I love coming home from my evening walk to the delicious smell of food cooking away in the slow cooker and reception it gave Jit yesterday was fantastic! This spicy squash, butter bean and chickpea slow cooker stew is just the ticket for coming home after a brisk winter walk.
We are avid Fitbit-ers and with me working from home (and loving food) I have to make sure I get out and about at least once a day for a walk, some fresh air and a change of scenery. Yesterday as the weather was so lovely – picture blue skies dotted with light white clouds and a gorgeous orange glow spreading ad the sun began to set in the winter sky – that I decided to walk to town to meet Jit rather than taking the bus. I did walk the day before in the rain so this was a nice alternative!
Anyway, it was quite biting with the clear sky, but after a while you soon warm up. I was keeping my hands warm by moving them about while I was counting to 10 in Hindi, so that helped too (It is one of my goals for the year, not counting to 10 but learning Hindi as I’d love to be able to learn some family recipes from Jit’s Mum and Aunties)
So yeah, getting the food on in the morning was a real bonus as I was able to get loads done on this blog and my Your Happy Life pages as well as have a relaxed evening – WIN!
Spicy Squash, Butterbean and Chickpea Slow Cooker Stew
Ingredients:
1/2 butternut squash, cut into 2 cm cubes (I don’t peel the squash as the skin is thin and cooks well, especially when slow cooked all day)
2 red onions, cut cut into wedges
400g tin or tetrapack of chopped tomatoes in chilli
450 ml vegetable stock (I use Kallo)
400g tin of butterbeans
400g tin of chickpeas
6 spring onions (basically a bunch!)
2 tsp smoked Paprika
1 tbsp olive oil
1.5 cups of polenta grains
Method:
Heat the oil in a large frying pan until very hot
Add the squash, spring onions, onion wedges and paprika and stir thoroughly to coat the vegetables in oil and spice
Cook over a medium to hi heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until the vegetables start to brown lightly
Pour the vegetables into the slow cooker dish
Boil the water for the stock
Pour the tomatoes, chickpeas and butterbeans into the dish with the vegetables
Mix up the stock and pour over the vegetables and beans
Stir thoroughly to combine
Pop the lid on the cooker and set to low
Cook for 6-8 hours (although, the great thing about this is you can leave it for up to 15 hours – great for when you are returning from a long day out)
Just before you are ready to serve, pour the polenta into the slow cooker and mix thoroughly (this will thicken the sauce and add your grains) return the lid and cook for 10 minutes
Place some spinach in your serving dishes and serve the stew on top
I know it is kind of unconventional, but I also served these with some poppadums for that bit of added crunch!
(If you want, you can add the spinach to the mixture prior to adding the polenta to be a one dish kind of serving thing)
…and that is how to make a Spicy Squash, Butter bean and Chickpea Slow Cooker Stew!
Here’s to more warming dishes while the weather is cold!
Enjoy!
- 1/2 butternut squash, cut into 2 cm cudes
- 2 red onions, cut cut into wedges
- 400g tin or tetrapack of chopped tomatoes in chilli
- 450 ml vegetable stock (I use Kallo)
- 400g tin of butterbeans
- 400g tin of chickpeas
- 6 spring onions (basically a bunch!)
- 2 tsp smoked Paprika
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 cups of polenta grains
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan until very hot
- Add the squash, spring onions, onion wedges and paprika and stir thoroughly to coat the vegetables in oil and spice
- Cook over a medium to hi heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until the vegetables start to brown lightly
- Pour the vegetables into the slow cooker dish
- Boil the water for the stock
- Pour the tomatoes, chickpeas and butterbeans into the dish with the vegetables
- Mix up the stock and pour over the vegetables and beans
- Stir thoroughly to combine
- Pop the lid on the cooker and set to low
- Cook for 6-8 hours (although, the great thing about this is you can leave it for up to 15 hours – great for when you are returning from a long day out)
- Just before you are ready to serve, pour the polenta into the slow cooker and mix thoroughly (this will thicken the sauce and add your grains) return the lid and cook for 10 minutes
- Place some spinach in your serving dishes and serve the stew on top
- (If you want, you can add the spinach to the mixture prior to adding the polenta to be a one dish kind of serving thing)