Mushroom Wellington Roast Spiral

These Mushroom Wellington Roast Spirals  were inspired from my time in Glasgow and when we went to The 13th Note in Merchant City.  The 13th Note was my favourite vegetarian/vegan  eatery in Glasgow, plus it being a popular music venue too.  

At the time there were not that many vegetarian or vegan eateries in Glasgow, there was The 13th Note, Mono and Stereo which was well  hidden in an alley way, unless of course you knew where to look and of course we did.   And there was The 78 Cafe Bar near Kelvingrove Art Museum. but it was relatively new. There was also Grassroots that was close to the University of Glasgow but the the vegetarian - vegan cafe closed down in 2009, though I have recently learned that it has re-opened once again.  It was one of my haunts in my University days.

Butternut Squash, Chickpeas and Leek Stew

It certainly is getting colder, especially in the evenings and definitely time for soups and stews.

Many years ago, actually it was in 2004 when I lived in Scotland, I made Denis Cotters of Cafe Paradiso fame Squash, Butter bean and Leek Stew.  I ended up making this again, only after 
having paged through the cookbook Paradiso Seasons and was reminded of all those recipes I made before I began this blog. 

Over the years I have adapted the Squash, Butter Bean and Leek Stew recipe as I did not always have butter beans or enough squash.  My version is made with Butternut Squash, Carrots, Chickpeas and Leeks.

Sadly this time round I overcooked the vegetables, so this Butternut Squash, Chickpeas and Leek Stew was bordering more on chunky soup than stew, still very very tasty.

Creamy Beet Rose Rice Pudding with Pomegranate (vegan)

The inspiration for this Creamy Beet Rice Pudding with Pomegranate Seeds  has two sources.   The recipe idea itself came about after a conversation with my work colleague.  She came back from town with what was supposed to be her lunch.   She says out loud to me 'I wanted a change from beetroot salad and I wanted something warm, so I have rice pudding from...'.  I started thinking -  Beetroot and rice pudding.  Then under her breath she grumbled and 'you still  owe me a beetroot cake'.

Well still no beetroot cake for her, but did make the Creamy Beet Rice Pudding that I was imagining and rating in my head.  I was inspired further to add the Pomegranate Seeds as I had also just watched Pan's Labyrinth in readiness for Food'n'Flix.

I have my own DVD of Pan's Labyrinth from Guillermo Del Toro along The Orphanage, The Devils Backbone and Cronos.  Its a dark fantasy Gothic supernatural fairytale set against the backdrop of fascist regime in Spain in 1944.  Ofelia the lead character discovers a labyrinth and meets a faun who tells her she is a Princess and sets her three challenges if she wishes to return to her Kingdom.    I had forgotten how graphic the movie was and although its a dark fairytale with good versus evil, its not a fairytale designed for children. Its been described as Alice in Wonderland for adults. 

Italian Fiorelli Pasta with Fennel and Green Peppers

This Pasta with Fennel and Green Peppers is one I made many years back.  The recipe comes from on of my all-time favourite vegetarian chefs Denis Cotter owner of the best vegetarian restaurant Cafe Paradiso in Ireland, as well as its chef and co-founder.  Denis Cotter was one of the first to deliver contemporary style of vegetarian cuisine. There were not many innovative vegetarian or vegan cookbooks in the mid 1990s found in this part of the English speaking world. I really admire him, unlike other vegetarian and vegan chefs (that came after), he has never ever sought the limelight and has always been humble and modest. never looking for the Michelin Stars or Rosette recognition (although why not, Cafe Paradiso and his team truly deserves that accolade for what its worth). He for me redefined non-meat based cuisine by experimenting with original flavours, brilliant culinary improvisations and modern techniques at the time.  You can see Deni Cotters influences in the way many vegetarian chefs that came after (whether they admit it or not), have been inspired by him or have used many of his recipes as a springboard for their own.  I do sometimes think some people have very short memories as they forget original stars and voices of vegetarian and vegan cuisine in favour of those that crave the limelight and pretend that they have created something original, for example vegetables in cakes, people have you never heard of carrot cake!  

His book 'Paradiso Seasons was named as the best vegetarian cookbook in the world at the Gourmand World Cookbook Fair in 2004. Denis Cotter creates restaurant quality food that I truly want to eat. He is a big influence on the way I cook, he is vegetarian icon and a vegetarian hero of mine, especially when I want to create something a bit more avante garde  or honest and down to earth in my own kitchen, but never pretentious. 

