Monday was time for a serious detox. I spent the weekend at the Joshua Creek Ranch for Georgia Pellegrini‘s Girl Hunter (more on that in a future post), and happily feasted on venison, smoked turkey, wild game gumbo and maybe a glass of wine or two (or three). Monday was a return to a Meatless Monday meal of Crockpot Gingered Chickpea & Spicy Tomato Stew. With a chunk of ginger sitting in my fridge, an extra can of chickpeas and butternut squash left over from my recent obsession with Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Quinoa (I’ve made it three times in the past two week), I set to work on a light vegetarian stew.
One of the first recipes on my blog paired coconut milk and jalapenos with cauliflower and brown rice (here’s the recipe) and knew it was a good match. This time, since I’m now a little more health conscious, I switched to lite coconut milk and replaced part of the coconut milk with diced tomatoes. The sweet butternut squash provides a great foil for the heat of the jalapeno and the coconut milk and tomato sauce soaks into the quinoa. Piled into a bowl and garnished with green onions, it makes for a comforting and satisfying dish.
The winners of Pam Anderson’s book, Cook Without a Book: Meatless Meals (see this post), are:
1) Jennifer B. who said, “I love healthy recipes like this! I almost always have these ingredients on hand and it is easy on my budget.”
2) Andrea W. who said, “One of the only things on my Christmas list this year is cookbooks – this would make a great Christmas gift!”
Congratulations! I will be emailing both of you for your mailing information.
The recipe:
In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa and water, and place over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for approximately 20 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed. Remove the quinoa from the heat, fluff with a fork and re-cover to keep warm.
In a medium or large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and the cubed butternut squash. Cook until the squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until the onions are turning brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Add ginger and minced jalapeno and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add garlic. Cook for 1 more minute, stirring.
Add the lite coconut milk, diced tomatoes with juices, chickpeas and cooked butternut squash. Turn the mixture to medium-high and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the butternut squash is tender, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.
Divide the quinoa between bowls and ladle the stew over top. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve.
More vegetarian stews:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Vegetarian Mushroom & Cannellini Bean Ragout
Cookin’ Canuck’s Crockpot Chickpea Stew with Balsamic Caramelized Onions
Herbivoracious’ Persian-Italian Eggplant Stew
Sailu’s Kitchen’s Tangy Shallot Stew
The Skinny Gourmet Andreae’s Vegetarian Moroccan Stew
From the kitchen of Cookin Canuck. www.cookincanuck.com
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup quinoa
- 1 1/3 cup water
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups diced (1/2-inch) butternut squash
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 1/2 large jalapeno pepper, seeds & membranes removed, minced
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup lite coconut milk, stirred
- 1 can (14 oz.) petite diced tomatoes (with juices)
- 1 can (14 oz.) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa and water, and place over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for approximately 20 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed. Remove the quinoa from the heat, fluff with a fork and re-cover to keep warm.
- In a medium or large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and the cubed butternut squash. Cook until the squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- In a large frying pan, heat olive oil oil over medium heat. Add onion and kosher salt and cook until the onions are turning brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Add ginger and minced jalapeno and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add garlic. Cook for 1 more minute, stirring.
- Add the lite coconut milk, diced tomatoes with juices, chickpeas and cooked butternut squash. Turn the mixture to medium-high and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the butternut squash is tender, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.
- Divide the quinoa between bowls and ladle the stew over top. Garnish with sliced green onions. Serve.






















{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
This sounds insanely delicious. Coconut milk makes my world go ’round.
Thanks, Katrina. I love the rich flavor of coconut milk, too. It really does add something special.
This is soooooooo-o-o-o-o-o my type of stew. Holy gosh.
Thanks, Bev. It’s perfect for a light, but comforting meal.
I am certainly more the meat and potatoes stew kind of guy, but I will be honest, I like all the flavors and ingredients you’ve got going on here and I could see myself really digging into this dish. Especially to detox (though my weekend was a cookie binge – darn holiday baking)
Thanks for yet another delicious looking and healthy share. We can use more of these
Thanks, Chris. That holiday baking will do it to you every time! This is a great dish to keep things light at dinner so you can finish the meal with a little treat.
Oo sounds like a fun weekend, but get your need to detox a bit. This is such a beautiful way to do it.
Thank you, Belinda. And boy, did I ever need to detox – but it was so worth it.
Comforting and healthy! Love this stew!
Thanks, Maria. Comforting and healthy is definitely a good combination in my books.
I was wondering what you made yesterday after I saw your Tweet!
