Stew peas – red kidney bean and vegetable stew with spinners.

This is a great, tasty and filling stew, from ‘Original Flava‘ by Craig and Shaun McAnuff. It is also vegan, and very tasty. We used tinned beans and tinned tomatoes, but you could use dried beans and fresh tomatoes. As usual, we had to substitute a few things to dried versions; you could use whole allspice berries, fresh thyme, or a scotch bonnet pepper, but these are not readily available. 

The spinners are like long dumplings, but they should be very dense and quite chewy. There is more information about them here: https://www.thespruceeats.com/jamaican-spinners-recipe-2138153 

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 2 cans of red kidney beans, or 500g dried beans soaked overnight
  • 250ml water if using dried beans
  • 4 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
  • 2 heaped tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • 2 spring onions, roughly chopped
  • 1 level tsp salt
  • 1 to 3 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • 2 large waxy potatoes cut into 2cm cubes
  • 400g butternut squash or sweet potato, or a mix of the two, peeled, deseeded and diced into 2cm chunks
  • 3 large carrots, peeled and diced into 2cm chunks
  • 1 can of tomatoes, or 4 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 tsp scotch bonnet paste
  • For the spinners: 250g plain flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 100ml water

METHOD:

  • Soak the beans overnight if you are using dried beans. Drain and rinse the soaked beans and put in the pan with 250ml water, and bring to the boil.
  • Add garlic, thyme, allspice, spring onions, salt, black pepper and coconut milk. If you are using tinned beans, use this as the base along with the water that is in the tins, rinse out with a little fresh water to get all of the flavour in. If using fresh beans you’ll need to simmer together for 30 minutes. Tinned beans won’t take so long.
  • Once the beans are hot and tender, add a little more water if required, along with the potatoes, carrots, squash, tomatoes and scotch bonnet paste. Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes. 
  • While all of the simmering is going on, start making the spinners. Mix together the salt, flour and water, and make into a stiff dough, kneed this and let it sit for about 15 minutes, before rolling out to make spinners the shape of a pointy sausage, about the size of your little finger. 
  • The beans should be soft. Add a little water if needed, and put the spinners into the stew. Don’t worry too much about stirring them in; they are quite heavy and will tend to sink. Simmer for a further 15 minutes. 

This is quite carb heavy, so we ate it on its own, but it is usually served with rice. It is good with a side dish of a green vegetable such as broccoli. 

 

 

Courgette and sweet potato soup

I got this recipe from the women who run the cafe at Hebridean Jewellery, which is just down the road. I’ve now made it a couple of times, using slightly different herbs, and it is delicious and creamy, whilst being completely vegan. I got the idea of using mint from the incomparable book ‘A celebration of soup’ by Lindsay Bareham. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 2 large courgettes, peeled and sliced
  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
  • 4 white potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 2 red chillies, finely chopped, or a 1/2 tsp dried red pepper
  • 3 tsp dried basil, or 2 tsp dried mint
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil and chopped parsley to serve

METHOD:

  • Saute the onions in the olive oil over a low heat. When they are soft, add the chilli and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes more. 
  • Add the other vegetables, herbs and stock, and bring to a simmer. Cook for another 20 to 30 minutes, until all of the vegetables are tender. 
  • Use a soup wand to blend the soup thoroughly so it is smooth
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper; I used salt-free stock and I needed to add a level tsp 
  • Serve with a small swirl of extra-virgin olive oil and chopped parsley. 

 

 

Mole with black beans

My daughter has been staying, and she and her boyfriend cooked me this dish. I didn’t really see what they put in it, but I did some research afterwards. I was sort of watching, and then I looked up some more information about the recipe. 

First off, think of guacamole, an avocado dish. The last part of that word, that is how you pronounce mole, it means a sauce, and there are many kinds. The type of mole that was prepared for me was an especially complicated one, to celebrate the fact that we were all together for Easter.

