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Thursday 12 June 2014

Stew it up

Now that the weather is getting cooler, it’s been so much fun coming up with tasty and hearty dishes that keep me satisfied and feeling nurtured.

The following two recipes are stews, which I love making as they are super simple, fast and last well in the fridge for a couple of days so you can either freeze the left overs, or keep it for tomorrow’s lunch and/or dinner.

You’ll have to forgive me as I’m writing the recipes way after the fact so hopefully my memory serves me and I don’t leave out any ingredients!

Black Bean and Quinoa Stew
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves
1/2 brown onion, diced
1 cup chopped pumpkin
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 cups of chopped silverbeet
1 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup of chopped capsicum
1/2 cup of quinoa, soaked and rinsed
1 can of organic black beans, rinsed really well
1 vegan stock cube
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 cups of water

Method

In a large pot, add 1/4 cup of water, the garlic and spices and gently cook until they are fragrant.

Add the vegetables, except the silverbeet and beans, and give it a good stir so that they are covered with the spices and garlic.
Add the water, quinoa and stock cube.

You may need to crush the stock cube once it’s in the pan, and stir to combine.

Bring to the boil over medium heat, then, lower heat to simmer and cover with lid.

Check after about 15-20 minutes to see if the quinoa is cooked. Adjust seasoning at this stage and if you feel it’s too dry, add some more water.   If you feel there’s too much liquid, cook it for a bit longer with the lid off so some of the liquid evaporates.  Add the beans and silverbeet and cook for a further 5 minutes.  Basically you just want to warm the beans through and keep the silverbeet vibrant and green.

Serve into bowls and eat.

I eat this on it’s own or with some cauliflower mash.

Spiced red lentil and Root Vegetable Stew
Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup red lentils, soaked overnight and rinsed
1 brown onion, diced
1 parsnip, diced
1 swede, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 sweet potato, diced
1 red capsicum (pepper), diced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 Tbs of freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
5 fresh curry leaves
1/2 Tbs of turmeric
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
2 tsp of ground coriander
1/2 tsp of Himalayan pink salt
2 tsp of tamarind puree
1 cup of water*
1 can of organic canned tomatoes
1/4 cup coconut milk

fresh coriander and coconut kefir to garnish
some papadums for dipping and scooping**

Method

Add some water to a large saucepan and add the spices and ginger over a medium heat.   Once it becomes aromatic, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, a few minutes.

Add the veggies and stir to cover with the spices, cook for about 5 minutes, then add the lentils, canned tomatoes and water.

Stir to combine and bring it to the boil, then lower heat to low-med, cover with lid and leave to cook for about 25 – 30 minutes, until the vegetables and lentils are soft.

Once the vegetables and lentils are ready, stir in the coconut milk and tamarind puree, and stir gently to combine.  You don’t want to mash the vegetables!  You can adjust seasoning at this point if required.

Serve on it’s own, topped with a generous tablespoon of coconut kefir and some fresh coriander.

*You may need more water, but start with 1 cup.  You want it to be thick and saucy not soupy.

**I used store bought papadums which I just prepared in the microwave.

As you can see, I didn’t add any oil when I made the above recipes because you just don’t really need to.  However, I know some people love to fry up their spices so feel free to use some coconut oil if you so desire.

Hope you enjoy the above recipes and that they make you feel warm and toasty all over!

Please let me know if you have any problems with the recipes, like I said, I’m relying on my memory (gasp!), which if I believe what my husband tells me, is pretty unreliable!


Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

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