Halloween comes early with this magical one pot (cauldron?) stew from Darina Allen’s latest book
Black-eyed bean, pumpkin & chickpea stew
One of the very best vegetarian one-pot dishes. What’s not to like about black-eyed beans, chickpeas and pumpkin with lots of spices? Delicious on its own, but equally good with roast chicken or a few lamb chops. Eat with flatbreads or pilaff rice, if you prefer.
Serves 6
Ingredients
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 x 2.5cm cinnamon stick
150g onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
225g fresh mushrooms, sliced approx. 3mm thick
450g pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cut in 2cm cubes
400g fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
a pinch of sugar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
450g cooked black-eyed beans, strained (reserving the cooking liquid)
225g cooked chickpeas, strained (reserving the cooking liquid)
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
For the mint yogurt
300ml natural yogurt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
Method
Heat the oil in a sauté pan over a medium-high heat. When it is hot, put in the whole cumin seeds and the cinnamon stick. Let them sizzle for 5–6 seconds, then put in the onions and garlic. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until the onion is just beginning to colour at the edges. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms wilt, then add the pumpkin or squash, tomatoes, ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric, a pinch of sugar and the cayenne. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, then cover with a lid and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and tip in the drained beans and chickpeas. Add the salt and freshly ground pepper, together with 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander. Pour in 150ml of bean cooking liquid and 150ml of the chickpea liquid (or 300ml vegetable stock if you’ve used tinned pulses). Bring everything back to the boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans and chickpeas are tender.
To make the mint yogurt, combine the yogurt with the chopped mint in a bowl.
Remove the cinnamon stick from the pan before serving and sprinkle with the remaining fresh coriander. Spoon into serving bowls and top with a dollop of the mint yogurt.
Accompany with a good green salad and rice, if you wish.
One Pot Feeds All by Darina Allen, published by Kyle Books, is out now priced £20
