Thinking of so many good friends and my wonderful Moroccan neighbors in Cote St Luc! I learned so much from the delicious way that they were able to blend spices to make exotic concoctions to please anyone’s taste buds.

I recently made and enjoyed the following recipe, realizing that with Shavuot approaching this might make a good side dish for a vegetarian or dairy meal. I learned that it could easily be used as a main or side dish for Shabbat dinner as well.

Ingredients:

(Full disclosure: I omitted the lemon juice and the cilantro.)

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook a few minutes until the onion softens.

Stir in cumin, cinnamon, turmeric and cayenne; cook for 30 seconds to one minute until spices are fragrant. Add tomatoes, broth, chickpeas, squash, lentils, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover; reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until squash is tender and lentils are fully cooked.

Stir in lemon juice and sprinkle with cilantro as desired.

Suggested to be served with a dollop of yogurt, which I did not do.

By Nina Glick

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