This recipe is based on a celebratory dish that is prepared usually for the Mexican day of the dead. The spice mix is usually prepared in a spice mill, and can contain thirty or more ingredients, including several types of chillies, chocolate, nuts, sesame seeds and dried fruit. The resulting sauce is dark, unctuous and rich, fruity and spicy.

We used a small mechanical spice grinder to mix and grind the dried ingredients, and then used a soup wand to make sure the sauce was rich and smooth before adding the black beans. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 25g Pumpkin seeds
  • 25g Pecan nuts
  • 25g Almonds
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 8 cloves
  • 50g Sesame seeds for a garnish at the end
  • Peanut or sunflower oil
  • A mixture of dried chillies (the suggested trio is mulato, ancho and morita, I used paprika, cayenne, birdseye and chipotle) – to taste.
  • 8 cloves of garlic
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes or 8 whole tomatoes
  • 700ml vegetable stock
  • 2 tsp oregano (more authentic would be Mexican Oregano)
  • 2 tsp thyme (more authentic would be Epazote)
  • A pinch of anise powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • Dried white bread, or panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 1-2 tsp date syrup, to taste and add a fruity flavour
  • 25g dark unsweetened chocolate, the expensive stuff
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 to 3 tins of black beans, drained
  • Chopped coriander leaves

Most of the herbs and spices are available from Seasoned Pioneers – but you’d have to be really keen to get to grips with Mexican cookery, or like a very cluttered spice shelf. 

METHOD:

  • In a large dry pan, over a low to medium  heat, toast all of the nuts, pumpkin seeds and whole spices for around five minutes. Stir all the time, and don’t take your eye off them, so they don’t burn. Set aside. Grind the toasted dried ingredients in the spice mill once they have cooled. 
  • In the same pan, toast the sesame seeds the same way, and set aside. 
  • Wipe the pan clean, and cook the peppers in oil for around three minutes, until they are beginning to char, around three minutes. 
  • Add the whole garlic cloves for the last thirty seconds and continue to cook. When done, set aside.
  • In the same pan, add a little more oil. Gently fry the chopped red onion until it is beginning to brown 
  • Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer, you could also add soaked dried apricots or sultanas at this stage
  • Set aside the toasted sesame seeds to garnish at the end. To the pan, add in the rest toasted ingredients, herbs, cinnamon and anise powder, the dried bread crumbs, peanut butter, tahini and the stock, and blend with a soup blender. 
  • Make sure the sauce is really smooth, you may want to put it through a coarse strainer or fine mouli, just to get it smooth enough. 
  • Once the sauce is smooth enough and any stray seeds have been sieved out, bring it back to a simmer for around five minutes to cook the flavours together. Season with salt to taste.
  • Melt the chocolate into the sauce. Adjust the sweetness and fruitiness with the date syrup.  Here is the point when you can start testing the sauce and add ingredients to get it just right. 
  • Drain the beans, and add to the smooth sauce. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and chopped coriander.

Serve with lime wedges to add some sourness, and some plain boiled rice. You could also serve guacamole as a side dish, but buying avocadoes in the local shops can be a bit of a gamble. For a less vegetarian version, you could use fried fish cakes or broiled chicken instead of the black beans. 

Armenian bean and walnut beorijch

This is an unusual combination, very tasty and relatively simple and quick to make, especially if you use tinned beans. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 225g Black eyed beans (or 2 cans of black eyed beans)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  •  1 clove of garlic, chopped
  • 2 large tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 125g walnuts (you could add or substitute almonds)
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • salt and pepper
  • a teaspoon of date molasses or sugar

METHOD:

  • Soak the beans overnight, and then simmer in plenty of fresh water for 30 to 45 minutes. Drain and set aside. 
  • If you are using walnuts bought in the UK, they are probably quite bitter. Soak them overnight in cold water as well, and drain. 
  • In a food processer, chop the notes roughly
  • Use a large pan. Heat the olive oil over a low heat, and cook the onion slowly for ten minutes. 
  • Add the garlic, tomaotes and tomato puree and continue to cook for a further ten minutes. 
  • Add the nuts, parsley and beans, mashing them together slightly. 
  • Season with salt and pepper, and a little date molasses. Continue to cook, stirring, for another ten minutes. 

