Go authentic with this delicious Spanish dish of vegetable stew.
Ingredients
For the Rouille:
- 3 hard boiled egg yolks
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp tomato purée
- 2 raw egg yolks
- 1 tsp dry English mustard powder
- 300 ml10 fl oz extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp Harissa or chilli paste
- A good pinch of saffron stamens, softened in one dessertspoon of warm water
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
For the stew:
- 450 g15¾ oz canned chickpeas and white beans
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp sweet non-smoked paprika
- A pinch of hot paprika
- 300 g10½ oz potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm pieces
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 L vegetable stock
- 300 g10½ oz butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 5cm pieces
- 200 g7 oz green beans, topped and tailed and cut into 2.5cm lengths
- 4 Conference pears, peeled, cored and chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- A few fresh mint leaves, chopped
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Method: How to make Spanish vegetable stew
For the Rouille:
In a food processor blend the hard boiled egg yolk with the garlic and tomato purée. Remove and set aside.
Place the raw egg yolks in the food processor with the mustard and a little salt and a few generous grindings of black pepper.
With the machine running, add the oil a few drops at a time to start, then in a thin stream, thinning down every so often with the lemon juice.
Add the harissa, toasted almonds, saffron mixture and remaining lemon juice. Pulse briefly, add the hard boiled egg yolk mixture and check the seasonings.
For the stew:
Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the garlic and fry until golden. Remove the garlic and set aside.
Next, using the same oil, fry the onions and red pepper until soft. Add the tinned tomatoes and cook until reduced before adding the paprika.
Drain the chickpeas and beans and add to the onion mixture, the potatoes, bay leaf and stock to the pot. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then add the butternut squash and pears and continue to cook until everything is tender. In the last 5 minutes of cooking add the green beans and fresh chopped tomatoes.
Once the vegetables are ready, stir in the Rouille (or place to one side in a bowl), season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle over a little chopped mint.
