Winter-warmer plantain stew
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Loading... - Ines Novak
- 01 Dec 2020
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I roast the parsnips and sweet potato separately here for the same reason we brown meat before adding to a stew: it greatly improves the flavour and texture.
(Serves 4)
Vegetable oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 scotch bonnet chilli
3 cloves garlic
Thumb-sized piece of ginger
2 large onions, diced
½ to ¾ tsp table salt
200g dried kidney beans
3 sweet potatoes
4 parsnips
100g unsalted peanuts
1 can coconut milk
2 yellow plantains (or large green bananas)
Handful of coriander, chopped
In a large saucepan, warm up a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil over a medium heat. Add in the ground spices followed by the finely chopped chilli, garlic and ginger. Stir for about a minute then add the onion and the salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion has softened.
Pour in the kidney beans, along with a litre of water. Bring everything to a boil, then cover and simmer gently. The beans will take a long time to cook, about 1½-2 hours.
Meanwhile, prepare the root vegetables by peeling and chopping them roughly into conker-sized chunks. Toss them in a little oil and roast at 240C/460F/gas mark 9 for about 20 minutes. The edges will be deeply brown, almost blackened by this point – not so pretty on the eye, but full of flavour.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and toast the peanuts for 6 minutes. Set aside and once cool, chop them roughly.
Check on the beans after 90 minutes – they will have plumped up and should be completely soft once done. Keep checking every 10 or 15 minutes if they still have any firmness.
Once the beans are cooked, stir in the can of coconut milk. Slice the plantains in half lengthways and then into four pieces. Add to the bean medley and cook for 5-10 minutes depending on the ripeness of your plantains. You’re aiming for the texture of a ripe banana.
Stir in the roasted parsnips and sweet potatoes, then top with a sprinkling of the chopped peanuts and coriander.
