Somerset Stew : Vegetarian : Easily adapted for those who like meat!

I know many readers are vegetarian, while others choose to eat meatless once or twice a week. Menu plans are always a personal choice. Today's recipe suggestion is for Somerset Stew, a vegetarian dish full of flavour and goodness, which can be easily adapted for meat lovers by adding sausages!

Why is this called Somerset Stew? It's the addition of cider! The County of Somerset in South West England has many apple orchards which makes it a veritable haven for lovers of cider, or scrumpy as it is known locally.

A traditional cider apple orchard, with sheep grazing

The sweet golden nectar is found throughout the county, with offerings ranging from cloudy artisan varieties made on site, to the refined ciders of large commercial companies. Cider can make a nice addition to many stew/casserole recipes like the one featured today. Read more about Somerset here

Somerset Stew
Serves Four
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
400g can chopped tomato
200g can butter bean, drained
400g can flageolet bean, rinsed and drained
200ml dry cider
250ml vegetable stock
few sprigs thyme, leaves only

Make it non-veggie
2 sausages
1 tsp olive oil per portion

Optional Servings

Prepare as appropriate to serve with stew
Cheddar and parsley mash
Celeriac Mash
Carrot and Swede Mash
Swede (Rutabaga) Mash

Method
1. Heat oil in a large pan and fry the onion, garlic, carrot and leek until soft but not coloured. Add the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, butter beans, flageolet beans, cider, stock and thyme and simmer for 15-20 mins until the stew has thickened and the veg are tender.
2. Meanwhile, if you’re adding sausages to any portion, snip each sausage into 3-4 chunks. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and brown the chunks for 5 mins, then stir in appropriate portions of the stew and gently simmer for the remaining cooking time. 

3. You'll also need to prepare and cook the mash of your choice.

4. Once all ready, serve and enjoy.

Nutrition Per Serving (without mash)

Fat 4g Protein 9g Carbs 20g Fibre 7g

From idea here

A variety of articles and recipe ideas are found within this blog. Please note, not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan