Happy New Year! How are you? We are keeping cosy and filling up on loads of veggies with regular servings of delicious ribollita. This Tuscan soup/stew is full of flavour and is so nourishing. Highly recommend getting this into your rotation, it’s a hit with the whole family. And it is the most delicious way to use up stale bread and avoid food waste! The bread really must be stale so that it keeps the right texture and doesn’t get all gummy, so next time you find that half of your loaf has gone stale, make this. Serve with or without cheese as you like. An extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil doesn’t go amiss either. Enjoy!
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more to serve
1 onion, diced
3 sticks of celery, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
6 large kale leaves, leaves torn and stalks finely chopped
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin white beans, drained
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
stale bread, torn or cut into chunks
grated cheese to serve, optional
Method
Sauté the onion, carrot and celery with the oil and a pinch of salt for around 5 minutes until they start to soften.
Add the garlic, rosemary and kale stalks and sauté for another 2 minutes.
Then add the red wine vinegar, tomatoes, stock cube, beans and around 500ml of water. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Simmer for around 10 minutes then add the kale and turn off the heat. Stir to wilt the kale into the hot soup.
Serve over stale bread chunks in large bowls and top with optional grated cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
This is THE soup to make when you’re feeling under the weather. It’s a plant based take on that classic chicken noodle soup which brings so much comfort. It’s brothy and light, bursting with vitamins, but at the same time hearty and satisfying. I used bay leaves, lemon and thyme to flavour the broth with lots of garlic and a little turmeric for it’s sunny colour and medicinal properties. You’ll feel like a whole new human after a bowl of this. Happy slurping!
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 6)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, sliced
4 sticks of celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
6 cloves of garlic, sliced
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
100g quinoa, rinsed
1/2 a head of cauliflower, diced
120g noodles (I prefer quick cooking ramen or Thai rice noodles here but you can also use Italian style pasta in any shape you like. Just adjust the cooking times as explained below.)
1 lemon, juiced
Method
In a large, heavy bottomed pot, sauté the leek, garlic, carrots and celery with the olive oil. After 5 minutes the vegetables should be starting to soften.
Then add the bay leaves, thyme, turmeric and quinoa. Top up with a couple of litres of water, season with the salt and pepper then simmer. After 10 minutes, the vegetables should be soft and the quinoa just starting to release it’s tails.
Add the cauliflower and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste the broth for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.
Then add the noodles* and give the soup a stir to ensure they’re not clumping together. If they are the quick cooking type, turn the heat off, put the lid on and let them cook and soften in the residual heat. If they are Italian style pasta noodles and need longer cooking then you should add them with the cauliflower during step 3.
Brighten the soup with the lemon juice and serve in large bowls. Enjoy!
TOP TIP – *only add the noodles/pasta if you’ll be eating this soup immediately. If you are making this in advance, add the noodles when you reheat it, otherwise they’ll get too soggy. You can even cook the noodles/pasta separately and put them into bowls, then ladle the soup over each portion.
This classic Tuscan soup is just gorgeous. A hearty combination of white beans, tomatoey broth and seasonal vegetables, most notably kale. What makes this soup extra delicious for me is the combination of garlic, lemon zest, really good olive oil and fragrant rosemary and sage. This is one of those stew-like soups that is better the next day. Once you’ve done all the chopping, it’s really simple to make. Leave it brothy if you like or thicken the soup with torn chunks of stale bread or blend a portion of the beans before adding them. I prefer to leave it brothy then serve the soup over torn bread. Let us know your favourite way of eating ribollita.
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 6)
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, peeled and diced
3 sticks of celery, diced
3 large carrots, diced
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced
the zest of a lemon
1 tbsp chopped rosemary
1 tbsp chopped sage
2 stock cubes
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tins white beans, drained
8 kale leaves, stems finely chopped, leaves torn
the juice of a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
stale bread to serve, optional
Method
In a large, heavy bottomed pot, sauté the onion with the olive oil on a medium-high heat until soft and starting to colour. This should take at least 5 minutes.
Then add the diced carrot and celery and the thinly sliced kale stems, season with salt and pepper and stir for a couple of minutes.
Add the chopped garlic, lemon zest and chopped herbs. Stir for another minute or two, your kitchen should smell really really good now.
Crumble in the stock cubes and tip in the tin of chopped tomatoes. Fill the tin with water 4 times and pour that water into the pot.
