Darina Allen: A Persian-inspired chickpea stew with seasonal root vegetables

Or try Rory O'Connell's turnip, potato and bacon gratin

This Persian chickpea stew is a delicious one pot dinner ideal for midweek meals.

Potatoes are, of course, a powerhouse of nutrients, but also carrots, parsnips and swedes are inexpensive and produce so many delicious, nutritious and amazing dishes.

Not just comforting favourites — after all, who doesn’t love a time-honoured carrot and parsnip mash with lots of chopped parsley and a big dollop of butter. But have you been roasting your carrots? I’ve been roasting roots in a myriad of different ways, not just a tray of diced vegetables, delicious as they can be when flavoured with gutsy winter herbs, anointed with a good olive oil, and most importantly, served immediately. Roast vegetables lose their charm very quickly when left to get wizened in a warming oven.

And don’t forget the humble swede, many of our recipes elevate this ridiculously inexpensive winter root to new heights. Rory O’Connell slathers a delicious purée of swedes with extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan. We also love a gratin of swedes with thyme leaves and bacon and how about Persian chickpea stew which includes the aquafaba (liquid from the tin) which gives the bean stew a delicious texture.

Add some chunks to an Irish stew to up the vegetable content and boost the flavour even further.

The possibilities are endless. Here are a few suggestions and there are lots more in many of my cookbooks. Have you come across my latest book How To Co ok ? It’s got 100 simple recipes everyone should know and is getting lots of very positive feedback — thank you all.

Rory O’Connell’s Gratin of Swede Turnips, Potatoes, Thyme Leaves and Bacon Gratin

recipe by:Darina Allen

This is a robust warming gratin made with one of my favourite winter vegetables, the cheap and cheerful swede turnip.

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 1 hours 20 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 35 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 450g (1lb) swede turnip, peeled and sliced into 4 mm slices

• 450g (1lb) potatoes, peeled and sliced into 3mm thick slices

• 110g (4oz) lardons of smoked or unsmoked bacon

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 110g (4oz) grated parmesan

• 1 tsp thyme leaves

• 350ml (12fl oz) cream or chicken stock (see recipe)

• salt and freshly-ground black pepper

• 1 x 1.5 litre (2 1/2 pints) ovenproof gratin dish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

2. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and season with a good pinch of salt. Drop in the sliced turnips, bring back to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. The turnips will have tenderised slightly but will not be fully cooked. Strain out the turnips, reserving the water for cooking the potatoes. Place the turnips on a tray lined with a tea towel.

3. Bring the water back to the boil and add the sliced potatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute only. Strain and rinse under the cold tap and place on a tray lined with a tea towel like the turnips.

4. Heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and add the bacon lardons. Cook, stirring until the bacon is crisp and golden. Strain out the bacon and place on a piece of kitchen paper towel to drain.

5. To assemble the gratin, grease the gratin dish with a light smear of butter. Place on a layer of the turnips and potatoes, followed by a sprinkle of thyme leaves, a sprinkle of lardons of bacon and a sprinkle of the grated parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Splash on a little of the cream. Repeat the process finishing the gratin with a final sprinkle of the cheese.

6. Place the gratin in a bain-marie in the preheated oven and cook for 60-80 minutes. After 60 minutes, test the gratin with a skewer to see if the potatoes and turnips are tender. The skewer should go through the vegetables with no resistance and the top of the gratin should be a rich golden colour. The cooked gratin will sit happily in the oven for an hour before serving with the temperature reduced to 50°C/120°F/Gas Mark ¼.

Persian chickpea stew

recipe by:Darina Allen

A veggie take on Khoresh Gheymeh which is usually made with beef.

Servings

4

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 100ml (3 ½ fl oz) extra virgin olive oil

• 400g (14oz) onions, peeled and finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• ½ tsp turmeric

• 1 tsp cumin, finely roasted and ground

• 1 tsp freshly roasted and ground coriander

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• 400g (14oz) very ripe tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and diced or 1 tin of chopped tomatoes in Winter

• 2 x 400ml (14fl oz) coconut milk

• 200ml (7fl oz) vegetable stock

• 100ml (3 ½fl oz) aquafaba (liquid from tin of chickpeas)

• 175g (6oz) swede turnip, diced into 2cm (3/4 inch)

• 100g (3 ½oz) potato, diced into 2cm (3/4 inch)

• 50g (2oz) sultanas

• a generous pinch of saffron

• 1 x 400g (14oz) tin of chickpeas

• salt and freshly-ground black pepper and a pinch of sugar

• freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime

• To garnish:

• 1 large ripe tomato, deseeded and diced

• 50g (2oz) almonds, toasted and halved

• 100g (3 ½oz) frozen desiccated coconut

• 1 generous handful of fresh coriander sprigs

Method

1. Heat the extra virgin olive oil. Add the onion and cook for 10-15 minutes on a medium heat until it starts to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add all of the spices except the saffron and cook for a further 2 minutes.

2. Add the chopped tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes then add the coconut milk, stock and aquafaba. Bring to the boil, add the swede turnip and diced potatoes, sultanas and saffron. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

3. Add the chickpeas. Bring back to the boil and season with salt, freshly-ground pepper and a pinch of sugar. Taste, correct the seasoning and add the juice of 1 lime or more to taste.

4. Garnish with the diced fresh tomato, toasted flaked almonds, frozen desiccated coconut and lots of fresh coriander.

HOT TIPS

Ennis Book Club Festival

A visit to the St Tola Goat Farm with Rory O’Connell hosted by award-winning Bib Gourmand chef Jess Murphy of Kai Restaurant on Sunday, March 6 at 2pm. €100 for a group of 4, price includes a cheese board.  Limited places available.

glor.ie or telephone [phone]

One to watch…

Beth O’Brien, Ballymaloe Cookery School alumni, is currently undertaking a Master’s in Food Business and Innovation at UCC and hopes to focus on sustainability in food systems. Her Instagram account has quite the following. She regularly features baking comparison projects, where she bakes nine different recipes for popular cakes, photographs them and compares the results.

For more information, see @Bethcooksthings on Instagram