Savoury Lentil & Bean Stew

 

Stews are a great family meal in the winter. They are comforting, filling and they don't break the bank. These days we all have to be more careful with our money, so it really is something to think about when you're shopping for groceries. 

This stew is made from some basic vegetables and tinned lentils and beans and has the most delicious gravy. Of course you could use dried beans and lentils and this would be even more cost effective, but I'm never organised enough to soak them the night before, so I make sure I have plenty of tinned beans and lentils in my store cupboard. The quality of tinned beans and lentils is really good these days, but like I say, you decide.

The Co-operative Electrical are running a competition asking for Winter Warmers just like this one, so if you are creating your own Winter Warmer on your blog, why not link up for the chance to win £750 worth of electrical goods? One runner up will be offered £250. 

It doesn't have to be a stew, you could make a soup, a pasta dish or even a pudding, it's up to you!  You have until 21 February 2014 to post your dish and enter. You can read the rules here. Good luck if you do enter!

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Savoury Lentil and Bean Stew

Written by Jacqueline Meldrum

January 16, 2014

A simple stew that the whole family will enjoy. Serve it with mashed potato and lots of extra vegetables or serve it simply with some crusty bread.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 leek, sliced
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 4 large carrots, chopped
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
• 1 x 400g tin green lentils
• 1 x 400g tin kidney beans
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 Knorr vegetable stock pot
• 3 tbsp HP brown sauce
• 3 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp cornflour, plus a little warm water
• a good grinding of salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed pan and add the mustard seeds. Leave them for a couple of minutes until they start making popping sounds, then add the onion, leek, celery and garlic. Saute until soft.2. Add the carrots, pop the lid on and leave to cook gently for 5 minutes.3. Add the mushrooms, kidney beans, lentils and thyme. Cover again and allow to cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.4. Add the stock pot to a measuring jug and top up with boiling water to the 400ml mark. Stir well until dissolved and then add to the pan, along with the HP sauce and tomato puree.5. Add a little water to the cornflour, to make a runny paste. Add this to the pot and stir well. This will help to thicken the gravy.6. Cover the pot and leave to simmer gently for 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the gravy is thick.7. Enjoy!

Details

Total time: 55 mins
Yield: Serves 4-6

Here are a few more of my winter warmers for inspiration.

1. Moroccan Style Potato Bake
2. Tomato and Aubergine Gnocchi Bake
3. Spicy Veggie Tacos with Chunky Guacamole
4. Creamy Rice Pudding with Boozy Berry Compote

I am entering my stew into a few foodie challenges:

1. Feel Good Food -  hosted by A Kick At The Pantry Door
topic = tasty and inexpensive
closes = 28 January 2014

2. Extra Veg hosted by  Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy Food
topic = ways of adding extra veg
closes = 28 January 2014

3. Four Seasons Food hosted by Eat Your Veg
topic = virtuous food
closes = 29 January 2014

4. In my VEG BOX hosted by Citrus Spice
topic = carrots
closes = 31 January 2014


Disclosure: I was paid to write this post for Co-operative Electrical. I was not required to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.