Comfort Stew

Today was the first seriously Autumn day in London. It rained, was getting dark as I walked home from the station and I even wore tights. So it was the perfect evening for a filling stew; hearty, warming, tasty and packed with veges. This stew is the dinner equivalent of slipping on a giant knitted jumper, tracksuit trousers and ugg boots. Cosy.

You can play around with the variety of veg in this. It's nice to have different colours and cut them in a range of ways (cubes, strips, rounds etc).

I am very much a cook-by-sight and then taste person, not so much a stickler for measuring. But I have, for the sake of my blog, tried to measure everything out. The ingredients list looks hideously long, but it's really just this and that from the spice cupboard. The time is all in the prep - once it is in the oven, the time is yours!

Ingredients:

For the stew's sauce

2 tsp vegetarian gravy powder

1 c boiling water

2 Tbs flour

1 Tbs tomato paste

Salt

Pepper

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp balsamic vingar

The body of the stew

1 medium onion, sliced lengthwise

1 small / medium leek, sliced

3 vegetarian sausages, cut into chunks on the diagonal

A splash of soy sauce

1 large garlic clove

1/2 tin of any beans you like (I used borlotti for the stew pictured, but mixed beans, chickpeas or any white bean are also perfect)

1 red capsicum, sliced lengthwise

1/3 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

1/3 head of broccoli, cut into florets

1 large carrot, cut into rounds

1 medium sweet potato, cubed

3 mushrooms, sliced

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

A large handful of basil

For the cous cous

1 cup cous cous

About 1 1/2 cups of boiling water

Salt

Pepper

Lemon juice

A big handful of parsley, chopped

To make:

1) Mix sauce ingredients together - first the gravy granules and water, then add flour and mix well. Add the the rest of the ingredients and combine.

2) Lightly fry the leek, onions and sausages with the first measure of soy sauce.

3) Cut all veges and add them to a casserole dish with a lid. Add the cooked onions, leek and sausages.

4) Pour the sauce over the veges along with the tomatoes.

5) Cook at gas mark 6 for about an hour, taking out to stir occasionally (about 3 times).

6) Make the cous cous when the stew is almost ready. Put cous cous in a bowl, add boiling water, cover and leave for about 10 minutes. Taste it to make sure it's cooked through, and if not, add a touch more water and leave to stand again. Be really careful not to add to much. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley and combine with a fork.

7) serve the meal sprinkled with parsley.

Serves about 4 or tastes great the next day if you have left overs.