I am patiently waiting for another brilliant and original cookbook from him.  ; and to visit Cafe Paradiso in Cork, Ireland remains on my wish list.  Dear Husband I hope you are reading this, if not I know you already know...

After all that high praise for Denis Cotter, i have to admit for quickness, I have cut lots of corners for this recipe.  For a start, he roasts the garlic in oil until it is tender, soft and sweet and can easily be popped out of its skin.  The garlic enhances fresh parsley and olive oil which forms part of the pasta sauce and much more.  

My Pasta with Fennel and Green Peppers is made with Fiorelli from M&S.  Its described as authentic Italian pasta made and air dried in the Italian Alps, using select Italian wheat and a bronze dye for a rough texture that picks up every drop of sauce.  The fiorelli* shaped pasta is supposed to resemble flower buds.  I loved the intense flavour combination in the final dish, lots of layers of flavours, from the garlic, the parsley, the peppers, the fennel and then piquancy from the sun dried tomatoes and black peppers and the pasta acted as a brilliant foil to hold all those flavours. 

This is my second  contribution to Food 'N' Flix this month  hosted at All Roads Lead To The Kitchen.  The movie chosen this month was French Kiss with Kevin Kline and the infectious Meg Ryan.   

I was fortunate to find the movie on youtube and watched it on a day when I was off work.  Less than 10 minutes into the movie I spotted some fresh vegetables in the kitchen on the table including tomatoes, carrots, fennel and a bowl of mushrooms I think.  This is just before the character Kate receives a phone call from her fiancee Charlie breaking up with her as he has fallen in love with someone he has met in Paris. The feathery fennel inspired me to make this pasta salad.  I am also sharing this Pasta Salad with Soups, Salads and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen;  and finally  Healthy Vegan Fridays hosted by Rock My Vegan Socks and V Nutrition. 

Here is a link to Denis Cotters vegetarian cookbooks, many of which have vegan recipes.
Here are some other Denis Cotter inspired recipes on A2K- A Seasonal Veg Table
Aubergine, Black Eyed Peas Coconut Pot
Aubergine aka Eggplant Tomato Relish Pasta
Pumpkin, Black Beans and Leeks
Turnip Swede Curry
Balsamic Roasted Beetroot Dyed Pasta
Wild Garlic Past and Pesto
Roasted Runner Beans and Couscous
Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto 

In this blog post called Peeking Through Snowy Windows in 2010,  I wrote about 3 of my favourite chefs celebrating vegetables and Denis Cotter was named then and would still be today. 

*Here is a guide from the BBC of pasta shapes of Italy

Italian Fiorelli with Fennel and Green Peppers
Serves 3 - 4
Ingredients
250g Fiorelli Pasta, or other pasta shape.  
Cook according to packet instructions, drain and set aside

1 fennel, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 green pepper, sliced
12 black olives
2 tablespoons sun dried tomato, sliced
Fresh parsley, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a wide pan, heat the oil and then stir in the fennel and cook for five minutes, then stir in the garlic and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. then stir in the olives and sun dried tomatoes for a minute, then stir in the pasta, parsley and season to taste
Adapted from Denis Cotters The Cafe Paradiso Cookbook

Light Fennel, Red Pepper and Butternut Stew

Did you know that there are actually two types of fennel?  This vegetable has been assigned a gender.  The curvy bulbous is the female and the slender one is the male.  

Fennel is still not used much in British cooking, but it is slowly making an appearance mostly in raw salad dishes because of its crunch and  its flavour reminisce of aniseed, star anise or even licorice flavour.  Unlike the British, the French and Italians are very fond of this feathery frond stemmed vegetable.   So I was pleased to pick some up again  to make a Light Fennel, Red Pepper and Butternut Squash Stew infused with caraway seeds.  

I describe this Fennel, Red Pepper and Butternut Squash Stew as light as the sauce is not thick, its almost like a clear broth, like a consomme. It is also mildly spiced to warm your cheeks. 

This is my contribution to Food 'N' Flix this month  hosted by hosted by Heather at All Roads Lead To The Kitchen.  The movie chosen this month was French Kiss.  I watched it on youtube.  I saw the trailer and obviously the cheese plate on the train was influencing my decision to make a cheese dish, but then about 8 minutes into the movie I spotted some colourful vibrant fresh vegetables in the kitchen on the table including tomatoes, carrots and fennel.  This is just before the character Kate receives a phone call from her fiancee Charlie breaking up with her as he has fallen in love with someone he has met in Paris. 

