If you have memories of soggy, mealy lima beans served up in your childhood, ditch that thought now and try them in this light, summery stew. One of my favorite spices is hot smoked paprika—it not only satisfies my love of chili-heat, but its wonderful smokiness brings a dish together.
Serves: 4 Preparation time: 15 minutes, plus making the stock Cooking time: 45 minutes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 zucchini, sliced, and each slice quartered
⅔ cup dry white wine or extra vegetable stock (see below)
2 cups tomato puree
⅔ cup Vegetable Stock (see page 14)
1 teaspoon sugar
2½ cups drained canned lima beans, or cooked dried lima beans (see pages 8–9)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon thyme leaves or 2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 to 2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika
3 handfuls of curly kale or cavalo nero (black kale), tough stalks removed, leaves shredded
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
sour cream and crusty bread, to serve
1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pan over medium heat. Add the onion and fry 6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, red bell pepper and zucchini and cook another 5 minutes until just tender.
2. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half, then add the tomato puree and vegetable stock and return to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, add the sugar, lima beans, bay leaves, thyme and paprika, and simmer, part-covered, 30 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
3. Stir in the kale, season with salt and pepper and cook another 3 minutes until wilted. Serve with crusty bread, and topped with a spoonful of sour cream.
Save time and freezer space by freezing stews, soups, sauces and curries flat. Once they’ve cooled, transfer to a ziploc bag and put on a cookie sheet in the freezer. To defrost, hold under a hot faucet a few seconds, then unzip the bag and tip the contents into a pan to reheat.
Tofu
isn’t to everyone’s taste, but if you treat it as a blank canvas and are brave with your flavorings and textures, it can be transformed into something quite special. It’s important to drain tofu well and pat it dry using paper towels, as you don’ t want any residual water to dilute your marinade or soften a golden crust. Use a feisty marinade, a thick sticky glaze, or coat in cornstarch, batter or breadcrumbs to give a crisp crust. I like the way tofu readily takes on other flavors and can be adapted to suit different styles of cooking: it’s perfect in Asian dishes, but also works in Western tomato-based dishes and hearty broths. Look out for smoked tofu (with sesame seeds is particularly good); silken tofu, which can be blended to make creamy sauces; and golden fried tofu that needs very little embellishment.