Add the drained beans then bring the soup up to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on.
Then add the torn kale leaves and the lemon juice to the pot, pop the lid back on and let the leaves wilt for just 3-5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add more water if you’d like a brothier soup, blend some of the soup if you’d like it thicker.
Serve in generous bowls, as it is or with torn pieces of stale bread.
This humble half-soup, half-stew (stoup?) is so delicious. One of those perfect easy, one pot, mid-week meals that soothes and satisfies. Smooth, blended soups are great but this Autumnal twist on a minestrone is all about the combination of textures. Crunchy, delicate cabbage, floury, hearty beans, nutty, sticky brown rice (or swap with pasta) and melt-in-the-mouth pumpkin, all suspended in a silky broth.
All the ingredients can be delivered by us to your door. We have an abundance of autumn vegetables coming out of our fields at the moment. Why not cook up a few batches of this soup and freeze for a rainy day?
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 4)
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small leek, rinsed & chopped
250g kuri squash pumpkin, diced
250g celeriac (or celery), diced
4 cloves of garlic, peeled & chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme (or herbs of your choice)
1 tbsp dried mushrooms, chopped
100g short grain brown rice (or 200g pasta)
2 x 400g tins of white beans
1/2 a Savoy cabbage, rinsed & sliced
1/2 a lemon, juiced (or 1 tbsp vinegar)
salt & black pepper to taste
pesto/cheese/olive oil/pepper to serve
Method
In a large pot, sauté the leek, pumpkin and celeriac/celery with the olive oil until the vegetables start to soften.
Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaves, season generously with salt and pepper and stir for 2 minutes.
Then add the dried mushrooms, rice (or pasta) and cover with a litre and a half of water. Stir briefly then put the lid on and simmer until the rice (or pasta) is cooked through.
Add the beans along with their starchy cooking liquid, and the chopped savoy. Brighten with the lemon juice (or vinegar) and add another litre or so of water so you reach the consistency you prefer.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt if needed. Reheat to wilt the cabbage and serve.
This is delicious as it is or give it a little lift with a drizzle of good olive oil or pesto over each bowl. For added richness and flavour add grated cheese (or a sprinkle of cheesy nutritional yeast flakes if you want to keep it dairy free).
This lentil ragu is a firm family favourite. It’s quick and easy to make, full of flavour and nutrition (lentils are a powerhouse of fibre, protein, potassium, iron and folate) and it can be frozen in portions to use on busy days. I use this as a ‘base’ recipe but often add or switch the vegetables with the seasons. For example, the carrots can be swapped with swede, beetroot or squash, the mushrooms could be replaced with aubergine or crumbled walnuts. We usually stir it through pasta or layer it up in a lasagne but it also makes a great cottage pie when topped with mash and baked.
You can also tweak the seasoning and turn this Italian-style ragu into a Tex-Mex-style chilli non-carne! Just use chilli, cumin, coriander, bay, oregano and smoked paprika in place of the herbs, and add a drained tin of kidney beans and peppers to the mix too. This adaptable lentil ragu recipe is just thing to add to your repertoire for hearty family meals.
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 sticks of celery, diced
approx 10 chestnut mushrooms, diced
1x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1x 400g tin of green lentils, drained
2 bay leaves
1 tsp each: fennel seeds, thyme and oregano
optional splash of red wine…
salt and pepper to taste (roughly a tsp of each)
pasta to serve (100g dried weight per person) we stock a range of organic wheat, wholegrain and gluten free varieties
Method
Gather and prepare your ingredients and find a large pan to cook your ragu in. Get a big pot of water on to boil for the pasta.
Sauté the onion with the olive oil for roughly 6 minutes over a medium-high heat until softening and starting to take on some colour.
Then add the salt, pepper, fennel, oregano, thyme and garlic and stir for a minute to release and wake up the flavours.
4. Add the diced vegetables and sauté for 5-10 minutes until they start to soften and cook in their own juices. Then add the chopped tomatoes and bay leaves.
5. Swirl the juices out of the tin into the pan by filling the tin with water. Then add the drained lentils and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the sauce is rich and delicious. You may need to add a splash of water (or red wine) to loosen the sauce if it is starting to look a bit dry. (This is a good time to get your pasta into the now-boiling water).
