Part of the fall CSA box had many different winter squashes and it’s time to make something from one of them. In researching the environmental footprint of this recipe I learned a lot about lentils.This was a recipe that was tasty and fun to research it’s origins.
Moroccan Pumpkin and Lentil Stew
Recipe from Vegetarian Times
Serves 8
- 2 Tbs. olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
- 1 jalapeño chile, seeded and sliced
- 1 cup green lentils, rinsed
- 1 Tbs. paprika
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes, or 4 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 2-lb. pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cubed
- ½ cup tomato purée
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro, for garnish
1. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and jalapeño, and sauté 10 minutes, or until onion is translucent and golden. Add tomatoes, lentils and spices, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Stir in pumpkin cubes, tomato purée and 2 1/2 cups water. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Reduce heat to medium low, and cook 40 minutes, or until pumpkin and lentils are tender, stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with cilantro, and serve hot.
How did I do environmentally?
Quick summary: This was a relatively low impact recipe. Spices and oil were imported but all vegetables were locally grown and traveled well under a 100 miles radius. To reduce my environmental impact even more I would need to substitute the lentils for locally organic beans. I could switch from olive oil to locally grown and pressed sunflower oil. Very appealing.
Deeper dive:
Ingredients
Much of the produce was grown locally and bought from the Ann Arbor Farmers Market and CSA. This includes the onion, jalapeño, cayenne peppers, kabocha pumpkin, tomatoes canned from CSA box earlier in season. All of these products only traveled 26 miles one way from Tantre Farm, and were all organic. Cilantro also came from the Farmers market.
Olive oil is from Greece, purchased from sparrow Meats in Kerrytown. I like getting my olive oil from Sparrow. We are able to refill our oil bottles from their bulk barrel, reducing recycling of oil containers.
I’m not sure about the Paprika, it could be from Hungary or Spain. There is California grown paprika, but Hungarian is the most flavorful from information I could find, with Spanish a close second.
Lentils get there own paragraph because they were the most fun to learn about and there is so much great information online. I assumed the lentils in my cupboard came from another continent but not so. To my surprise most of our lentils are grown in Saskatchewan, Canada. I used French lentils in this stew because they are my favorite these days. I think they hold up better, don’t disintegrate, and are visually appealing. Brown lentils are not very attractive as a dish, yummy but homely. While India eats the most lentils in the world, they eat most of their supply and import the extra primarily from Canada. Lentils are grown in a few states in the USA, primarily Montana and North Dakota. After looking around there are farms that sell lentils direct in Michigan but organic are harder to find. Purchases are in the 5 or 35 pound sizes. More information on lentils.
A fun website to visit is a tour around the world with Canadian Chef Michael Smith, AKA Lentil Hunter. This is fun, colorful and looks delicious as Chef Smith tours markets and restaurants for local dishes. The biggest disappointment is that he does not tour his own country and we see nothing of Canadian lentil farms or restaurants.
Waste
There was no waste other than vegetable bits in the compost.
Water Footprint
Why consider water in my calculations?
Huffington post puts it in perspective:
Extensive drought has Californians thinking twice about running the tap while brushing their teeth or taking that 20-minute shower. But what some people don’t realize is that a huge portion of our water footprint is “hidden,” meaning it’s used for the things we eat or wear, and for the energy we use. Globally, agricultural production accounts for 92 percent of our water footprint. In the United States, meat consumption alone accounts for a whopping 30 percent of our water footprint. Read full article.
I have seen a lot of imported produce coming from South America and Mexico and it’s important to understand that much of the water in these areas is not managed well and often has poor infrastructure. This reports helps to understand the challenges there: LINK
On Mexico: LINK
According to Pulse Canada, pulses (lentils, peas and beans) require negligible irrigation if any at all. Soybeans use more. Go here for more information LINK
Watch this video on Canadian Pulses sustainability
Conclusion
This was a satisfactory recipe made up of mostly local produce, low water, some imported spices that I can feel good about making over and over.
Zero Kitchen 