This week we’re eating… vegetable and bean hot pot

This vegetable and bean hot pot is such a hearty and warming dish, perfect for these cold and dark winter days.

The recipe came about quite by accident.

I wanted to make my Moroccan vegetable tagine but forgot to buy chick peas and, unusually for me, didn’t have any in the cupboard. And so, I swapped the spices of the tagine for some thyme that was lingering in the fridge, and used tinned haricot beans instead.

The thyme gives it such a rich and deep taste, helped by a good spoonful of Marmite too.

My toddler loved it – but the other two took a while to make their minds up. At first they turned their noses up in disgust, refusing to eat it, but they soon changed their minds. Good thing really, because I quadrupled the ingredients and made up a massive vat of it so we’ll be eating a lot of this over the next few weeks.

Ingredients – serves 4

4 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 aubergine, halved lengthways and sliced
1 courgette, halved lengthways and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp fresh thyme (leaves removed from stalks – easiest way to do this is to run a finger and thumb down the length of the stalk, from top to bottom)
1-2 tsp Marmite
2 tins haricot beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to season

1. Heat 2tbsp of the olive oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onions for 6-7 minutes, until they are beginning to turn golden brown. Add 250ml water, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes, until the water has disappeared.

2. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil, add the garlic and gently fry the aubergine, courgette and carrots for 15-20 minutes, until it’s gently starting to brown.

3. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, thyme and Marmite to the stewed onions, season with salt and pepper, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes on a low heat, stirring every couple of minutes.

4. Add the haricot beans to the onion and tomato mixture, give it a good stir.

5. Add the vegetables and 200ml boiled water, bring to the boil and then simmer on a low heat for 20-25 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

6. Serve in a bowl, accompanied by brown rice, crusty bread, or just as it is.

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 of my healthy recipes on the Food section of Cardiff Mummy Says.
You might also like these posts: Moroccan vegetable tagine, spinach and red lentil dhal, four bean chilli.