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed with more salt or pepper. Then stir through the cooked and drained pasta and enjoy! Serve with fresh basil leaves and an extra drizzle of good olive oil.
Jambalaya is a delicious one-pot rice dish from Louisiana, a cultural melting pot with French, Caribbean and African influences. It’s a little like a paella but some of the ingredients and seasonings are different. Rather than saffron, the main flavours are cayenne pepper and thyme with smokiness from the sausages and smoked paprika.
We just added these new vegan smoked sausages to our shop so I just had to try them in a jambalaya and they work perfectly! Head to our shop and add them to your next fruit and veg order to give them a try. Liz x
add organic groceries and extra veg to your regular box order – we deliver all over Ireland
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 tbsp olive oil (plus extra for drizzling)
1 onion
3 sticks of celery
2 peppers (any colour of a mix)
4 cloves of garlic
2 packs of smoked sausages (or substitute with mushrooms and red beans plus some extra smoked paprika)
salt and pepper to taste
2 heaped tsp smoked paprika (plus extra)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
3 tsp dried thyme (or fresh is even better)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 mug basmati rice
1 tin chopped tomatoes (or 4 chopped fresh tomatoes)
2 limes
watch how it’s made here or read on below
Method
Pre-heat your oven to 200C and find an oven and hob safe pan with a lid. Alternatively you could use a baking dish and some tin foil or a baking sheet. Instead of sautéing on the hob, the base ingredients can be roasted in the oven.
Start by dicing your onion, celery and peppers and sautéing them with the olive oil until just starting to soften.
Then chop the garlic and add it to the pan.
Cut the smoked sausages into bite size pieces and add them to the pan too. Then sauté everything together, stirring often, to seal the ingredients and so they start to caramelise and take on some colour. This takes about 10 minutes.
Add the herbs and spices to the pan and season with salt and pepper – stir to combine.
Rinse the mug of basmati rice and add it to the pan along with the tin of chopped tomatoes. Add two tins of water then stir to evenly disperse all the ingredients. Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning if needed with more salt or spices.
Put the lid on the pot and let it come up to a gentle boil. As soon as it is hot and bubbling, move the pan into the oven, lid on, so that the rice can bake and absorb all the liquid. This should take about 20 minutes for white rice.
Once the rice has absorbed all the liquid, remove the lid and you can serve it as it is or return it to the oven for a further 5 minutes with wedges of lime, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of smoked paprika. This creates a delicious crust on the rice and lightly charrs the lime wedges, making them sweet and extra juicy.
Serve with the roasted lime wedges to squeeze over the rice and a simple green salad. Enjoy!
To me a risotto should elevate a single vegetable. It should celebrate it. Add too many ingredients to your risotto and the flavours will mingle and become indistinguishable in the long simmer. Courgettes are incredibly versatile. Fantastic cooked down low and slow into a silky mush, griddled and seared, battered and deep fried, raw… So for interest and texture in this dish I’ve cut each courgette differently. One diced and simmered with the onions into a meltingly soft sauce, one sliced into rounds for texture and body in the risotto and the last one peeled into raw ribbons to go on top. Serve with a swirl of pesto (try my salad bag pesto here), a drizzle of good olive oil and some toasted hazelnuts. Heaven.
Leave a comment if you tried this recipe or show us your photos on Instagram or our Facebook group. We love seeing your amazing recreations. Liz x
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 onion
1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil
2 sticks of celery
4 cloves of garlic
3 courgettes
1 mug of risotto rice (or however much you like to serve 4)
1 lemon
1 stock cube
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp (or more to taste) pesto
extra virgin olive oil to serve
toasted, chopped hazelnuts to serve
Method
Dice the onion and put it in a wide pan with the butter and oil over a medium high heat. Add a pinch of salt and sauté and soften for around 6 minutes.
Dice the celery sticks, garlic and one of the courgettes and add them to the pan to soften too. Cook, stirring often until soft and golden. Around 10 minutes.
Rinse and add the risotto rice to the pan with the zest and juice of the lemon (or a glass of white wine). Crumble in the stock cube and add a generous grind of black pepper. Stir well to coat the rice in the seasoning then add a mug of warm water.
Slice the second courgette into rounds and add it to the pan. Simmer and stir until all the water has been absorbed then add another mug of water. Keep simmering and stirring.
