Sunday, December 16, 2007

Green bean and pumpkin stew

This is a really simple vegetable stew, which has a great mix of colours and flavours. The vegetables can, of course, be varied depending on preference and availability.




Ingredients1 large onion
olive oil
4 whole garlic cloves, unpeeled
500g of potatoes
500 g of butternut squash
500 g of green beans
2 teaspoons of paprika
salt
stock (chicken or vegetable) or water
a few springs of mint
400g tin of cannellini beans

Method
  1. Chop the onion, and add to a large pot with plenty of olive oil, and put on a low heat. (I usually add the onion before heating the oil, as it reduces the risk of you burning the onions.)
  2. While the onion is cooking, wash the potatoes, but leave the peel on, and chop into 4 or 8 pieces, depending on the size. Remove the thick rind from the squash, and chop the flesh into pieces, about the same size as the potato pieces. Top and tail the beans, wash, and chop into 2 or 3 pieces.
  3. Once the onion is slightly golden, add the whole, unpeeled garlic cloves and fry for a couple more minutes. Add the paprika, stir and fry for a few seconds, then add the potatoes and squash, and enough stock to just cover. Add some salt. (The amount will depend on how salty your stock is.) 
  4. After about 10 minutes, add the green beans, drained cannellini beans and the mint, and continue cooking until all the vegetables are nice and tender.