Warming Winter Casserole
Supreme comfort food.
Serving 6
4-6 tbls olive oil
3 leeks, sliced
sage & thyme
3 carrots, in hefty slices
½ swede, in 1cm chunks
small bag of shallots, peeled
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 small turnips, quartered
8oz chestnut mushrooms
½ mug pearl barley
2 x 400g tins tomatoes
vegetable stock
freshly ground pepper and salt
stuffing
400g tin borlotti beans, drained & rinsed
Saute the leeks in plenty of oil in either one huge pan or two medium-large ones. Add in garlic and thyme. When beginning to soften, add the shallots, then, over the next ten minutes, swede, carrots, and mushrooms. Allow to almost brown, then stir in the barley.
Add the stock, tomatoes, sage, and plenty of pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer very gently. Add the quartered turnips in after about 15 minutes. Simmer for a further hour, stirring every 15-20 minutes, to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan(s).
Meanwhile, make up the stuffing mix according to the instructions on the packet, and bake in small balls. Add the beans to the stew.
Altogether, the stew should cook very gently for between 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
Good with the stuffing balls (like dumplings), extra garlicky garlic bread, lashings of red wine, and some good pals