White bean, white wine and kale stew

We made an epic ladcykel trip to Istanbul Bazaar the other week. S found a huge bag of white beans and insisted on buying it, on the condition that he cook them himself. A month or so later it became clear this would never happen, so I got started. I cooked a load of them, then we ate white bean things pretty much every night for a work week. See also white bean spread and white bean pasta.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup cooked white beans
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup white wine
2-3 kale leaves, roughly chopped
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
salt+pepper

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and fry until softened. Add white beans, tomato and white wine and simmer until all is softened and the wine is mostly evaporated. Add kale and oregano, cook for a few minutes more and check for seasoning. Eat with crusty bread. Just as good if not better reheated.

Bean and tomato stew

I am trying to use things up. I don't eat cheese, but S does, and I couldn't let him throw away a perfectly good parmesan rind. This also used up some beans and red wine that had been waiting for their moment for too long. And it's a good combination: beans and tomato and herbs and lush, rich sauce.

~2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tin tomatoes
~2 tbsp tomato puree
1 parmesan cheese rind
1 tin lima beans
~1 1/2 cups white beans (cooked and frozen)
~1/2 cup red wine
1-2 tsp dried oregano
1-2 tsp dried basil
1-2 tsp dried thyme
pinch of dried red chilli flakes
2 bay leaves
1-2 tsp dark soy sauce
salt+pepper

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, add onion and garlic, cover and cook until softened. Add the remaining ingredients (except salt, pepper and soy sauce), cover and cook for at least 45 min, before turning off the heat, tasting for seasoning (salt, pepper and soy sauce) and letting sit for another half an hour. Remove the cheese rind and bay leaves and reheat to serve. Good with bread or pasta or polenta.

Carrots, red lentils and big couscous

While S is away I've ended up spending a fair bit of time in the kitchen, trying to work my way through a backlog of vegetables. Having got more carrots in the CSA this week, I made an effort to get through all the titchy / odd-shaped ones still hanging around in the fridge from previous weeks - in this and piccalilli.

1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 in piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 green chilli, seeds removed, chilli chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped 
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander seed
2 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
~6 medium carrots, peeled and diced fairly fine (~1cm)
3/4 cup red lentils
1/2 cup big couscous
1 1/2 cups veg stock
2 tsp honey
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp soy sauce
salt+pepper
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli, cover and cook for a couple of minutes until starting to soften. Add the onion and cook for a few more minutes. Add the ground spices and cook, uncovered, for 30-60 sec, until fragrant. Add the carrots and mix / cook for a minute, then add the lentils and couscous and mix well. Add the stock, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the lentils, carrots and couscous are all cooked. Add the honey, lime juice, soy sauce and taste for seasoning. Mix in the fresh herbs. Eat warm.


I was aiming for something between a soup, a stew and a pilaf, which is what I ended up with: a warming, one-pot, Autumn dinner. Processing all those weirdo carrots took awhile but it was kind of nice to be cosy in the kitchen and feel useful.

Berberé Stew

Liked the simplicity of this recipe, and the sound of the spice mix.

Berberé spice mix:
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika (used red pepper flakes instead)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground sea salt

Stew:
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/4 cup red lentils
2 1/4 cups water
1 garlic clove, crushed
1-2 tbsp berberé spice mixture, above (used entire quantity made above)
1 800g can crushed tomatoes

Mix lentils with water, garlic, onion, and spices.  Cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 20 minutes or until the lentils have softened.  Watch carefully and add water if it starts to dry out.  Add the tomatoes and heat at least 15 more minutes.  Eat with rice or bread or on its own as a soup-stew.


Warming, and very rich in flavour.  Spice combo not a million miles from the ras el hanout I made not long ago.  This is a time for comforting, spicy, tomato-y, pulse-y stews.  I am sure whenever I eat fenugreek I can smell it coming out of my pores a day afterwards.  Or does fenugreek just smell like sweat?

Peanut and vegetable stew

We're running low on veggies, which is fine, as we're going to be away this weekend (Nuit Blanche!  Toronto! Niagara Falls!).  I was super tired this afternoon and took myself home around six to make this stew - kind of a mishmash of the veggies we had left / storecupboard stuff, but also kind of exactly what I felt like making and eating.

1 tbsp light olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large, not very hot green chilli, chopped
~1 in piece of ginger, chopped
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, ground
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 bay leaf
3 carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
1 tiny green pepper that fell off my pepper plant, chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
~5 large kale leaves, chopped
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp sunflower seed butter
1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup chickpeas
~1 tsp soy sauce
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large frying pan and add onion.  Cook until light gold, ~5min.  Add the chilli, ginger and garlic and fry for a minute or so.  Add the spices and toss for a minute or so.  Add carrots and green pepper.  Stir, then add the tinned tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, some salt+pepper and half a cup of water.  Put the lid on and cook for about 15 min, until the carrots are just tender.  Meanwhile, take out approx 2 tbsp of liquid from the pan and mix in a small bowl with the peanut butter and sunflower seed butter.  Add in the frozen chickpeas and cook for another 5 min.  Add the frozen peas and cook another minute or so.  Add the kale and cook til wilted.  Add the parsley, turn off the heat, season with soy sauce and taste to check seasoning.  Let sit for five minutes before eating.  It's pretty filling, so fine to eat on its own.


That turned into a long ingredient list... belying its origins.  Was simple, hearty and comforting for an autumn evening.