English Style Bean Stew

Written by McDonald, T.  |  Date 16th of January 2023

Just the thing for a cold day!  For a long time I held off trying this dish out because it didn't appeal to me much.  Once I did try it, I started to have it all the time.  This is a very easy meal to make and is extremely versatile.   You can have it with rice, roast potatoes, new potatoes, boiled potatoes or even mash potato.  You can have it with pasta or just on its own with some crusty bread.  Not only is the dinner packed with texture and flavour, it contains a lot of protein and roughage. 

Notes 

• I used canned beans and lentils, but you can use dried.  Obviously, you would need to soak dried beans. 
• If you use dried beans, you will need to increase the cooking time as per packet instructions. 
  

Nutrition

Beans, also known as legume are nutrient rich and are the seeds of plants from  Fabaceae ("leguminous" plants). Different genera of plants have different types of bean.  Beans are a great source of roughage, protein and vitamins.  They are also low in cholesterol. 

 

Butter beans (Lima beans) 

• Protein
• Carbohydrate 
  
• B6
• Roughage 
• Iron 
• Magnesium  

Kidney beans

• Protein 
• Carbohydrate 
  
• B6
• Vitamin C
  
• Roughage 
• Iron 
• Magnesium  
• Potassium
  
• Calcium 

Lentils 

• Protein
  
• Carbohydrate 
  
• B6
• Roughage 
• Iron 
• Potassium
  

Notably, the highest protein count comes from the red kidney beans, which also has lots of calcium too. In fact, the kidney beans came out top for nutrition. Look them up. 

Since the beans lack beta-carotene (vitamin A), I added carrot, but you could add sweet potato or butternut squash.  Whatever you choose, remember back pepper helps to release the beta-carotene that is why this recipe uses black pepper. Beta-carotene is important to a vegan as our bodies convert it into vitamin A; however, we need lots of it.  Carrot has loads in.

Serves 2

Ready in 20 minutes

Ingredients 

• Butter beans x 117g
  
• Kidney beans x 120g
  
• Lentils x 117g
  
• Chopped tomatoes x 200g
  
• Onion x 1 medium diced
• Garlic x 4 cloves chopped 
• Balsamic vinegar x 4 tbsp
• Vegetable stock x 150ml
• Fennel seeds
  
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Fry the onion and garlic in a little oil in the bottom of your saucepan until the onion turns translucent. 
2. Add the beans, lentils and tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients.  Stir thoroughly. 
3. Simmer on a low to medium heat for 15-20 minutes. 
4. Serve with rice, paster or potatoes. 
   

Translucent onions

Results 

I loved this from the very first time.  I like to top with a little nooch.  

 

I hope that you liked this blog and if you do try this recipe, please let me know how you got on and what it turned out like. You can leave a comment in the comments below.