I do like fennel, but we don't eat it much as we want as it is a bit of a luxury vegetable in our home, so I incorporated it in this light Red Pepper and Butternut Squash Stew.  I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but it is quite nippy in Wales and stews are very welcome, even light ones.  I am also sharing this broth stew with Soups, Salads and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen;  as it can be eaten with a spoon like a chunky soup too. 

Fresh India Sweet Potato Vindaloo

This Sweet Potato Vindaloo is the second recipe I cooked from the cookbook Fresh India: Quick, easy and Delicious Vegetarian Recipes For Every Day by Meera Sodha which I was gifted at Christmas.   

When I think of Vindaloo, I wrongly and stereotypically think of old classic Bollywood movies with Catholic Indian characters called De Sueza or D'Silva living near a beach or a fishing village in or near Goa, India.  Vindaloo came to India via the Portuguese and was known as carne de vinho d'alhos (meat marinated in wine and garlic). I don't ever recall any of the movie characters ever making or eating a variation of vindaloo, but I sort of romanticised it in my mind growing up and tried to make sense of the popularity of the burning hot Vindaloo in the UK.  I still don't understand it, but what I do know is that I miss those old fashion Bollywood movies.  I find Bollywood movies to be just a long pop video and am very selective of those I watch.  those I watch are often recommended by family and close friends.  

Vindaloo is traditionally made with pork.  I like spiced food but not ridiculously hot either, so the appeal to make a vegetarian or vegan version of it never occurred to me.  There re a few Sweet Potato Vindaloo recipes around, as well as a popular variation of Two Potato Vindaloo by Ottolenghi, but I am trusting Meera Sodha's Sweet Potato Vindaloo version as the flavours may be more authentic.  

Fishless Fish Free Japanese Sea Vegetable and Nori Cakes

These Fishless Japanese Sea Vegetable and Nori Cakes would make a fantastic light starter 

I think these Fishless Sea Vegetable Cakes look marvellous without the panko coating that its a shame it has to be cover the colourful seaweed shades of greens.   This is my submission to #EatYourGreens food challenge.  Please do join in with you Green Vegan Mofo blog post, the rules are here.

Before I give you the recipe, I want a little bit of a rant.  Yesterday was not the day we had planned.  All our good plans went pear shaped.  We were on our way to Bristol to celebrate and have a little fun with my nephews, but the icy weather played havoc with our car that we had to turn back home and go to the garage.  It cost us £300.00.  Happy Birthday. There was no point in grumbling but I was very mift and wished we had never left the house in the first place.  All the signs with the weather were warning us to stay indoors.  When we got back home we just tried to make the best of what was left of the day at home and outside it poured ice buckets. 

Anyway, I digress.  I had so much fun getting back into Food 'N' Flix, so I am joining again.  The movie chosen this month is Burnt.  As a foodies, I have to admit I had not seen it or heard of it and to be honest, I am not a fan of either Bradley Cooper or Sienna Miller, but I wanted to play along with Food N Flix,  so I purchased the film.  I watched it one weekend.  

Although there are loads of food references, it did not terribly inspire me - perhaps because I am a Vegetarian and many of the food references were to meat and seafood, but whilst I was racking my head for ideas the scene when the two lead characters are in Billinsgate Markets,  London's most famous fish market inspired me to make some 'Fish' Cakes.

Of course I was not going to make anything with fish or seafood, but I did have sea vegetables and these Fishless Fishfree Sea Vegetable Cakes were created . 

Autumn Beetroot Barley Goats Cheese Salad

This Beetroot Barley Goats Cheese Salad is an autumnal salad because of the hearty barley and the colours that remind me of the drying leaves on the trees.   Its perfect for taking into lunch as it won't leak liked those tossed in heavy salad dressing

The goats cheese is optional, but I think it works as it makes a nice contrast to the earthy beetroot.  Of course you could use a dairy free alternative like Gary which is actually made from coconuts and is very popular in the UK right now.  I have to admit I have not tried Gary yet as every time I go to seek it out it is sold out. 

This Beetroot Barley Goats Cheese Salad is not much of a recipe as I eye-balled most of the ingredients: cooked barley, cooked beetroot including its juices, a little balsamic vinegar an extra virgin oil for dressing, salt and pepper and then topped with rocket and goats cheese.  Quite simple really.

Winter Beetroot Potato Horseradish Gratin

This Winter Beetroot Potato Horseradish Gratin is perhaps something best served around Halloween when loud bold colours seem more acceptable on the dinner plate, though I must add orange is the real colour of Halloween, not Gothic blood wine colours.  

