Carlin’s cooking
This may sound strange coming from someone with a regular cooking column, but I personally don’t believe in blind obedience when it comes to recipes. They can be a useful source of inspiration, but once you have followed the recipe once or twice you owe it to yourself to put some more thought into it and add your own touch.
This stew was the result of wild improvisation. There is no magic formula here, so don’t be afraid to change things around. I have listed some variations at the end to get you started.
Spicy Stew
Ingredients:
1 tin of crushed tomatoes
4 medium-sized potatoes
2 onions
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 tin of kidney beans
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
teaspoon chilli powder, alternatively chopped chilli
grated cheese to taste
cooking oil
salt and pepper
Instructions:
1. Peel the potatoes and slice them into rough cubes.
2. Chop the onions into chunks.
3. Pour some oil into a saucepan and set the stove to medium heat. Once the oil is runny, add the chopped onions and let them fry for a few minutes.
4. Add the potatoes and fry until they have some colour.
5. Pour on the crushed tomatoes, the puree, and all the spices.
6. Turn down the heat until the stew is simmering nicely, and allow 10 minutes for the potatoes to soften.
7. Drain and rinse the kidney beans thoroughly, and stir them in.
8. Serve as soon as the beans are warm throughout, with some grated cheese sprinkled on top.
Variations:
Need meat? Try chopping some bacon and frying it until crispy. Add it towards the very end, but make sure you go easy on the salt, as the bacon will most likely add enough saltiness in itself.
You can easily substitute the kidney beans for other kinds and borlotti beans, for example, should be worth a try.
Consider adding some broccoli for the last two to three minutes. Other vegetables you could try include sweet corn, black olives, or why not swede? Most vegetables should go in late to retain their crispiness, but you will probably want the swede slightly softer, so add it with the potatoes.
