Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Ingredients

• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 medium yellow onions
• 1 T butter
• 1 T olive oil + additional if needed'
• 5 tsp harissa paste
• 3 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp each: paprika, cardamom, nutmeg, ground ginger, and cloves
• 2 yams, peeled and chunked
• 5 carrots, peeled and coined
• 1 25-oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed
• 2 sticks cinnamon, broken in half
• 2 cups broth or stock
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 28-oz can tomatoes
• 5 fresh apricots, diced
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved if you have time
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup currants
• For garnish:
• pitted green olives
• fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

1. The day before you plan to serve the stew, prepare through step 2.
2. Smash garlic and cut into rough chunks. Dice onion. In a large dutch oven, melt butter and add olive oil. Saute garlic and onion, stirring frequently, over medium-low heat until onion is translucent. Add harissa paste, cumin, ginger, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, cardamom, nutmeg, ground ginger, and cloves and let toast 30 seconds.
3. Stir in yams and carrots, adding a splash more of olive oil if needed. Cook until just tender, about 10 minutes, before adding garbanzo beans, broth or stock, and white wine. Scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer, than add canned tomatoes and their liquid, apricots, and grape tomatoes. Cover and simmer at least half an hour and up to two hours or until yams and carrots are tender enough to cut with a fork. Stir in lemon juice and currants.
4. Let cool and refrigerate overnight. The next day, reheat gently until simmering. Add water or additional broth, 1/4 cup at a time if sauce is too thick. Five minutes before serving, stir a handful or two of pitted green olives into the stew to warm.
5. Serve over couscous, garnishing each serving with fresh cilantro leaves.