Winter is great for so many reasons. It gets overlooked next to its more glamorous
counterparts (I’m thinking of Summer and Spring, but even Autumn gets a look-in with its
jazzy coloured leaves) but in terms of cooking, it is perhaps the best of them all. And the most
glorious of all winter foods is without a doubt the stew.
Stews come in all sorts of delicious flavours and forms, and (perhaps most importantly) they
make mashed potato acceptable, and even appropriate. I think its good to remember that the
idea of ‘warming food’ shouldn’t be limited to meat, especially if you’re on a budget. So below,
I have included my top three stews, veggie, meaty and a bit of both.
Ladies, I hope the prospect of eating these makes you happier than the prospect of the next
three months of getting to wear black tights. Gents, make one of these for your gal and she
won’t be wearing them for long.
Chick pea and tomato stew
This started as a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi – but I have adapted it beyond recognition to
suit my budget, and hopefully yours.
Serves 4, approx. 80p per serving
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
3 sticks of celery, sliced
olive oil
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tin tomatoes (plum if possible)
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried thyme
(or substitute all three of these for 3 tsp ‘mixed herbs’ – definitely inferior, but cheaper)
2 tsp sugar
1 litre stock
half a loaf of (unsliced) bread, or 4/5 slices of bread
400g can chick peas
Add 2 tbsp oil to a pan with a little bit of butter if you have it. Add onion and sauté for about 5
minutes. Add carrot and celery and cook for another 5 minutes. Add tomato puree, cook for 2
minutes to get rid of the acidity. Add the tomatoes, herbs, stock and the caster sugar (tinned
tomatoes have an acidity to them, which this balances out – but it isn’t live-or-die if you don’t
have it). Simmer for 20-30 mins – add more water if it starts to look dry.
While it is simmering, take the bread you have (ideally the unsliced white loaf variety, about
60p from the bakery section of the supermarket) and break it into small pieces. Drizzle with
olive oil and salt and bake for 10-15 mins in a 180 oven (Gas, 4). Check it halfway to ensure it
doesn’t burn. Once the tomato juice is looking ready, open the chickpeas, drain and place in a
bowl. Then half mash them with a fork (so you have a few whole, a few mushed). Add them to
the liquid and cook for another five minutes. Then add the toasted bread, mix around so the
bread soaks up most of the liquid, and serve. Great with a bit of pesto on top.
Chicken stroganoff
Serves four, approx £2.20 per (sizeable) portion
Arguably this isn’t always cooked like a stew, but I cook mine in the oven to maximise the
potential of the awesome chicken thigh (a student meat-eater’s dream, about £2.50 for four
even if you go free-range.) The smoky, pepperiness of this is counteracted by the lemony
crème-fraichiness and its delicious. Great with mash – if it looks oily when you take it out the
oven give it a good mix before serving.
Olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
1 clove of garlic
250g mushrooms
2 pack of chicken thighs (so about 8 thighs)
crème fraiche
1 lemon
2 tbsp paprika
parsley (fresh if possible)
salt and pepper
potatoes (baking, mashing, it doesn’t make much difference)
Heat a large frying pan and add some oil. Fry the sliced onions and garlic until soft – remove
from the pan and place in a bowl. Slice the chicken thighs (remove skins if they have them)
and season with salt pepper and plenty of paprika. Add a little more oil to the pan and heat.
Add the mushrooms until they start to brown and then add the meat. Once the meat has
browned, remove the parsley leaves from the stalks and add the stalks to the meat. Re-add
the onion and garlic and mix. Add the juice and zest of 1 lemon and 2 tbsp crème fraiche and
place the mixture into an ovenproof dish. Place in the oven for 15-20 mins.
In the meantime, boil your potatoes until soft. Drain, add butter and 1 tbsp crème fraiche and
mash until your elbow aches. Serve the stroganoff on the mash with the (chopped) parsley
leaves as decoration. Yum!
(If you’re a veggie – or it’s the end of term and you’re especially poor – just take out the
chicken and double the mushrooms for mushroom stroganoff, almost as good).
Sausage stew
Serves 3, about £1.60 per portion (for good sausages)
olive oil
6 sausages (as good as you can afford)
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp plain flour
A splash of white wine or 1tbsp white wine vinegar
750ml chicken stock
400g tin of plum tomatoes
salt and pepper
Heat some olive oil in the pan, and add your sausages. Cook them until brown on all sides
and then remove them from the pan and put them in a bowl. Remove most of the fat from the
pan (leaving a thin layer on the bottom). Add the onion and celery, fry for 10 minutes – until
they are getting soft – and then add garlic, thyme, paprika and flour. Pour over some white
wine (vinegar will do if you don’t want to waste precious booze) and let it evaporate. Re-add
the sausage, along with stock and the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and cook for
fifteen minutes or until it’s thick and juicy and meaty and deliciously ready to go. Serve with
rice, mash or – my favourite – a big hunk of bread.
