Today we begin a new monthly feature: a vegetarian recipe, made from ingredients available in Senegal. Our guest is P. and she blogs at For the Love of Fulani.

I love food blogs, getting new recipes and testing them out on my husband and friends. And I love to be in the kitchen… except when it’s 110 degrees outside, which is – let’s face it – 80% of the time where I live. So I try to find quick easy recipes that will get me in and out without breaking too much of a sweat!

In our house, I go through phases of favorites. Right now I’m on a Moroccan kick so I was excited to find a spice blend when I was perusing Fine Cooking’s page last week. A couple of butternut squash, a few pieces of pumpkin that needed to be used and a small amount of quick-cooking polenta later… and dinner was born.

My Moroccan Spice Mix

2 ½ tsp. ground cumin
¾ tsp. ground coriander (I bought whole coriander in Dakar, which I just ground up in a spice grinder)
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. smoked paprika (regular works just fine too)
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. cayenne
Pinch ground cloves

Mix everything together in a small bowl and voila! It makes quite a bit so put it in a container and save for another yummy meal.

I’m thinking I’ll use it next with some chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber and couscous (and maybe with some chicken for my non-vegetarian hubby) for a quick and light lunch.

Moroccan Spiced Squash

5 cups of cubed squash (pumpkin, butternut or both), peeled and cut into small cubes, approx. 1” (for me this was two smallish squash and 2 4” pieces of pumpkin)
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp of salt
¼ tsp of black pepper
1 ½ tsp of the Moroccan spice mix

Preheat oven to 218 C or 425 F. In a small bowl add all the ingredients and mix until the squash is well coated. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put squash on the sheet in a single layer. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until squash is tender. Be sure to gently stir the squash every 10-12 minutes for even browning. When squash is tender, remove and serve!
I served mine over some quick-cooking polenta that I bought at the Hypermarché off the VDN. Throw in a handful of grated Emmental cheese, a couple tablespoons of parmesan cheese, some salt and pepper and you have yourself a quick, easy and delicious vegetarian dinner!
Enjoy!