For a variation, add a pinch of mild chilli flakes, such as Pul Biber, when adding the garlic. 

We served this with brocolli and greek flatbreads and feta cheese. 

Aubergine, black-eyed bean and dill curry by Meera Sodha

This recipe first appeared in the Guardian in 2017, and has become one of my daughter’s go-to recipes. It is quite quick and easy, and delicious. I don’t worry about salting the aubergines that are in the shops just now, they don’t have many seeds and they are young and tender.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 4 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 400g tinned tomatoes
  • 1 1/4 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, or any other regular mild to moderate chilli powder
  • 3/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 slightly heaped tsp salt
  • around 3 aubergines, cut in half lengthways and then into 1cm thick slices
  • 300g dried black-eyed beans (or two cans of cooked beans)
  • 40g fresh dill
  • greek yoghurt, salted and whipped with dill and mint.  

METHOD:

  • Rinse the black-eyed beans and put them in a lot of cold water on the hob, bring to the boil and simmer while you chop and cook the rest of the ingredients. Top up with water so they don’t boil dry. 
  • Heat the oil over a medium heat, and then add the chopped garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes until it starts to colour, and then lob in the tomatoes, turn the heat down and simmer until the mixture is soft. You should do this for tinned tomatoes as well, as it will lessen the tinny taste. 
  • Add the chilli, turmeric and salt and cook for a couple of minutes before adding in the aubergine. Stir, cover and cook over a low heat for at least 20 minutes, until the aubergines are tender.
  • Stir in the beans, bring back to a simmer, and adjust the seasoning. 
  • Just before serving, add the chopped dill. 

This is good with plain boiled rice, yoghurt and flat-breads, and possibly a side salad. For a vegan version, use a vegan yoghurt. 

Lou’s vegan chilli

My sister Louise made this for one of the meals at Christmas. It doesn’t cost much, can be used with tinned ingredients, and it is vegan and delicious. It also freezes well. There are various substitutions and variations that can be made, depending on what you have in the kitchen. As you vary the ingredients, you may find that the fluid quantities need adjusting, so keep an eye on it as it cooks and top up as required. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 cm of ginger root, peeled and finely chopped – vary quantity to taste
  • 1 tbsp chilli flakes, for example, pul biber – pick your favourite for heat, or add sriracha chilli sauce
  • 1 tsp cumin (ground, or whole seeds bashed in a pestle and mortar)
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 3 tins of tomatoes, chopped for preference
  • 300g green lentils, presoaked
  • 200g of starch grain, such as bulgar wheat, pearl barley, brown rice or buckwheat. Not couscous
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder, or 100g dark chocolate
  • 400g tin of beans, such as haricot beans, cannelini beans, navy beans, black-eyed beans. Alternatively, soak 300g dried beans overnight, and simmer for 45 minutes to cook. 
  • 1 to 2 litres of marigold stock or other stock
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Use a very large pan. Heat the vegetable oil over a low heat, and cook the onion, garlic and ginger for ten minutes, until it is soft. 
  • Add the chilli, cumin and paprika, and cook for a further two minutes. 
  • Add 1 litre of stock and all of the other ingredients, and bring to a simmer. 
  • Simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, topping up with stock as required. Stop when the lentils and grains are cooked. 
  • Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

  • Tortillas or wraps, with yoghurt
  • Spooned over corn chips, topped with grated cheese and grilled, served with guacamole and salsa
  • In a taco with all of the extra bits
  • In a sandwich with grated cheese, possibly toasted
  • With brown rice, sour cream and chopped tomatoes or a side serving of green vegetables. (which is what we had with Lou)

 

Lentil and Bulgar wheat pilaf

I made this to go with the lamb rib dish that I discovered. It is nutritious enough in itself not to need any meat, and it is filling. It makes a good base for adding other ingredients. Try serving it with kale seasoned with za’atar spice blend and lime juice. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 100g green lentils
  • 150g coarse bulgar wheat
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, sliced in half and then finely sliced into half-rings
  • 350ml water or stock
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • ground pepper