This a dish that was made from scratch, from peeling and cooking the beetroot (which were from my own garden plot) to making the sauce, the only shortcut I used was horseradish sauce from a jar.  I have seen fresh horseradish root in the city of Cardiff, but its very expensive and I would only want a tablespoon or two, not the whole root - so its from a jar, no shame in that.  

You could make this grating completely with beetroot, but I thought it might be too overpowering and alternated it with sliced potatoes.  This recipe is vegetarian, but it can easily be made vegan.

I served the Beetroot Potato Horseradish Gratin enjoyed it with Cauldron Lincolnshire sausages which I prefer to the other supermarket brands.  I find the Cauldron ones are a lot more succulent and flavoursome, many others vegan and vegetarian sausages are just shaped like a sausage and taste of nothing. 

The Beetroot Potato Horseradish Gratin was surprisingly quite nice,  I say this as I still consider myself a convert to the beetroot club, I never liked it when I was a child.  The gratin was sweet and earthy, a little punch in the mouth from the horseradish - so make sure its good horseradish and the colour is something you just have to accept and you will, if you like beetroot. 

Drowning in Coconut Milk Korma Soup

I have never had a desire to make a Korma at home until I ate one a few months back and was reminded of its loveliness.  It was quite yummy a little reminisce of Thai Green Curry, which I really love.  It was made with pumpkin and green beans and made a pleasant change from rich spicy tomato based curries.  

So in order to remedy having never made a korma in my home, I was finally ready to give it a go and it was quite delicious and despite its long list of ingredients I think this is one of the worlds most easiest recipes. .  Although, I think I may have added way too much coconut milk as it was drowning all the vegetables, still it tasted lovely.  I think my mother in law would like it too as it was not overly spicy. 

This Vegetable Korma Soup is perfect for those evening when you want to curl up in the corner of your soft and watch a movie.  I don't watch many Bollywood movies these days as I did in my childhood, but I do have a soft spot for the classics like the sentimental and emotional Mother India.  If you want something with a bit of humour then perhaps Amar Akhbar and Antony (where three brothers are separated at childhoods and united in adulthood, but each has been raised under a different religions: Hindu, Muslim and Christian; if that doesn't tickle you fancy and you want something with a bit more thrills then perhaps I can recommend Sholay - an Indian Spaghetti Western, the villain Amjad Khan is awesome.  I am sharing this with No Croutons Required hosted by Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen and Tinned Tomatoes. 

Chickpea, Potato and Mango Chutney Filo 'Samosa' Pie

This Chickpea, Potato and Mango Chutney Filo 'Samosa' Pie is ultimately a vegetarian samosa Not traditional triangular shape, but more of a round pie wrapped up in a paper thin filo pastry and then baked in the oven, not deep fried.  It has comforting mashy potatoes, nutty chickpeas and green peas.  There is also some fenugreek in this to give it a curry hint and a couple of fresh green chillies (with seeds of course - I like it spicy) and finally some mango for a little sweetness. You could make your own mango chutney, but honestly there are loads of good brands out there that you don't have to.  

These Chickpea, Potato and Mango Chutney Filo Pastry Pie  were very filling, but like any good samosa it needs minty or coriander chutney or a raita of sorts to accompany it.  I made a simple home-made minty tomato salad with it, which worked really well.  

The prompt for today was make/eat something inspired by a book or movie.  One movie that I really, really like that takes me a roller coaster of emotions was Monsoon Wedding by Mira Nair.  

So the idea was to make something Anglo -Indian either a South Asian snack like samosa or with a fruit from the Indian sub-Continent like mangoes (loyal readers remember mangocheeks!).  I couldn't remember top of my head if there was a samosa eating scene in the movie, or even  a scene about mangoes maybe... but there were plenty  of edible flowers throughout the movie and more specifically marigolds (sadly not featured in the recipe here, though I did have some in the garden). 

Image source here

Other than the final fantastic dance scene, one of my favourite scenes was which involved the character PK Dubey, the wedding planners blossoming romance with the family's housekeeper Alice.  Dubey is not a pleasant character at all, and not in the least attractive, but you find yourself warming to him as the movie progresses and his character becomes softer as he begins to fall for Alice.  Well, this particular character PK Dubey is found pretty much munching on marigolds pretty much in every scene that he is in, except for the one below where he presents as an apology to Alice - a heart made from marigold flowers. Ah romance like this can only be found in the movies.   I am sharing this with Fabulous Foodie Fridays hosted by Bake Play Smile and Create Bake Make;

Ratatouille with VPud Black Pudding and Polenta Cakes

As much as I enjoy watching Ratatouille the animation movie, I have to confess that I have never ever actually liked eating ratatouille.  Every time I have ever had it its been overcooked, maybe it is mean't to be that way, but then I find it not pleasant and mushy suitable for children.  

