Smoked Paprika Bean Stew with Orzo Pasta

I had a feeling it was going to be a quiet day at work, too cold for people to come out and leave their warm offices or warm homes.  You can hardly blame them, had I been in their shoes, I too would have been couched up in front of the fire, or in my case snuggled up under a blanket with my hot water bottle or next to the central heating.

And this is this is the kind of food I would want to be tucking into - a warm bowl of Smoked Paprika bean stew with rib sticking pasta, in this case orzo.  Orzo pasta also known as Riso pasta - so called because of its rice like shape. It makes for a wonderful addition to casseroles, soups and stews such as this one. Funnily enough the last time I cooked with orzo was also for a stew - if your interested, it was Kale and Bean Stew.

I think this is the right kind of dish for the weather we have today.  Oh so perfect in many ways, but namely to switch off to the howling winds, chill and ice in the air. I think its the smoked paprika that brings this dish together: warming, wholesome and soothing. 

I am linking this recipe with Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes. Jacqueline is hosting March 2013 Edition #22 of Bookmarked Recipes: a monthly blog event initiated by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen Experiments; .
Paprika Bean Stew with Orzo Pasta
Serves 6 with crusty bread
Iingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onions, peeled and finely sliced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
4 stalks of celery, peeled of stringy bits and sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 - 11/2 teaspoon smoked paprika or to taste
2 x 400g tins of tomatoes, chopped
2 bay leaf
400ml vegetable stock
1 x 400g borlotti beans, drained and rinsed well
150g orzo/ riso pasta, or any other tiny shape
Handful of fresh parsley, well chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a wide pan with a lid, heat the oil until hot.  Add the vegetables and and saute for a little while, stirring now again to stop it from sticking and burning.  Then stir in the garlic and continue to fry gently for about 10 minutes or so until vegetables become translucent, stir in the paprika and simmer for a minute or so for the flavours to infuse the vegetables.  Now add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaf and vegetable stock and simmer with the lid for 30 minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent the vegetables from sticking.
After 30 minutes or so, stir in the borlotti beans, along with the riso pasta and simmer until the riso is well cooked.  Fold in the parsley and season to taste.  I like it to be a little soupy bordering on stew like, but you can cook it a little more it you want a thicker stew.  Adapted for a veg(etari)an diet from Spooning with Rosie by Rosie Lovell.  

Peanut Banana Cake

One of my favourite childhood sweets to suck on was salty-sweet peanut sweets that were made at Lovells Sweet Factory  in Newport Gwent.   Shaped like a peanut they were sickly sweet on the outside, and a sherbet salty centre, oh how I enjoyed eating them.

I found similar sweets on my travels to the seaside, but they were not a patch on the original.  Anyway, a little while ago, I decided to make a Peanut Banana Cake.  It was simple and lovely.  

Now your going to ask me for a recipe, well it is this Banana Chocolate Walnut Loaf recipe with the addition of peanut butter and peanuts in place of the walnuts - simple as that. 
Peanut Banana Cake
Serves 6 - 8
Ingredients
2 - 3 ripe bananas, mashed
170g golden brown caster sugar
185g self-raising flour, sifted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons of smooth or crunchy peanut butter
80g unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 8 x 4 loaf tin and line the base with baking paper.
Put the mashed banana and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Add the flour, eggs, oil, milk, peanut butter and gently stir until well combined. Stir in the peanuts.
Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 minutes to an hour or until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack.

Vegetarian Welsh Chilli Con Carne

I did not get round to getting a photograph of my St Davids Day Vegetarian Menu as it was one of my busiest and rewarding evenings.   But I know there will be a next time when I make my  vegetarian Welsh Chilli, so right now you will just have to imagine how this red, white and green Welsh Vegetarian Chilli looked like in a bowl.  The colour red from the peppers, white from the cannelini and butter beans, and green from the leeks came through, extra red from the tomatoes and chilli flakes.

It was popular with the chilli fiends and avoided by some for the slightly milder Red Thai Dragon Curry or Red Dragon Burgers.  And for those who did not like the idea of spices in either the Welsh Chilli or the Red Thai Curry had the option of Caerphilly Cheese, Leek and Potato Pie. 
 
Welsh Chilli: Red, White and Green in a Bowl
Serves 6
Ingredients
270g white beans, soaked overnight.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onions, finely sliced
3 large leeks, washed and sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
2 small red chillies, sliced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 red peppers, diced
1 x 400g can of tomatoes, chopped
1 pint vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: coriander, chopped for garnish
Method
In a wide pan, cook beans in water until tender. Drain and set aside.
In a saucepan, warm the oil on medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions become soft, then add the leeks and cook until soft. Add the celery and chilli, then cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat and stir in the cumin, oregano,  coriander, pepper and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook until the peppers begin to soften. Stir occasionally to keep the spices from burning. Then add in the tomatoes cook for about 5 minutes, then stir in the beans and cook for  another 10minutes before stirring in the stock.  Allow to simmer for 30 minutes on a gentle head.  Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with rice or home-made nachos.