In a stew

Even though the weather here has been almost spring like, I can enjoy stews whatever the weather. They’re an easy and healthy way to eat and are often a good way to clear out your fridge and cupboards, so why wait for winter?

The first stew we ate this week was the lentil and artichoke stew from Vegan Table. I haven’t made much from this book but since we are using it for the next Vine and Dine I’d been looking through it a lot and this caught my eye. It was perfect for the sort of day when you want something comforting yet healthy and you haven’t been shopping.  I was a bit low on artichokes so I threw in a handful of capers which gave it an extra tang. I served it alongside bulgar wheat simply soaked in vegetable stock with coriander tossed through it.

The other stew we’ve enjoyed this week was definitely a clearing out the fridge meal. It was the pot pie stew from Appetite for Reduction. I made it before but now I’m freed from the shackles of exact testing I threw caution to the wind and and used a scrag end of broccoli stalk and a few chopped broccoli florets instead of the peas. It also used up carrots and mushrooms and is thickened with split peas giving it an extra boost of protein.  I finished it with a sprinkle of vegan Worcestershire sauce and it tasted just like my childhood. I also managed to finally finish the seemingly bottomless pot of roast butternut squash in the freezer and used them instead of mashed sweet potatoes in the biscuits from the same book.

Finally, although I eat out a lot I rarely do restaurant reviews. I do want to bring your attention to this blog post about The George in Brighton though. We’ve eaten there most times we’ve visited Brighton and it’s always been a bit of a guilty pleasure because the food wasn’t that good with lots of store bought fake meats. I was quite looking forward to seeing how it had changed on my next visit, but I certainly won’t be going there now.  Places like this deserve to be outed.