I've even tried the Cypriot version known as Briami and the Turkish version known as Turlu and I still wasn't converted.  

That was well over 5 years ago, and  I am always willing to give things another try, as tastes mature, dont they?!. 

Truth is I had not intended on making ratatouille, but I found myself with vegetables that just shouted make ratatouille with us.  

So these vegetables were chopped and stewed with some herbs and chopped tomatoes transferred to a casserole pot to simmer away slowly.   

I know squash is not traditional in a Ratatouille, but I had half a butternut squash in the fridge that had to be used, so I added it to the post.  Its an optional extra.

It was suggested to me to serve the ratatouille with crusty bread, but I opted to make some griddled polenta cakes cut in the shape of flowers of course.  Let me assure you that the above (pictured) polenta did not go to waste, it was enjoyed the following day.

When I placed the polenta in the fridge to set,  I was reminded of this V Pud - Vegetarian Black Pudding that I picked up a couple of weeks back.   I've had V Pud - Vegetarian Black Pudding  a few times when I lived in Scotland  see here.  I have to admit I was not overly keen on it then as I found it a little powdery, but for old times sake (Thankful for my time in Scotland) I decided trying it again.  I had not expected to use it an an accompaniment to this meal though, but it worked.  For me the star of the dish was actually the VPud - it was much spicier and textured than I remembered.  It was very reminisce of vegetarian haggis too.   I wondered if the recipe has been improved, if so - so much the better as I will definitely be picking some more up when I see it again.   

As for the ratatouille,  do you remember at the start I said I didn't like ratatouille.  Well, honestly I still feel the same about it.  Its not a dish I will be making again in a hurry. 

For those of you who have not watched Ratatouille here is the link to the trailer.

Bloody Massacre Beetroot Man Pies

Promise this will be my last beetroot recipe for the month.  Ha ha, of course it will - it is the end of the month.  

Anyway, please please just humour me with the name of this recipe.  After all, 'tis the Halloween season of spooks, chills and thrills.  Our evening TV is heavily being overtaken by horror and slasher movies and gore.  So I thought, I would incorporate a little of it into my vegetarian home cooking.  

Vietnamese tofu in tomato and black pepper sauce

Other than those hard hitting American-Vietnam movies made in the 1980s, my experience of interacting with Vietnamese people is very little and of Vietnamese cuisine is zero.  The one time I socially engaged with someone of Vietnamese background was at High School. 

There weren't that many South-East Asian children at the school, and to be honest I would not have known this boys ethnicity had it not been splashed on the front cover of one of the local newspapers.  The newspaper story shared how this boys family came to arrive in Wales, U.K as 'boat people' refugees in the 1970s.  It was my first experience as a teen - not only of learning about Vietnam and some of its people, but the real plight of asylum seekers and refugees.    

Anyway, back to food - Vietnamese cuisine is heavily influenced by its neighbours, namely Cambodia, Chinese and Thailand. This recipe for Vietnamese tofu cooked in tomato pepper sauce comes from an Australian cook show named after its presenter chef  Luke Nguyens's.  In this series called Luke Nguyen's Vietnam, Luke returns to his country of heritage to take a culinary journey through Vietnam.

As you would expect, the series showcases lots of meat and fish recipes, including green mussels.  However, in this one episode he makes a tofu dish cooked in tomato sauce.  Other than this tofu recipe looking good to my greedy eyes, I decided to make it in my own home for two reasons, I had tofu in the fridge and I liked all the other ingredients. 

As I began to assemble the ingredients to proceed with the recipe, I noted that I did not have any vegetarian  oyster sauce which was going to substitute for the fish sauce in the original recipe, but determined to make this dish I replaced it with mushroom ketchup.  My Vietnamese readers will probably be shouting at me through the computer screen with great disappointment, as nuoc mam - salty fish sauce is an essential ingredient in Vietnamese cooking, but I hope they will forgive me this time round.

I really liked this dish.  It was sweet, light and peppery.  It actually reminded me a little of Malaysian Black Pepper Tofu, but of course this recipe was not as heavily peppered, it still packed a flavour punch to the chops. 