Meanwhile use a vegetable peeler to slice as many ribbons from the third courgette. Chop up the middle bit and add it to the pan. Keep simmering and stirring and add another mug of water. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, pepper or lemon once the rice started to swell up and become softer.
Once the risotto is cooked (the rice should be soft and creamy but still with a little bite) turn off the heat. Stir through a few tbsp of pesto, pile on the raw courgette ribbons, drizzle everything with extra virgin olive oil and scatter over the toasted hazelnuts.
Take the pan to the table and serve with the jar of pesto handy to add extra swirls through the bowls of anyone who wishes for more.
Easily get 10 portions of fruit and veg into your day with this plant based St Patrick’s Day menu. No green food colouring in sight but lots of vibrant, fun, healthy ideas. Hope you have a fab day off everyone! Let us know what you are cooking to celebrate the day in the comments or over on our friendly facebook page.
Liz x
Breakfast
Green Smoothie Pancakes
Is it even St Patrick’s Day if you don’t eat something green? Avoid the food colouring and get out your blender for these sweet (but healthy) pancakes.
Ingredients (makes 10 pancakes)
a couple of large handfuls of rinsed kale (or spinach)
Put all the ingredients except the butter and maple syrup into a smoothie maker and blend until smooth.
Heat a non-stick frying pan to medium then melt some butter and fry the pancakes in small batches for a few minutes on each side until cooked through. It’s better to cook them low and slow so that they are cooked through and not too dark on the outside.
Stack them up and serve simply with butter and a generous drizzle of maple syrup or your favourite pancake toppings.
Lunch
Golden Boxty with Rainbow Slaw
Traditional Irish potato griddle cakes (but with very non-traditional grated courgette in the mashed potato batter instead of grated raw potato) are fried in butter until golden brown. Serve these ‘pots of gold’ with a rainbow slaw of fresh, raw, crunchy veg and a dollop of mayo for the perfect lunch.
mayonnaise to serve (or make your own using my easy aquafaba recipe here)
Method
Start with the slaw. Shred the cabbage, grate the carrot and thinly slice the peppers, spring onions and chives. Mix in a bowl with the juice of half a lemon to start with and the olive oil. Taste and add more lemon juice if you like.
Preheat a frying pan and mix up the boxty batter. Put the mashed potato, grated courgette (or raw potato), flour, milk, vinegar, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. You should end up with a batter that’s a dropping consistency. If not, add more milk.
Fry in melted butter on a medium heat for about 5 or so minutes on each side. You can fry them in little fritters or in large rounds the size of the pan. Carefully flip them over when the bottom is golden brown. Add more butter to the pan before flipping if it’s looking a bit dry.
Serve warm with the rainbow slaw and a dollop of mayonnaise.
Supper
Irish Stew with Soda Dread Dumplings
Meaty mushrooms and bitter Guinness makes this stew rich and delicious and what better way to mop up the juices than with some Irish soda bread? I steam it as dumplings on top here for a hearty one pot supper but you could bake it separately if you prefer and serve it alongside. Looking for a gluten free alternative? Why not make some colcannon (mashed potato with wilted green cabbage or kale and spring onion stirred through) to go with the stew instead and use a gluten free stout in place of the Guinness?
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion
3 carrots
3 sticks of celery
400g mushrooms
4 cloves of garlic
1 mug of green lentils
1 stock cube
1 can of Guinness
2 tbsp dark brown sugar (optional – to counteract the bitterness of the Guinness)
salt and pepper to taste
chopped chives to serve
500g flour (I like 250g plain and 250g wholemeal)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
300ml oat milk
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sunflower oil
Method
Get a large pot on the hob and heat it to the highest setting.
Roughly dice the onion and add it to the pot with 2 tbsp of sunflower oil.
Roughly dice the carrots, celery and mushrooms and add them to the pot next.
Stir occasionally and allow the vegetables to take on some colour and caramelised flavour for around 10 minutes. Then peel, chop and add the 4 cloves of garlic.
Rinse your mug of green lentils and add them to the pot with the can of Guinness, the stock cube and an additional mug of water. Season the stew with salt and lots of black pepper. Give the broth a taste and add some brown sugar to counteract the bitterness of the Guinness if needed.
Then let the stew come up to a simmer while you make the soda bread dough.
Measure the dry ingredients (the flour, salt and bicarb) into a large mixing bowl and mix well to evenly disperse the bicarbonate of soda and salt. Check for lumps and sort them out now before you add the wet ingredients.