METHOD:

  • Rinse the lentils and soak the bulgar wheat in cold water
  • Boil the lentils in plenty of unsalted water for around 15 minutes, then drain them and set them aside
  • Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and cook the onions over a low heat for around 15 minutes, until they are caramelised. 
  • Drain the bulgar wheat and add to the saucepan as soon as the onions are cooked to your liking. Stir, add the lentils and stock or water. Season with salt and pepper, and bring to the boil. 
  • Cover and simmer for around 15 minutes, then turn the heat off, wrap the lid in a teatowel and replace onto the pan, and let it rest for around ten minutes before serving. 

If you are going to make this to serve with the lamb ribs, you should start making the pilau before you sort out the ribs. 

Kale, lentil, carrot and sweet potato soup

This is very filling, we got six portions from this easily. It is more of a stew than a soup, really. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp chopped ginger
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 250g puy lentils or similar brown lentils
  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
  • a bunch of Kale leaves, ribs removed and chopped
  • 1 litre vegetable stock, such as Marigold
  • Salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Heat the oil in a large pan, and fry the onion gently with the garlic, ginger, turmeric, chilli flakes and cinnamon, until soft. 
  • Add the sweet potatoes, carrots, and tomato puree, and stir. 
  • Add the stock and lentils and bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes with the pan covered, until the lentils are softening. 
  • Add the chopped kale, check and add water if required, and bring to a simmer again for 10 minutes. 
  • Check and season with salt and pepper.
 

Spicy carrot and red lentil soup

This soup is quite hot and spicy, but you can cut down on the chilli if you wish. The main flavours come from the use of Tunisian Tabil spice mix and from cumin seed. I got the spices from Seasoned Pioneers. There are a few variations that could be used. It could be vegan, you could add a seaweed stock instead of vegetable stock. If you stir in yoghurt, then it is still vegetarian, but not vegan. It is also good with a chicken stock. It also uses a lot of carrots, which is just as well, because I have grown very many. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 600g carrots, grated
  • 150g red lentils
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • a large thumb-sized nodule of ginger, chopped
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp tabil spice blend
  • 2 tsp chilli flakes
  • 2 -3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 litre of vegetable stock
  • 1/2 tsp salt

METHOD:

  • Use a large saucepan. Heat the olive oil and cook the onions over a low to medium heat, stirring, until the onions start to turn translucent, around five minutes. 
  • Add the ginger, garlic and spices, stir together and continue to cook for another couple of minutes. 
  • Add the carrots and lentils, mix in well, and then add a litre of stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for around seven minutes
  • Use a soup wand or blender to blitz the soup until it is smooth. 

We served this with bread and yoghurt. 

Spaghetti with courgettes

This year has been a bit slow for growing vegetables, the lack of sun has not helped at all. I have now got a lot of carrots, some broad beans, we’ve had a couple of crops of mange tout peas as well. I headed up to Tagsa Community Gardens to get some chard to cook with the beans, and ended up coming away with a couple of delicious courgettes. 

I made this recipe from ‘Dear Francesca‘, a book of Italian recipes, along with stories of the family that runs Valvona and Crolla. They used double these quantities; this made a good meal for the two of us. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2-3 courgettes
  • 3 tbsp good olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • a sprig of fresh rosemary
  • 180g spaghetti or similar pasta
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Put a large pan of salted water on to boil, and then cook the pasta. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the courgettes.
  • Clean the courgettes, trip off the top and tail, and grate with a coarse grater
  • Warm the olive oil, and add the garlic, fry it gently until it just starts to colour brown, and then add  the courgettes. Turn the heat up a little and stir, cooking until the courgettes are beginning to brown a little at the edges. Add the rosemary and season with salt, and then cover, and turn the heat off. 
  • Drain the cooked pasta, and add to the frying pan with the courgettes, toss and mix everything together, and serve with black pepper.