Spiced Mexican Squash Stew

Katzen's Note:

From Moosewood Daily Special - an authentic Mexican stew with pretty colours - gold, red, green, and yellow, and some heat, too! And it's vegetarian, to boot!

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 6-8

Yield: 10.0 cups

• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil or 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups onions , chopped
• 6 garlic cloves , minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 butternut squash , halved
• ½ jalapeno , fresh, minced
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups tomatoes , chopped
• 2 cups red peppers or 2 cups green peppers , chopped
• 2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• sour cream (optional)
• monterey jack cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Place onions, garlic and salt in nonreactive soup pot. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 10 mins, stirring often, until the onions are translucent.
2. Meanwhile, halve and peel the squash, scoop out and discard the seeds, and dice into 1/2 inch cubes. If you have 5 cups or more of cubed squash, increase water by 1/2 to 3/4 cup. Add the squash, jalapeno, cinnamon, cumin, and water to the soup pot and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bell peppers and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until all of the vegetables are tender. Stir in the corn and return to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Serve each bowl topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of grated cheese.

Reviews

[JanuaryBride]

Nice, fresh stew. . .not heavy as you would imagine. I did throw in some Mexican Oregano and some extra cinnamon. I also ended up adding some chicken bouillon and some Jugo Seasoning, as it was still a little too bland. I topped mine off with Queso Fresco, cilantro and a dollop of sour cream, all of which were great accents. UPDATE: This soup was even better the second time around (made it at lunch time, put it in the fridge and then served it for dinner); the squash soaked up some of the great flavors. THANKS! Made for ZWT5 for my teammate, Katzen.

[Prose]

This is the perfect thing for a winter evening! It was pretty easy to throw together, didn't take long to cook, and was very comforting. I used one red and one green bell pepper and loved the variety of colors. I added a can of black beans and a can of kidney beans for protein. I also added a cube of vegetarian chicken-flavored bouillon (will probably use 2 cubes next time). For the tomatoes I used a can fire-roasted tomatoes with adobo seasoning (highly recommended), and I used a whole large jalapeno, but did not find this to be spicy at all. That's okay because we added hot sauce upon serving. We also added some Tofutti brand vegan sour cream, fresh cilantro, and green onions. It made a lot, which is good, because I agree with JanuaryBride that the leftovers were even more delicious! Made for Veg*an Swap, January 2011.