Spiced Stew

It's been very chilly around our neck of the woods lately, and to top it off Mother Nature dumped 2.5ft snow on us this week! So, after work and shovelling, I've wanted nothing more than to snuggle up with a bowl of filling bean stew. In an effort to ward off all those seasonal sniffles, I added lots of extra vitamins and nutrients- seeds, ginger, citrus, and veggies.
This takes around 40 minutes to make. Alternatively, you could dump the ingredients in a slow cooker on medium for 3 hours so you can get on with your chores while it cooks through!

Ingredients (feeds 4 hungry adults)
1 head bok choi- you could substitute this for kale or spinach
2 spring onions / scallions (optional- for garnish)
2 shishito peppers (optional- for garnish)
1 large sweet potato (can be replaced with 1 small or 1/2 large butternut squash)
1 potato
1 green bell pepper
1 can black beans
1/3 cup red lentils
1/4 cup rice (rinced and soaked)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds
1 tsp chipotle flakes
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 can crushed tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 shallot
1 lemon
1 knob ginger
1 cup water
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar


Method
Add the cumin seeds, nigella seeds, and chilli flakes to a saucepan on medium heat to toast for a few minutes.
Once toasted, add a little water along with the garlic, ginger, and chopped shallot.
Once the garlic and shallot start to soften, add the cubed butternut squash, potato, lentils and rice and the rest of the water.
Cover and leave for 15 minutes to allow the vegetables to soften.
Add the crushed tomatoes and black beans and stir.
Once the lentils and rice are soft, add the bok choi, chopped, and the juice of half the lemon, cover and leave for another 5 minutes.
Serve in a large bowl  garnished with finely chopped shishito peppers,  spring onions, and a lemon wedge alongside a chunk of home made bread.