One-pot Mushroom & Aubergine Stew with Spiced Chic-pea, Date & pistachio Couscous & Wilted Greens Salad

One-pot Mushroom & Aubergine Stew with Spiced Chic-pea, Date & pistachio Couscous & Wilted Greens Salad

All Photography By Ctrlaltdelete Design Solutions (copyright © 2017) all rights reserved

I think we can all relate when it comes to weekday meals, coming home tired from the daily slog to only be greeted by that flabby ready meal you thought at the time was a great idea; you always try to conjure something new in your head that is new and exciting, but then ending up just shoving something from the supermarket freezer isle in the oven-because it’s convenient basically. Well, that’s why I am here, to do all the thinking for you to produce a delicious (hopefully) healthy and simple weekday meal that everyone can enjoy, although I feel this particular recipe would also work great for a dinner party on mass as it’s actually quite elegant and easy to make a shed load of as it’s a one pot affair.

Tangy, Sweet, earthy; this stew is absolutely brimming with flavour and has a slight kick to it from the Chipotle paste so it really does suit many tastes. This meal I make most weeks, usually on a Sunday as it’s quite light which can only mean one thing…room for a pudding afterwards (well that’s my excuse anyway!).

What Will I Need?

Measuring Scales

1 X Large Lidded Cooking Pan

Measuring Spoons

Sharp Chopping Knives

Grater

Wooden Spoon

1 X Medium ceramic OR Glass Dish

Kettle

Fork

Ingredients

For the Stew-serves 2-3 people

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

400g Mixed Mushrooms roughly chopped (I use Chestnut, field & White Cup varieties)

½ Medium Aubergine

1 Tbsp. Fresh Flat-leaf Parsley

1 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme

1 Clove Garlic Crushed

Zest & Juice ½ Un-waxed Lemon

Chipotle Paste

1 x Tin Chopped Tomatoes

1 Tbsp. Tomato Paste

Date Syrup (OR Agave Nectar)

For the Couscous

120g Whole-wheat Couscous

Boiling Water

½ Organic dairy-free, Low Salt Vegetable Stock Cube (I use Kallo)

½ Tsp. Turmeric

1 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon

½ Tsp. mixed Spice

Pinch Pink Himalayan Rock Salt OR Sea Salt

Pinch Black Pepper

½ can Chic-peas drained (don’t waste the brine, keep it aside for Meringue!)

8 Pistachios roughly chopped

6 Dried Dates roughly chopped

Pinch Nutritional Yeast (Nooch)

½ Tsp. Fresh Flat leaf Parsley

For the Salad

½ Bag Baby Spinach

¼ Bag Sliced Curly Kale

3 Chunks Cucumber cubed

5 Cherry Tomatoes Halved

1 Small Shallot OR Red Onion sliced

Squeeze Fresh Lemon Juice

Pinch Pink Himalayan Rock Salt OR Sea Salt

Pinch Ground Black Pepper

Method

For the Stew

1. Heat the Olive Oil on a medium heat until fragrant, then add the mushrooms, Aubergine, Parsley, Thyme, Garlic and Lemon Zest then season with a little Salt and Pepper; turn down the heat to low and cook covered for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms and Aubergine are just going tender.
2. Add the Chipotle Paste, Chopped Tinned Tomatoes, Tomato Puree and Date Syrup, stir to ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated and cook uncovered on a low heat until a thick dark sauce resembles, then cover with a lid to prevent any more liquid evaporating from the pan.

For the couscous 

1. Place all of the ingredients apart from the Chic-peas, Black Pepper, Nooch and fresh Parsley into a ceramic OR glass dish and cover with freshly boiled water, stir well then let sit until all the Water has been absorbed, then fluff up with a fork.
2. Cook the Chic-peas in a small cooking pan over a medium heat for 3 minutes until tender, then drain and set aside.
3. Lastly, fold in the cooked Chic-peas, shopped Pistachios and Dates, Nooch, Fresh Parsley and A couple of grinds of Black Pepper and a little extra Salt to taste if needed.

 For the Salad

1. Place the Spinach and Kale into a medium pan and cover with freshly boiled water then let sit for a minute OR two, then drain into a colander and run under cold water before squeezing out the excess liquid from the leaves.
2. Place all the salad ingredients in a medium serving bowl followed by the Lemon juice then season with the Salt and Pepper, fold into the salad then you’re ready to serve!

 Serving Suggestions

Spoon a generous helping of the couscous onto a dinner plate or shallow bowl, followed by a ladle of stew over the top and a good spoonful of the salad either side.

I’ a bit of a sucker for a good chutney so I like to also put a dollop of Caramelised onion and fruit Chutney to go with-it works SO well!

All there is left now is to enjoy!

Thank you for reading, as always I would love to hear your thoughts on this recipe, how did you get on, have you any photos? I would love to see!

Although not mandatory, a little donation for using this recipe would be utterly amazing; 10% of your contribution will be going to The Animal Farm Sanctuary charity, find out more via these links; 

http://www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk

http://rainbow-chef.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/lets-rescue-animals-together.html