Moroccan stew and Manaquis bilzatar

What and what? Today's lunch was a trip to the regions of Morocco and Lebanon. A stew accompanied with a Lebanese-style z'atar seasoned flat bread. It was my first attempt at making the bread and as with any challenge, it was fun, and on the bonus side, it turned out amazing.

Moroccan spiced pumpkin, barley, chickpea, and mushroom stew

Manaquis bilzatar

The stew was started with a simmer of extra virgin olive oil, yellow onions, garlic, ginger, spices (Spanish paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, and red chili flakes). Next came the mushrooms. Be sure to cook these well so that the flavors of the mushroom can seep out. The delicata squah was stirred in along with some vegetable stock. Pre-cooked barley and chickpeas then joined the party along with some additional vegetable stock. Add only so much stock so that it honors the stew aspect of the dish. And note that the longer the stew sits, the more the barley will soak up the liquid. At the end, add some fresh lemon juice and voila! You got yourself a very savory and balanced stew. The garnish of grated granny smith apples, parsley, and lemon juice provided a light contrast to the depth of the stew. And that beautiful, deep purple garnish: bulls blood from beets! I found the recipe for the flat bread here. One of my co-workers suggested rather than cooking the bread on a pan, the pizza oven would be a good option, and boy was he right!