Sunday 18 October 2015

Tuscan Vegetable and Bean Stew - Recipe Feature

Tuscan Vegetable and Bean Stew
To me, the name Cranks is synonymous with great tasting, wholesome vegetarian food. You might not know that their first restaurant and deli opened on London’s Carnaby Street in the swinging 60's; those were the days when people were considered to be cranks if they were vegetarian or vegan! Over 50 year later, the brand is still going strong and have a restaurant, Cranks Kitchen, in Devon, published several recipe books, and have recently launched a new, exclusively vegetarian, sandwich range. As a long standing vegetarian, I was amazed and a little humbled that such a well known vegetarian brand would want me to develop a seasonal recipe for them...

This is my economical and vegan adaptation of the traditional Tuscan stew, Pollo alla Cacciatore (hunter's chicken). I know you don't have to hunt very far to find vegetables and pulses in your local supermarket, but I find they work well with the flavours in this recipe and are hearty enough to make this a warming, winter dish.

If you prefer, you can cook this dish in the oven or slow cooker.

Serves 4:
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed 
  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • 200g/8oz chestnut mushrooms, wiped and halved or quartered 
  • 200g/8oz chantenay carrots, peeled or scrubbed and cut in half vertically 
  • 100g/4oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes (add 1 tbsp tomato purée if you use economy tinned tomatoes)
  • 250ml/1 cup vegan, dry white wine 
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp fresh, chopped parsley
  • 2 sprigs of rosemary
  • black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tin cannellini beans, drained
  • 50g/2oz pitted olives
Heat  the oil in a large saucepan, on a medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook gently for a few minutes, until softened. 
Remove from the heat and sprinkle in a heaped tsp of cornflour. 
Add all of the remaining ingredients (except for the tinned beans and olives), place back on a medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. 
Simmer for 25-30 minutes with the lid on, until the carrots and green beans are almost tender.
Add the tinned beans and olives to the sauce. 
Simmer with the lid off for a further 5-10 minutes, to allow the sauce to thicken slightly 
Remove the bay leaf and sprigs of rosemary before serving. 

 CranksServe with your choice or rice, pasta, potatoes or rustic, crusty bread.

Alternatives: Swap the wine for a vegetable stock, if preferred.

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I received payment for recipe development and ingredients, from Cranks. All views expressed are genuine.

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5 comments:

  1. I often make your recipes and I look forward to trying this when my veg box arrives. I was interested to read what you said about Cranks. My uncle was one of the founder members of the Vegan society and we have a newspaper article written about him, entitled "Harry Bonnie- food freak".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kath, it's lovely to hear that you've tried some of my recipes out. How interesting to hear about your uncle too...thank goodness times have changed since then!

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  2. This looks wonderful as does the rest of your blog! Always LOVE meeting fellow veggieheads :)

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  3. I love the Cranks sandwich range!!! They're so much more interesting than your normal egg mayonaise and cheese offerings (neither of which I would actually eat!) I love the look of this stew as well - it looks so flavourful!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks very much for your comment. I love hearing your opinions, so please rest assured that genuine comments and competition entries will be visible after approval. This may take 24-48 hours, depending on how hectic my work/home life is at the time!

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