Giant butter bean stew

3 of 5-a-day 400 kcal or less 6 servings alternative easter lunch alternative sunday lunch bean stew easter lunch fibre mains over an hour side dish spring sunday lunch vegetarian side dish vitamin c

N/A

Source

Ingredients

4 x 235g cans butter beans or 500g dried butter beans (cook according to pack instructions)

100ml Greek extra virgin olive oil

3 small red onions, finely sliced

2 large carrots, finely sliced

3 celery stalks with leaves, finely chopped

4 sundried tomatoes, sliced

1kg ripe tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp tomato purée

1 tsp sugar

small pack flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

small pack dill, finely chopped

100g feta (optional), crumbled

Method

Drain the canned beans, reserving 200ml of the liquid. Heat the oil in a large flameproof lidded casserole dish, and cook the onions, carrots and celery until tender and the onions are soft and transparent, but not coloured. Stir in the remaining ingredients, reserving half of the chopped herbs and feta (if using).

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cook over a gentle heat for a further 5 mins, then pour over the reserved liquid. Cover the dish and bake in the oven for 40 mins. Check occasionally that the beans are not drying out – add a little more water if needed.

Remove the lid and bake for 10 mins more. Can be made 2 days ahead and reheated. Stir through the reserved chopped herbs, season to taste, then crumble over the remaining feta just before serving.