This is the perfect time of year to put together the best kind of comfort food: a hearty stew.
Whether you like the Mediterranean flavours of garlic, wine and tomatoes, rich beef with peppers and onions, or you choose to go with seasonal produce like green beans as the background to a great bredie: whatever your family likes best, put stew on the menu!
It’s no surprise that every country and every culture has its own spin on the humble stew: Green bean bredie or sishebo for South Africa, osso bucco for Italy, bean and sausage cassoulet for France.
Here are just a few reasons why:
Stews are a time-saver
Once you’ve done the preparation and got it started, you can leave a stew to quietly simmer on its own while you go about your business. And you only have to use one pot or casserole dish, which means less washing up!
Stews cost less and feed more
Slow cooking means that you can use cheaper cuts of meat that become melt-in-the-mouth tender. Also, you know when you have only a couple of carrots, half an onion, one tomato and three potatoes hanging around in the fridge? With the right seasonings and protein, you have the start to a decent stew!
It’s great for kids
The kids don’t want to eat veggies? Stews are the perfect delivery system! Other than soups, nothing is better than a fragrant, rich stew for hiding all kinds of healthy vegetables and herbs. Cut everything into smaller pieces and cook it down into a delicious sauce. They won’t suspect a thing!
Give yourself the night off tomorrow
Generally stews freeze well, which means a tasty meal for tomorrow. Just be careful with chunks of potato as they are the only cooked ingredient that doesn’t retain flavour or texture with freezing. And remember, allow your stew to cool before you freeze any portions. And once you’ve defrosted it, don’t freeze it again.
There’s a stew for every eating plan
Are you eating Paleo, banting, or just staying on lean protein? With the right recipe, you can use any protein: beef, chicken, lamb, pork, lentils or beans. Talk about versatile!