This week we’re eating… sweet potato and black bean stew

This dish is inspired by the wonderful Deliciously Ella, whose second cook book – Deliciously Ella Every Day, released a few weeks ago – I am slowly working my way through.

I’ve mentioned previously on my blog that Ella Woodward is one of my foodie heroes. Having been vegetarian since I was 12, the last few years I’ve been eating a mostly plant-based vegan diet, and Ella’s blog, apps and books are full of inspiration and new ideas for tasty and nutritious meals that are both vegetarian and vegan.

She’s also one of my blogging heroes – she’s a best-selling author on both sides of the Atlantic, and it all started with her blog. I was thrilled to meet her last June at Britmums Live 2015, one of the UK’s biggest blogging conferences, where she was speaking.

This sweet potato stew really stood out to me when I was flicking through Deliciously Ella Every Day. I love recipes that can be made in one pot, which can be batch cooked with extra portions frozen for another day, are a meal in themselves, and which don’t require any unusual or hard-to-get-hold-of ingredients.

I made up a huge vat of this earlier in the week, tweaking Ella’s recipe as I didn’t have some of the ingredients to hand. We ate it for tea one night (toddler devoured it, my big two needed a little more encouragement but enjoyed it once they got going) and still have four family-sized portions ready to go in the freezer.

You can serve it with rice, quinoa or bread or – my favourite way – just as it is.

It takes a good hour and a half to prepare and make, but it’s definitely worth it. Here’s what to do.

Ingredients – serves 4

300g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks

1 red pepper, seeds and core discarded and cut into 2cm chunks

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

3 sun-dried tomatoes, snipped into small slices

1 tsp soy sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

400g black beans, drained and rinsed, or 100g dried black beans cooked according to packet instructions

100g spinach

125g coconut yogurt (optional) (or full-fat Greek yogurt)

1. Put the chopped sweet potatoes and peppers into a large pan, add the tinned tomatoes and 300ml boiling water. Bring to the boil.
2. While it’s boiling, add the garlic, spices, sun-dried tomatoes, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan with the lid, and cook on a low heat for one hour until the sweet potatoes are soft, making sure to stir every five minutes or so.
3. Add the black beans, coconut yoghurt (optional), and stir in the spinach until it’s wilted.
4. Give everything a good stir and then serve. This tastes good straight away, but it’s even better when it’s reheated the next day as everything gets a little mushier and more flavoursome.

Let me know if you give it a go, either in the comments section below, on the Cardiff Mummy Says Facebook page or by tweeting me on @cardiffmummy

You can see all my recipes on the Food section of Cardiff Mummy Says or follow my Cardiff Mummy Says – This Week We’re Eating board on Pinterest.

You might also like these recipes: Sweet potato, spinach and chickpea curry; vegetable and bean hot pot; Moroccan vegetable tagine; black bean chilli.

Don’t forget to pin for later!

I am a member of Amazon Associates affiliate scheme.