Tonight, I first of all chopped an onion and fried it gently in a mixture of rapeseed oil and salted butter. using out deepest frying pan. Then I tossed in a handful of sliced courgette (American: zucchini). Next the jug of leftover gravy from Sunday was added and next some sliced carrot that I had cooked in the microwave for six minutes. Then similar with a chopped leek.
Next I tossed in skilfully introduced a can of chickpeas. Stirring and then tasting suggested how much seasoning the dish might need. I also added a little dried fenugreek - not too much.
I had cooked a large potato in the microwave - chopped into roughly one inch cubes. This was added along with the potato water. It is important to have enough liquid for the stew mélange to swim in. Last of all came the chicken pieces from Sunday.
Very often I would put floured suet dumplings on top of the bubbling stew mélange for the last fifteen minutes - with the lid on. However, on this occasion I remembered we had some nice multigrain bread in the pantry so I cut and buttered a couple of slices.
After I had spooned out the stew mélange de coq, I sprinkled some garlic and herb nutritional yeast over the the surfaces of the two steaming bowls of that delicious goodness. Ian and Henry's "Bosh!" company now have three types of "nooch" in selected British supermarkets. It's especially good for vegans looking to quickly add B vitamins to their meat and dairy-free dishes.
I hope that this post and the accompanying photographs will boost your own ideas about quickly bashing out a stew mélange using whatever comes to hand. Occasionally, it is fun to ad-lib and get creative in the kitchen. as our lovely son has discovered to his eternal benefit.
Wow!
ReplyDeleteHey! You have dribbled some down your chin Catalyst!
DeleteStodge and stew is what you need especially after hiking, gardening or peeling the spuds and veg and making a good hearty stew. Wishing continued success to the Bosh!
ReplyDeleteHey! Don't talk while you are eating Dave!
DeleteYou can't beat a good rib sticking stew. Yum.
ReplyDeleteHey! No belching this time JayCee!
DeleteI really wish the Bosh! varieties of "nooch" were available in my part of the world. (meaning even if they were on this side of the Atlantic, it's doubtful they would in a store near me) All I can get is plain old nutritional yeast.
ReplyDeleteNo. I don't believe that Bosh! products are for sale anywhere in America but Bosh! books are available Kelly.
DeleteLooks dee-lish. I have never heard of Dried Fenugreek, but now I am on the hunt for it!
ReplyDeleteIt mostly comes from the Indian sub-continent. We have a lot of Indian restaurants and takeaways in Great Britain. It is a very unusual taste and can enhance many dishes if not overused.
DeleteLooks edible. Nooch! Apparently everybody is talking about nooch but there is the first time you hear a word and this is mine.
ReplyDeleteIt just occurred to me, what makes an Irish stew Irish?
Is it the shamrocks?
DeleteI had to google "nooch" as I had never heard of it. I think it is something my gluten-free, dairy-free daughter might use - I'll have to let her know. I don't think we have your son's Bosh in the US, tho. Your stew looks yummy. Your talented son must have gotten his cooking talents from you!
ReplyDeleteBosh! books have been in many American bookshops Ellen. Also available via Amazon.
DeleteI love the day two dishes better than the Sunday roast.
ReplyDeleteIt's best at Christmastime when you can make the roast turkey go a long way.
DeleteMy mother used to "ad-lib" and make what she called "savoury mince" adding in any old leftovers, including the meat she saved out of uneaten sandwiches. It was truly awful and she was always disappointed when my kids wouldn't eat anything when we visited her.
ReplyDeleteSounds like she had her own individual style!
DeleteI love your deep frying pan, I need to buy one of those!
ReplyDeleteVery useful. I use it most days and it has a lid too.
DeleteI do a lot of this kind of cooking. I was once throwing together a noodle dish with a bunch of leftovers and my (chef trained) cousin praised me for my great grasp of peasant style cooking!
ReplyDeleteI think i prefer toast to dumplings but so long as it's carbs, who really cares? :)
Don't you mean "cuisine paysanne" - sounds more posh.
DeleteMaking do with what I have and creatively putting together ingredients that need using up is my favourite way of cooking. Your stew sounds and looks delicious! I don't know what fenugreek is.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice not to throw any food away. Fenugreek is a herb from the Indian sub-continent
DeleteNot heard of Nooch before, and we don't appear to have Bosh products here. Not sure about fenugreek - I'll have to check the translation, but I don't think it features in Spanish cookery.
ReplyDeleteLast night I made a huge pot of vegetable soup - it's that sort of weather at the moment!
I thought that the sun always shone in Spain. Fenugreek is mostly grown and used on the Indian sub-continent.
DeleteI've been using nutritional yeast for over forty years now. Learned about it from the hippys on Stephen Gaskin's Farm and their little cookbook.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I too, love to make meals from leftovers. Your stew looks delicious.
I was looking for a poem I once read about cooking with passion and feeling - like improvising on a musical instrument.
DeleteIt looks delicious, the frying pan looks heavy, is it Creuset? Such heavy saucepans are not good for my wrists.
ReplyDeleteNo it is not a Creuset. It's much lighter than that and it has a glass lid too.
DeleteI love putting together a good vegetarian stew using up everything I can find in the crisper. Unfortunately, my meat-loving, and mostly non-cooking family, don't share my enthusiasm for such stews. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteNot everyone has a sophisticated palete Melinda.
DeleteDave does this almost once a week to clean out the fridge. I've never heard nutritional yeast called "nooch"! Funny!
ReplyDeleteWe usually clean out our fridge with a mild detergent. And yeah - "nooch" man! You gotta get down in da hood to tune into these things man.
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