KALE AND BEAN STEW
This vegan stew triumph is the perfect nutritious and budget friendly winter warmer. I’ll give you tips on how to serve the kale to little ones and fussy eaters.
Equipment
- Chef’s knife + chopping board
- Colander
- Large saucepan / pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch cayenne optional
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree / double concentrate tomato paste (US)
- 800 ml vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 700 g sweet potatoes approx 4 small, peeled and diced 1 inch max
- 400 g tinned cannellini beans or butterbeans
- 400 g tinned haricot beans / navy beans (US)
- 180 g kale stems removed
TO SERVE
- Toasted pitta or naan bread
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large lidded, saucepan over a low heat. Add the onions and fry for 6-8 minutes, stirring often. Then add in the garlic, spices, salt & pepper and stir for 1 minute.
- Add in the tomato puree and stock, give it a stir and increase the heat to high. Next, add in the bay leaf, sweet potato and all the beans. Stir then leave to come to the boil. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid, give it a brief stir and then top with the kale, adding it in an even layer. Re-cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Finally, remove the lid and gently stir the kale into the stew, recover and cook a further 5 minutes. When serving, remember to remove the bay leaf.
SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS
- Do steps 2-4 in your removable slow cooker pot. Put the pot back into your slow cooker base and in even layers add the sweet potato and then the beans. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, medium for 5 hours or low 7 hours. Then gradually add in the kale, gently stirring it through until it’s all added. Recover the slow cooker, turn setting to high and leave for 15 minutes to wilt the kale.
Notes
Make sure you remove any kale stems before cooking.
Leftovers can be stored for 3 days in the fridge (cook day +2) in an air-tight container or food bag. They can also be frozen, defrost for 24hrs in the fridge and heat through until piping hot.
Baby & Toddler
Switch to low-salt stock and omit the salt from the cook.
BABY-LED WEANING
Give their beans a smash down with the back of a fork, and mash their sweet potato chunks. Finely chop through their kale with a sharp knife. You can serve with toasted naan or pitta fingers.
SPOON FEEDING 6 MONTHS put baby’s serving into your stick blender pot and puree. 7-9 MONTHS put baby’s portion into your mini food chopper and pulse until finely chopped. Serve with lightly toasted pitta cut into finger size strips. 10-12 MONTHS gradually pulse baby’s serving in your mini food chopper until it is a lumpy, chopped consistency. Serve with lightly toasted pitta strips. 1 YEAR + It’s a good idea to use 2 cans of the haricot beans instead of any cannellini or butterbeans as the haricot beans are very small and not a choking hazard. Otherwise larger beans can be smashed with the back of a fork. You can use the back of the fork to mash the soft sweet potato chunks. Finely chop through their kale with a sharp knife.
SPOON FEEDING 6 MONTHS put baby’s serving into your stick blender pot and puree. 7-9 MONTHS put baby’s portion into your mini food chopper and pulse until finely chopped. Serve with lightly toasted pitta cut into finger size strips. 10-12 MONTHS gradually pulse baby’s serving in your mini food chopper until it is a lumpy, chopped consistency. Serve with lightly toasted pitta strips. 1 YEAR + It’s a good idea to use 2 cans of the haricot beans instead of any cannellini or butterbeans as the haricot beans are very small and not a choking hazard. Otherwise larger beans can be smashed with the back of a fork. You can use the back of the fork to mash the soft sweet potato chunks. Finely chop through their kale with a sharp knife.
Nutrition
Calories: 610kcalCarbohydrates: 117gProtein: 25gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 1672mgPotassium: 1655mgFiber: 19gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 29776IUVitamin C: 50mgCalcium: 354mgIron: 8mg
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