A Moroccan stew that helps high blood pressure

Even meat eaters will love this flavour-packed vegetable stew. Despite the long list of ingredients, the stew is simple to prepare for a hearty family meal.

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
• 1 large red onion
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) fresh ginger
• 5 ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
• 5 ml (1 tsp) ground cumin
• 5 ml (1 tsp) ground coriander
• 6 green cardamom pods, split open and seeds lightly crushed
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 cans (400 ml/14 oz each) no-salt-added chopped tomatoes
• 3 large carrots, thickly sliced
• 300 ml (1 1/4 c) low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 125 g (1/2 c) raisins
• 75 g (1/3 c) dried cherries
• 125 g (1/2 c) sliced okra
• 1 large red pepper, chopped
• 1 can (425 g/15 oz) chickpeas
• 50 g (1⁄4 c) toasted sliced almonds
• 45 ml (3 tbsp) chopped parsley

• 250 g (1 c) couscous
• 500 ml (2 c) vegetable broth
• 10 ml (2 tsp) olive oil
• 5 ml (1 tsp) chili sauce
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) ground coriander
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) ground cumin

Preparation time: 25 minutes. Cooking time: 30 minutes. Serves 4.

1. Peel, seed and cube the squash. Heat the oil in a very large pan and stir-fry the roughly chopped onion over a high heat until beginning to soften and colour, 2 to 3 minutes. Toss in the garlic and minced ginger and cook for a few more seconds. Add the squash and stir-fry for about 1 minute.
2. Turn down the heat to medium. Add the spices, bay leaves, tomatoes and carrots. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the raisins and cherries, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the couscous. Put the couscous in a large bowl and pour in the boiling broth. Add the oil, chili sauce and spices. Leave until the liquid has been completely absorbed, about 5 minutes, then fluff the mixture with a fork to separate the grains. Pour into a colander lined with greaseproof paper.
4. Stir the okra and red pepper into the stew, then cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the drained chickpeas and stir. Set the colander with the couscous over the pan and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, but still retain their shape and texture, 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Add the couscous to a platter. Pile the vegetable stew on top of the couscous and scatter with toasted almonds and chopped fresh parsley.

• Replace the cherries and raisins with dried apricots. Use halved green beans instead of the okra and substitute fresh cilantro for the parsley.
• Add 30 millilitres (2 tablespoons) chopped fresh cilantro to the tagine at the end of the cooking time. Scatetr some over the finished dish.
• Whole new potatoes can replace the carrots.
• Red kidney beans can be used as an alternative to the chickpeas. Instead of adding them to the tagine, toss them into the couscous for added texture.

Nutritional information per serving:

• 600 Calories
• 100 Calories from Fat
• 11 g Fat
• 2 g Saturated Fat
• 0 g Trans Fat
• 19 g Protein
• 109 g Carb
• 19 g Fibre
• 190 mg Sodium
• 123 mg Vitamin C
• 142 mg Magnesium
• 1107 mg Potassium
• 227 mg Calcium

Beans and chickpeas are an excellent source of protein, even better when they're eaten with grains, such as couscous. Luckily, this easy stew has both.