Crisp tofu cooked in tomato and black pepper sauce (dau hu sot ca)
Serves 4
Ingredients
200ml vegetable oil
300g firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 shallot, preferably pink minced
1 birds eye chilli, finely sliced
4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon Mushroom ketchup (vegetarian oyster or fish sauce)
3 spring onions, sliced
1 generous teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Coriander sprigs, to garnish
Method
Pour the oil into a wok and heat until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds.
Add the tofu, cooking it in two batches to ensure the oil stays hot, and deep-fry until crisp. Remove the tofu with a slotted spoon and transfer to kitchen paper to drain.
Transfer the deep-frying oil into a deep bowl, leaving about 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok.
Add the garlic, shallot and chilli to the wok, and stir-fry for 1 minute or until fragrant.
Add the tomatoes, salt, sugar and sauce. Stir and allow the tomatoes to break down.
Add 100ml water to the wok, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the crisp tofu, spring onions and black pepper, folding it all together, and simmer for no longer than 1 minute as you want to keep the crisp texture of the tofu.  Garnish with coriander.  Adapted from Luke Nguyens's Vietnam.  See original recipe being cooked here.

Navajo Stew

My culinary experience of Native American cuisine is zero and experience of the culture and its people nil. Like many people people, my experience is limited to watching American cowboy films with actors like John Wayne playing the good guy and the 'Red Indians' being the bad guys, of course these biased depictions have since been redressed with blockbuster movies such as Dancing with wolves, and Last of the Mohicans. In my youthful naivety I was under the impression that there weren’t any historical links or experiences between the British and native Americans, but of course later I learned there were many connections. The first that came to my attention was in my student days when I moved to Glasgow for university. I clearly remember going to the Museum where they had exhibited a native American Indian ‘ghost shirt’. I remember finding this extremely moving and had actually been moved to tears. I learned at the time that members of the Lakota Sioux tribe and The Wounded Knee Association were campaigning to reclaim the ghost shirt and other artefact's that arrived in Scotland in 1891 with the Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West travelling show. The shirt is believed to have been taken from a fallen warrior at the 1890 Battle of Wounded Knee in South Dakota. The museum acquired it a year after and it had been there ever since. It was in 1991 when an American visitor realised the cultural significance of the shirt for the Sioux people that campaigning began to return it to its home. The Ghost Dance shirt was finally repatriated to the Lakota Sioux people in 1999.

Other historical links of Britain with native Americans were highlighted through various media sources, one of which was of Pocahontas not the Disney cartoon, but the movie The New World. Did you know that there is actually a statue depicting Princess Pocahontas in Gravesend near Kent.
Although I learned a little at college through American History, my real knowledge and appreciation of native American history was to increase through D. In the late 1980s, D went to Europe and the States as a fresh faced backpacker, D has had the fortune of going to many places, including New Mexico and this experience impacted on his worldview dramatically. He doesn’t have many souvenirs from his time there, except these two picture frames from a Reservation. Each is made from sand collected from the dessert and mountains of Southwestern United States, which he treasures to this day and the much popular dream catchers, which hangs in one of our cupboards, all dusty now. He also has a couple of well-read, dog eared books The Crazy Horse and Bury my heart at Wounded Knee.
I don't know how authentic this dish is, but i've adapted it from the Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers. This one is inspired by a Southwestern Native American dish. The dish was substantial and packed with flavour.
Navajo stew
Serves 4
Ingredients1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 red and 1 green peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, cut it stem side up and then into thin wedges
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of black pepper
1 x 400g can of tomatoes
1 tablespoon canned chipotles in adobo sauce
Generous handful of chopped coriander
1 x 400g can of black beans, drained and rinsed
Flatbread (tortillas, lavash or pitta)
Plain yogurt or sour cream to serve or vegan equivalent
Method
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4-5. Lightly oil a baking sheet. In a bowl toss all the vegetables including garlic, oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Spread on the baking tin and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes. Turn the vegetables over and continue to cook for another 10-15 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are just tender. While the vegetables roast, puree the tomatoes, chipotles and coriander in a blender until smooth. Set aside. When the vegetables are tender, put them in a large ovenproof baking dish, stir in the tomato-coriander sauce and the beans, and put in the oven until hot about 20 – 30 minutes. A few minutes before serving, warm up the bread in the oven. Serve the stew in bowls topped with cream of your choice, with warm flatbread on the side.