One of my favourite winter meals is a hearty vegetable stew.  There are so many ways you can make a stew using whatever ingredients you have available, and so easy to cook, simply throwing all ingredients in to one pot.  Whenever I’m feeling a bit run down a Moroccan stew is my go to. The medicinal properties of Ginger and Tumeric combined with the vitamin rich vegetables can help to ease the symptoms of the common cold, and boost the immune system.

This is the recipe for my version of a vegan cold busting Moroccan Stew.  You can use any combination of vegetables that you enjoy, and swap lentils for beans, or rice for another grain such as couscous or quinoa….

I start by putting the brown rice on to boil… I work on approx 50g of rice per person…

Next, in another casserole size pan, heat your oil of choice and add chopped onions and celery to soften.  The celery is an individual choice, however it has hardly any taste when cooked and is very good for you.  At this point add the spices:

1/2 Tsp Turmeric, 1/4 Tsp Cumin, 1/4 Tsp Ginger, 1/4 Cinnamon, 2 generous pinches of black pepper for an earthy taste & Ground Pink Himalayan Rock Salt to taste…

From here you can add the rest of your chopped vegetables bit by bit to soften, stirring regularly. I have used Carrots, Mushrooms, Butternut Squash, Spinach & Cabbage…

Next add a tin of lentils, draining and rinsing first…

Continue to soften, stirring regularly for another 5 minutes, then add some oat mylk.  You can use any mylk of your choice, I find that oat or coconut milk works the best for this stew.  I’d start with approx 1/4 of a pint of oat mylk and add more as it cooks if it seems a bit dry…

The rice will take approx 30 mins to cook.  Once the rice has cooked and you are satisfied that your veg has cooked enough for you, you are ready to serve up and enjoy…

For a variation on stew ingredients, see our previous post with a recipe for Pumpkin Stew… this recipe can be adapted to use any combination of vegetables etc…

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