Brazilian Black Bean and Pumpkin Stew

From The Slow Cook Book, Heather Whinney, Dorling Kindersley, 2011.

In readiness for this recipe I soaked 160ml black beans in some water overnight. In the morning I drained the beans and then put them in a saucepan with some water, brought them to the boil and then drained them again. They then went into the slow cooker to wait for the other ingredients.

While the beans were being brought to the boil I chopped an onion and placed it in a pan with a little hot oil to cook for about 3 minutes. Next 2 chopped garlic cloves went in for a minute and then half a butternut pumpkin cut into bite-sized pieces for another minute. These all now went in the slow cooker with a chopped red capsicum, a can of tomatoes, a small red chilli (chopped) and 300ml water with a vegetarian stock cube.

The cooker was turned on low and left to cook for 8 hours. About half way through the cooking time I checked the stew for seasoning and added a little salt and lots of black pepper.

At serving time a mango was diced and added with chopped coriander.

Served with rice this was a flavoursome meal. It had thickened and was rich with a mixture of savoury tastes occasionally enlivened with the sweet pieces of mango. It was so easy to make that it is a recipe that must be remembered for cold winter nights.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