Measure the wet ingredients (the oat milk, oil and vinegar) into a measuring jug and give it a stir. This is the plant based alternative for the traditional buttermilk in the recipe. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir well with a wooden spoon to form a rough dough. No need to knead, just stir well to ensure there are no dry, floury bits in the dough.
Use wet hands to form 6-8 balls of dough and place them carefully in the top of the simmering stew. Put the lid on the pot, make sure it’s turned down ow and allow the stew to simmer an the soda bread to steam for about 20-30 minutes.
Check that the lentils are cooked through then serve the hot stew and dumplings with chopped chives on top.
Dessert
Mint Choc Chip Ice-Cream
This ice cream is vibrant green, creamy and sweet…but made with peas and bananas! Don’t be put off by the healthy ingredients, blended frozen banana is a creamy revelation and peas are naturally so sweet. It’s especially good if the banana is frozen when super-ripe. If you eat through your bananas from your weekly delivery then this recipe is a good way to use up those reduced over-ripe bananas at the shops. A win-win for you and for the epic food waste problem the planet is facing. I’ve used cacao nibs instead of chocolate chips because I love their bitter, dark chocolate flavour, but do feel free to substitute with real chocolate chips…especially if you are serving this to children.
optional sweetener of your choice to taste (eg maple syrup)
and a tbsp or so of cacao nibs (or sub with chocolate chips)
Method
Peel and chop as many over-ripe bananas as you like. About one per person. Freeze them overnight on a tray until solid (with gaps between the pieces otherwise they’ll all freeze together and be very difficult to blend).
You’ll need a strong food processor with an S blade attachment. A food processor works better that a jug/smoothie blender for this.
Put the frozen banana chunks and frozen peas into your blender along with fresh mint leaves to taste.
Blend into a frozen, crumbly texture then stop the blender, scrape down the sides and blend again until vibrant green and creamy.
Taste the mixture and add a sweetener or more mint leaves if you like and blend again.
Scrape the nice cream out into a tub and stir through cacao nibs or chocolate chips. Scoop into balls and serve (they will be quite soft at this stage so for quickly) or move to the freezer to firm up until you are ready to serve.
Introducing the slightly more laborious, but much more exciting cousin of macaroni cheese! Béchamel Baked Butternut Gnocchi! This is comfort food at it’s finest.
My vegan béchamel sauce is very simple to put together, and for this I’ve simply whisked it up and poured it over sautéed celery and leek. Then I popped in lots of freshly boiled butternut gnocchi (not as tricky to make as it seems), scattered over some tangy capers and crushed pumpkin seeds and baked it until the béchamel was bubbling and thickened! I got some gorgeous cherry tomatoes in my box last week so I placed them on top to roast in the oven. Their bright acidity is the perfect foil to the creamy richness of the béchamel and gnocchi.
I’d love to see your photos if you make this dish. Share them with us over on our friendly facebook group or tag us @greenearthorganics1 on Instagram and don’t forget to share this blog post with your friends. Liz x
enough plain flour to bring it into a dough (this varies depending on the water content and size of your squash)
salt, pepper and optional herbs or spices (sage/rosemary/thyme/chilli flakes…)
Method
Pre-heat your oven to 200C.
Cut a small butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds and bake it – cut side down – in a hot oven (200C) until the flesh is soft all the way through. Test it with a small knife, it should easily slide into the soft, roasted butternut. (This normally takes 30 minutes or so. While it’s in the oven, get on with the sauce and preparing the toppings below.)
Allow the squash to cool to the point where you can easily handle it, then scoop out all the roasted flesh and mash or blend it into a smooth purée.
Find your biggest pot, 2/3rds fill it with water and get it on the stove to heat up to a rolling boil while you make the gnocchi.
Season the purée with salt and pepper and taste to check the seasoning. It should be slightly too salty as you are going to fold in a fair bit of flour. You can also add optional extra flavours at this stage. For example chilli flakes and sage or rosemary and lemon zest… or just leave it plain, that’s delicious too!
Then stir in enough flour to turn the purée into a soft dough. You can use plain flour (make sure there are no raising agents in it) or strong bread flour or even a gluten free plain flour blend. Gnocchi works best with white flour rather than wholemeal.
