Sweet Hot Bean Pot
I am confident I have never made this bean stew the same way twice. It can go from being a three-bean stew with just onions and peppers to a big pot of colour using up any leftover veg at the end of the week and just one can of beans. I love that about this recipe, it is forgiving, versatile and requires almost no precision.There is one thing I do know, even my most carnivorous friends love this recipe, it is not just for vegetarians. I made two versions in the video. The smaller pan is for the children so it doesn't have much spice in and I didn't add any salt because they are still quite young. The recipe card is written as if you were making just one big pot.
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes
- 2 onions
- 3 carrots
- 2 sticks of celery
- 3 red chillis
- 1 courgette
- 5 cloves garlic
- 4 bell peppers
- tsp cumin seeds
- tsp dried chilli flakes
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 kg passata
- 100 g coriander stalks and all
- 2 can of beans in water I used black beans in the video because that’s what we had in but chickpeas, butter beans, cannellini beans or kidney beans all work well too.
Instructions
Prepare your veg
- Dice sweet potato and pan-fry in olive oil until the edges start to brown then remove and set aside in a bowl
- Finely chop your onions, celery, carrots and garlic, slice your fresh chillis and set aside in bowls
- Slice your courgette in half lengthways and then slice each of the halves (roughly 1 inch thick)
- Dice your bell pepper into large chunks (roughly 1-inch)
- Fry your onions, celery, carrots, garlic and fresh chillis for a few minutes until soft and starting to brown
- Meanwhile, dry fry the cumin and dried chilli in a pan until warmed through. Be careful not to burn them. Remove from the pan and decant into pastel and mortar and grind to a powder. You can use ground cumin and chilli powder but I prefer the flavour this way.
- Make a space in the middle of the pan and fry your courgette, turning them to brown the sides
- Add your bell peppers, mix and fry for 2-3 minutes
- Add your ground cumin and dried chilli, followed by ground cinnamon and give everything a good mix.
- Add the sweet potato, mix it in then follow with the passata.
- Season with some sea salt but don’t go over the top here. I prefer to taste at the end and adjust if more is needed.
- Finally, add the beans and chopped coriander (stalks and all) and give it one last mix.
- Leave it to cook for the next 20 minutes or until the veg is soft but not soggy. Check the seasoning and serve with some fresh coriander.