Everyone was certain I was making Thai food. That actually sounds really good, too – I might have to do that next.
Hey,
I am SO going to put this on next weeks recipe line-up. It looks delish
Thanks!
Becca
Thanks, Becca. I hope you enjoy it!
wow, that looks simply amazing !!!
Thanks, Priya. It’s a very satisfying dish.
Breathtaking
Thank you, Alison.
I always detox on Mondays, great way to start the week
this looks and sounds amazing, I’ve never thought of using coconut milk in veggie stews. Yum!
You’re right – eating light on Monday is a great way to set the stage for a week of healthy eating.
What a lovely stew…will want to try this
Thank you. I hope you get a chance to try it.
Looks so nice! That’ s a very good mix, especially quinoa with butternut squash. But what about the lovely chick-peas I see on pictures? maybe I’m missing something but I cannot find where you mention it?
Cheers,
Eric
Thanks so much for the heads-up, Eric. I fixed the recipe to include those little chickpeas.
Yum! Quinoa and chickpeas are two of my favorite things!
Thanks, Jamie. I cook with both of those ingredients a lot and particularly enjoy chickpeas when they have a chance to soak up the flavors from a simple sauce like this.
Looks like a wonderful, healthy, unique dinner idea!
Thanks, Lori. It’s an easy one for busy weeknights.
This looks so healthy and delicious. I need to make this next time hubs is gone
Or just add a little chicken or beef to his portion.
Love this healthy vegetable stew, nice combination of flavors and nutrient rich foods. We all need a little detox right now!
Yes, we do, Jeanette. The treats are already starting to pile up around here.
Yumm! This looks amazing and I love that it’s healthy!
Thanks, Natalie. It’s a meal that satisfies but doesn’t make you feel stuffed.
With coconut milk – this sounds awesome!
Thanks, Ewa. The coconut milk, while not an obvious in this, adds a nice depth of flavor.
Dara, this looks SO good. And so good for you. I mean, really, it’s perfect for a nice detox from some good eating! Your weekend sounded wonderful!! Hope you are well!
Thanks, Aggie! It was indeed a wonderful weekend. It would have been wonderful to have you there with us. I miss you!
This looks delicious. And perfect timing – I think I’m ready for detoxing…and we still have a long stretch of holiday eating to go!
Just the title of this recipe had me hooked like a fish on a pole! This looks incredibly easy to make with simple, flavorful foods. I’m sure it’s a crowd favorite. Thanks for sharing!
xo,
Katie
Dara, I too went meatless the days after our amazing weekend. I had mostly veggies, lentils and nuts. Wish I had this recipe though. Looks wonderful!
Wonderful recipe Dara! I am bookmarking this for sure. I still have a bounty of homegrown butternuts waiting for their delicious demise in my basement.
Great inspiration!
Looks looks almost too good to eat! I just started using coconut milk in cooking and it makes such a nice difference!
I just made this for dinner and it’s so delicious! It also feels good to eat because I know it’s healthy!
I’m so glad, Kelli. Thanks so much for letting me know.
This was awesome. The nutty flavor of the quinoa was a perfect complement to the stew….
Any tips on what to do w/ the rest of the coconut milk? I have more squash too, I will probably make another batch of this for my lunches here at home w/ the kids…
I made this tonight for dinner and it was a great way to use up some leftover coconut milk (other half was in a curry). I ended up tossing everything in the pot all at once, so I don’t lose any of the butternut squash goodness and so flavours would be more integrated. Also added a cup of veg broth to thin out the consistency. Next time I may add some spicyness, since coconut milk seem to beg for it.
Thanks for letting me know. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I always love to hear the changes that other make to suit their taste buds.
I have a vegetarian coming to live with me for the next 3 weeks and this immediately caught my eye. Anything with coconut is a winner for me and I love chickpeas too so I shall be making this asap. Thanks for the recipe
I made this last night for my family and wanted to let you know what a hit it was. Even the 6 and 4 year olds cleared their plate, which isn’t always the case. Thank you for a keeper.
This is absolutely delicious! Best detox stew after all the Christmas glutany! Do you have any idea what the nutritional values are? Thank you for this recipe
Kelly, I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed this. I’m sorry – I haven’t figured out the nutritional data for this one, but here is a site that will help you do so: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp I hope that helps! I do plan to start including nutritional information for future recipes very soon.
I just made this !
Its awesome and not very long to make (quite messy though… two different saucepans and a frying pan—ugh)
I would suggest making a little more quinoa as I felt there was too much sauce for the grain (don’t double it though.. just maybe 1 cup instead of 2/3rds)
Thanks !
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