The amount of flour varies depending on the size and moisture content of your squash. Just start with a mug or so, gently fold it in and keep going until it’s the right consistency to be tipped out onto a floured work surface and very briefly kneaded. You want to work it as little as possible to keep it tender, but just enough to bring it together into a manageable ball of dough. It should be soft and sticky, get a helper to keep dusting the work surface and your hands with flour to make it more manageable.
Cut the ball of dough into 4, then roll one of the quarters into a thick snake. Chop the snake into little bites. If you want to make little traditional looking grooves in the gnocchi you can stamp each bite with a fork or you can roll them over a gnocchi board if you have one… or simply roll them into balls.
Then drop the gnocchi into the now boiling water in batches. Gently loosen them from the bottom of the pot with a slotted spoon. When they rise to the top of the water they are done and can be scooped out and placed in the sauce below. I do them in batches of one snake at a time, then while that batch is boiling I get the next snake ready.
Keep going until all your gnocchi dough is used up. If you make too much for the bake, then you can cool down and keep the excess boiled gnocchi in the fridge/freezer and use it another day (pan fry it with a little olive oil or butter and serve with pesto and salad?)
In an oven and hob safe, large, wide pan, sauté the sliced celery, leek and garlic with the butter or olive oil and some salt and pepper until soft. Then turn off the heat. (If you don’t have an oven and hob safe large dish like this, you can just sauté the veg and tip it into a roasting tray instead.)
Then whisk the flour, milk, mustard, nutritional yeast, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a large jug or mixing bowl and pour the mixture over the sautéed celery and leeks.
Boil the gnocchi in batches as above and pop them into the dish on top of the sauce.
In a small blender or large pestle and mortar, crush/blend the handful of pumpkin seeds with a small handful of nutritional yeast for a crunchy, savoury topping. Scatter this over the gnocchi and sauce.
Sprinkle over the capers and cherry tomatoes then pop the dish into the oven (with an optional drizzle of olive oil) to bake until the gnocchi are burnished golden brown and the sauce is thick and bubbling. This should take around 20-30 minutes.
Serve with a simple green salad and an ice cold glass of white wine and enjoy!
I always keep a kitchen cupboard stocked with tins of beans, tomatoes, coconut milk and jackfruit. Having a repertoire of store-cupboard suppers is very useful when you are subscribed to a veg box delivery. Depending on what’s going on each week, sometimes I have a bit of fresh fruit and veg leftover when the new, weekly box arrives and sometimes I need to make a store-cupboard supper or two before it arrives and that’s totally fine! Especially with the range of brilliant, organic groceries at Green Earth Organics. What a luxury to be able to eat fresh, organic vegetables most days, and organic store-cupboard ingredients on other days!
Here’s one of our current store-cupboard staples, a spicy, Jamaican inspired jerk stew with the most delicious coconutty red beans and rice!
As always, please share your photos of your version of the recipe with our friendly community Facebook group. We love to see our recipes leave the blog! Liz x
Put the rice, coconut milk and drained tin of beans into a small pot. Add the onion wedge and whole cloves and a pinch of salt. Add a mug of water then stir briefly to combine.
Bring the rice pot to the boil with the lid on, then immediately as it comes to the boil, turn the heat down to the lowest setting, leave the lid on, do not stir, and allow the rice to gently simmer and absorb all the liquid in the pot.
For white rice this only takes about 15-20 minutes, brown rice takes double that time. So if you are using brown rice, get it assembled and on to boil first, if you are using white rice, get the stew on first then the rice.
Sauté the onion, celery, pepper and carrot in a large pot with the vegetable oil. Once it starts to soften and colour, add the jerk seasoning and stir to coat the vegetables and toast the spices.
Add the jackfruit pieces, break them up as you add them to the pot, then season with salt and pepper.
Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, 2/3rds fill the tin with water and swirl that out into the pot too. If you like it spicy, you can drop in a whole scotch bonnet chilli or two at this stage too.
Give the stew a stir and pop the lid on and allow it to simmer while the rice cooks. Remove the lid and give it a stir every now and then to make sure it’s not sticking on the bottom.
Serve with wilted dark leafy greens or with wedges of roast squash like I have done in the video above.
Ingredients for jerk seasoning – mix together in a jar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground black pepper
6 tsp dried thyme
4 tsp ground allspice (or mixed spice if you can’t find allspice)
