small mound of steamed spinach on top.
Serves 4

{ 11 comments… add one }

  • Meg Wolff February 11, 2008, 10:16 pm

    I just recieved your email. Nice site , bookmarked! And, congratulations on “Fire and Spice”!

  • Meg Wolff February 11, 2008, 10:16 pm

    I just recieved your email. Nice site , bookmarked! And, congratulations on “Fire and Spice”!

  • Robin February 11, 2008, 10:50 pm

    Thanks, Meg. Glad you like the site.

  • Robin February 11, 2008, 10:50 pm

    Thanks, Meg. Glad you like the site.

  • Kristine February 12, 2008, 12:48 am

    Mmm, that looks great Robin!Comfort food is for sure on the menus of many folks this time of year. Thanks for a great recipe!

  • Kristine February 12, 2008, 12:48 am

    Mmm, that looks great Robin!Comfort food is for sure on the menus of many folks this time of year. Thanks for a great recipe!

  • Robin February 12, 2008, 2:43 pm

    Yes, comfort food is definitely the name of the game, Kristine. If you try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

  • Robin February 12, 2008, 2:43 pm

    Yes, comfort food is definitely the name of the game, Kristine. If you try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

  • Vegan Gypsy September 19, 2013, 6:41 am

    Robin, I know this is an old post but came across this and it looks so delicious! Do you think this could be adapted for the slow cooker?

    Thank you!

    • Robin September 19, 2013, 8:26 am

      Absolutely! I think it would be great cooked in a slow cooker. It should cook up in about 3 to 4 hours on HIGH or about 6 to 7 hours on LOW — depending on how “hot” your slow cooker runs. You may want to check it once or twice during the cooking time the first time you make it. If you try it in a slow cooker, let me know how it turns out and if you needed to make any adjustments.

      • Vegan Gypsy September 20, 2013, 2:47 pm

        Robin,

        I ended up short on time so I prepared the recipe as directed, then popped into the slow cooker (sans peanut butter and spinach) on Warm setting until ready to serve. Next time I’ll try slow cooking from start to finish but this turned out perfect!

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