Somerset Stew with Mashed Potato

I’m determined to get right back into blogging following the last 3 weeks of busyness. All the travelling about I’ve been doing has put a downer on things blog wise. However, now I’m back and settled – for the time being – in Aberystwyth I shall attempt to blog far more regularly. I make it sound like a chore – it really isn’t!

Today I went in search of food related inspiration which came in the form of my grandmother’s vast collection of BBC GoodFood magazines. I plucked this delectable recipe from the folds of one particularly useful copy, and suited it to my own uses. This was necessary because flageolet beans appear to be absolutely impossible to find, especially in west Wales. However, I must recommend this dish, as it is absolutely beautiful. It manages to be both hearty and not too wintery at the same time, which means it’s a perfect soup for this time of year. This is perhaps because it doesn’t contain any meat and therefore lacks the richness of a beefy broth.

Another discovery made today, the other being a selection of nice recipes, was that home-grown potatoes are quite a lot nicer than those one picks up at the supermarket. We are currently reaping our first ever crop, and they are turning out to be beautifully fluffy and almost pure-white in colour – they also happen to be simply delicious. In fact our whole garden is brimming with life, from runner-beans to herbs in a half-barrel. I don’t think I could recommend growing-your-own enough, even if you have little space there is always room for a grow-bag in which you could plant all manner of things. Just think, you could go to the garden centre in the morning, and by the afternoon could be sipping a glass of wine watching your very own tomatoes grow. Although I have to admit that would probably be even slower and more laborious than watching paint dry.

Somerset Stew with Mashed Potato {recipe}

Serves 4

Ingredients: Somerset Stew

• 1 tbsp oil

• 1 red onion, diced

• 1 very large clove of garlic

• 1 large carrot, diced

• 1 large leek, halved and sliced

• 2 tbsp tomato puree

• 400g tin chopped tomatoes

• 125g butterbeans

• 175g borlotti beans

• 200ml strong dry cider, none of this 4% rubbish

• 250ml veg stock

Ingredients: Mashed Potato

• 600g potatoes

• Good knob of butter

• Small dash of milk

• Good knob of strong cheddar cheese, grated

• Handful of chopped fresh parsley

Method:

1. Fry off the onion, carrot, garlic and leek until softened. This should take roughly 5 minutes. Then add the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, beans, cider and stock. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the stew has reduced.

2. To make the mashed potato, boil the potatoes until soft. Mash the potatoes thoroughly, adding the butter, cheese and milk. Stir in the parsley. Serve it all with a slice of buttered wholemeal bread.

Cost:As you can see this meal is really easy to make – it has only two steps. Not only that, but it is bloody cheap – surprisingly so considering it is so filling. This really is one of my favourite stews, please give it a go! I just realised (30 minutes after blogging this) that I had forgotten to include the price of this recipe. Happily it will only set you back £2.40, I hope that makes up for my forgetfulness.