Recipe - Moroccan Stew With Couscous

STEW
1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
1 One half cup Chopped onion
2 Garlic cloves; minced
Three fourths teaspoon Salt; divided
1 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
One half teaspoon Ginger, ground
One half teaspoon Tumeric, ground
One fourth teaspoon Nutmeg, ground
One fourth teaspoon Red pepper, ground
2 cup Water
3 Cloves, whole
2 cup Sliced carrots
2 cup Cubed butternut squash
2 cup Chickpeas, cooked or canned
(drained and rinsed)
1 One half cup Cubed sweet potato
One half cup Raisins
1/3 cup Chopped dried apricots
3 tablespoon Brown sugar, packed

COUSCOUS
1 cup Couscous
1 Three fourths cup Water

TOPPING
1/3 cup Chopped blanched almonds

FOR THE STEW: In a 4quart saucepan, heat the oil over mediumhigh heat.
Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, until softened. Add One half tsp.
of the salt and all of the cinnamon, ginger, tumeric, nutmeg, and red
pepper, stirring until absorbed. Add the water and cloves; bring to a
boil. Add the carrot, squash, chickpeas, sweet potato, raisins, apricots,
and brown sugar, and return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer
uncovered, stirring occasionally, 40 to 45 minutes, or until the sweet
potato is tender. FOR THE COUSCOUS: During the last 5 minutes of cooking
the stew, place the couscous in a mediumsized bowl. Add the boiling water
and remaining One fourth teaspoon salt. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a
fork. Serve the stew over the couscous and top with the chopped almonds.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini