food hits and misses

This week's theme was hearty, which lead to a discussion about what makes a meal hearty. We agreed that some soups are hearty, but not all soups are. I think stews are hearty, and that a stew that can't be described as hearty isn't a very good stew at all. My dining companion in chief disagreed. In the end, neither of us could describe what qualifies. I think this recipe is, he wasn't entirely convinced. Regardless, it's very enjoyable and certainly didn't leave me any room for dessert.

The recipe is from one of my newest books - Vegetarian Slow Cooker: Over 200 Delicious Recipes. I wanted dinner a little bit quicker than that, so cooked it all in my favourite French oven. It worked perfectly well this way, and I probably wouldn't get my slow cooker out unless I needed the oven for something else. I replaced the peanuts with cashews and cashew almond and brazil nut paste, as I prefer their flavour. Since they're not as strongly flavoured as peanuts, I think I'd use half a jalapeno next time, with the added benefit of letting the flavour of the ancho through, too.

All in all, my only quibble with the recipe is the name. Describing something as an "African stew" makes about as much sense as calling ratatouille "European". Still, that's the name the cookbook used, so that's what I'll go with.

African-style Peanut Stew

2 tbspn coconut oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbspn ginger, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tspn cracked pepper
800g tinned tomatoes, with juice
2 cups vegetable stock
1 sweet potato, cubed
2 dried ancho chillies
1/2 to 1 jalapeno chilli, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
1/4 cup coriander, roughly chopped
1 capsicum, seeded and diced
1/4 cup roasted peanuts

Method

Preheat oven to 190 Celsius. Heat the oil in a large French oven or stockpot. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook, stirring, until softened.

Cook the vegies for around 7 minutes

Add garlic, ginger, slat and pepper, and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice and stir well. Add vegetable stock and sweet potato. Place lid on pot and cook for around one hour.

Ready to go in the oven

Meanwhile, soak the ancho peppers in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain, discarding the liquid and stems. Transfer to a blender, and add the jalapeno, peanut paste, coriander, and around 1/2 a cup of the stew liquid. Puree. Add to the pot along with the capsicum, cover and cook for another 15 to 30 minutes until the capsicum is tender and the flavours have melded. Serve over brown rice, garnished with roasted peanuts.

It's definitely stew season at the moment; we're having the coldest winter in the past 15 years. Despite being a great lover of all things summery, I'm handling it pretty well. Possibly because I've been filling up on warm and hearty soups and stews.

This recipe is really simple to make, without compromising flavour at all. If you're looking for something low fat and full of fibre, then look no further. If, on the other hand, you're on a low carb diet, keep browsing because this recipe is defintely not for you.

Spinach and chickpea stew

1 tbspn olive oil
2 onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic
1 pinch safron threads
1 tbspn ground cumin
2 potatoes
2 x 420g cans chickpeas, drained
1 tspn paprika
2 tbspn water
1 tbspn red wine vinegar
200g baby spinach leaves

Method

Preheat oven to 180 Celsius. Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan. Saute the onion until translucent. Add the garlic, saffron and cumin and cook until fragrant. Grate the potato, add to pan and toss to coat. Stir through the chickpeas and remove from heat. Place in oven and cook for around an hour. Remove from oven and return to stove top. Combine paprika, water and vinegar. Add to chickpea mix and stir well. Add spinach in batches, and cook until heated through. Serve with your favourite stew accompaniment.

It seems like every day is busier than the last at the moment. That, coupled with the way winter has hit with a vengeance, made getting the slow cooker out seem like a good idea. And so that's exactly what I did yesterday.

I've never done fish in a slow cooker before. It has always seemed like a bit of a waste given you can cook it up in next to no time on a bbq, in a fry pan or in a steamer. But I really felt like stew, and didn't want to spend a mountain of time checking or stirring dinner. The result was just perfect for a freezing night, took very little effort, and was pretty healthy compared to some comfort food.

We had flathead in the freezer, so that's what went in the cooker. I reckon one of the stronger tasting, firmer fish like barramundi or even swordfish would come up a treat.

Fish and capsicum stew

750g fish fillets, cubed
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 capsicum, seeded and sliced
1 tin tomatoes, crushed
300 ml fish stock
1 tspn ground turmeric
1 tspn ground cumin
1/4 preserved lemon, finely chopped
2 tbspn cornflour

Method

Place everything apart from the cornflour in the slow cooker and turn on to high for around 2 hours, or until fish is cooked. Remove some of the liquid and mic with cornflour to form a paste. Stir through stew, and continue cooking until mixture boils and thickens. Serve with brown rice.

Despite being vegetarian for five years, ever since the small person came on the scene, I've eaten fish. I don't know if it's because I know I'll be giving it up again once he's weaned, but lately it seems like I just can't get enough. While I'd be happy having it lightly dusted with herbed flour and cooked in butter, I've also been trying to mix things up a bit.

Moqueca is a Bahian stew flavoured with lime and coconut. For an authentic version, you need dende oil, which I haven't been able to find. Apparently the dende can be replaced with African red palm oil, but I haven't been able to get that either. I also used my Le Creuset French oven to cook it in and not a clay pot. And finally, I used a red chilli paste, instead of the malagueta peppers the original recipe called for. Brazilian purists may well think I have no place calling this dish "moqueca" at all!

All the same, this totally inauthentic dish tasted magnificent, and will definitely be appearing on the menu again. Perhaps I'll have more luck finding the oil before my next attempt. I don't think I'll be lashing out on a clay pot to cook it in though.

Moqueca de peixe

850g white fish fillets
4 limes, juiced
1 tbspn olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tspn minced chilli
2 capsicum, seeded and diced
2 onions, chopped
3 cups crushed tomato
2 cups coconut milk

Method

Cut the fish into medium sized chunks and cover with lime juice. Marinate for at least one hour. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based pan. Saute the onion and capsicum until the onion is transparent. Add the garlic and chilli and saute until fragrant. Stir in the tomato and cook for around five minutes. Finally add the fish and coconut milk and simmer until the fish is cooked through. Serve with rice.

Note: For Brazilian style rice, saute two cloves of minced garlic in oil until crispy. Add 2 cups of long grain rice and cook until the rice is transparent. Add 3 cups of water, cover and simmer until absorbed. Delicious!