RED KIDNEY BEAN AND SWEET POTATO STEW WITH YOGURT & HOT MINT OIL

The yogurt in this vegetarian stew is a perfect, cooling contrast, and the hot mint oil – a very Persian addition we call nana daagh – finishes the dish incredibly well. You can serve this with rice or bread, and leftovers make an excellent brunch dish with poached eggs.

SERVES 4-6

Vegetable oil, for frying 1 large onion, diced

4 fat garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2tsp cumin seeds

1tsp ground cinnamon 1tsp ground turmeric 1tsp chilli flakes

690g passata

500g sweet potato, peeled and cut into

1cm chunks

400g can red kidney beans, drained

1 small packet (30g) of flat leaf parsley, chopped 1tbsp dried mint

150g Greek yogurt Maldon sea salt flakes and black pepper

1 Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and pour in enough oil to coat the base of the pan. Add the onion and cook for a few mins until it begins to turn translucent, then add the garlic, stirring to ensure it doesn’t burn. Continue cooking until both have softened, without browning. Add the spices and coat the onion mixture in them, then cook, stirring, for a minute or so. Season generously with salt and pepper to taste, then stir in the passata. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, uncovered, for about 25 mins.

2 Stir the sweet potato into the stew and cook for a further 20 minutes or so until the sweet potato is tender, then add the beans and most of the parsley and heat through.

3 Place a separate pan over a medium heat, add the dried mint and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat the mint for a few minutes, without letting it burn. Remove the pan from the heat.

4 Transfer the stew to bowls, add dollops of the yogurt around the dish and sprinkle over the remaining parsley, then pour over the hot mint oil and serve immediately.