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Epicurious

Pork and Chickpea Stew With Cinnamon

Spiced Pork and Chickpea Stew on a brown marbled surface
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Nicole Louie

This simple, cozy stew involves a long hands-off cook time, but with only one pot to clean at the end of the meal, it’s definitely worth the wait. In 4 hours hunks of pork shoulder turn tender and shreddy; a tomato base gets perfumed with gentle warmth from cinnamon sticks and cayenne pepper; and chickpeas add a bit of creamy heft. If you don’t have dates on hand, you can sub in a teaspoon or two of honey to the braising liquid, but the finishing sprinkling of raw red onion and mint leaves is nonnegotiable. You’ll love the crisp, fresh notes they add to an otherwise deeply homey meal.

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