Stephen King, chef proprietor of Uisge Restaurant in Murthly, shows us how to make one of his favourite autumnal dishes.
As the warmer nights start to tail off it’s time to start thinking about hearty comfort foods and the abundance of earthy root vegetables and winter squash available.
These are perfect for roasting to accompany your favourite joint of meat or game dishes, and with venison and game birds being back in season it’s a great time to start slow cooking some hearty stews.
As much as I love a venison casserole or duck with some roast root vegetables or purées I am just as happy with a vegetable stew. What better way than to add to the hearty flavours than adding bit of spice and do a Moroccan inspired tagine?
For me my favourite is butternut squash and sweet potato tagine to tuck into on a colder evening, packed full of flavour this dish is a winner for any vegetarians. Here is my take on a butternut squash and sweet potato tagine.
Butternut squash and sweet potato tagine
Serves 5-6
Ingredients
- Drizzle of vegetable oil
- 1 white onion, finely sliced
- 2 medium butternut squash, peeled and diced, approx 1cm
- 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced, approx 1cm
- 2 chillies, finely sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 yellow pepper, diced
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 100g dried apricots
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 litre veg stock
- 1 tin borlotti beans (or chickpeas)
Method
- In a heavy based pot or tagine, warm a little vegetable oil on a medium heat.
- Add the onion, sweet potato, chilli and garlic and sweat with a pinch of salt and pepper for four to five minutes until the onion starts to soften.
- Add the cumin, cinnamon and smoked paprika and give it a good stir to coat everything then add in the tomato purée and stir again.
- Cook this out for one to two minutes, then add in the butternut squash and peppers giving it a stir and cooking for two to three minutes,
- Add the vegetable stock to almost cover the veg – you don’t want to add too much or it will be too watery and you may not need it all but can always add a little during cooking.
- Bring this to the boil then turn down to a low simmer for around 20-25 minutes until the sweet potato and butternut are starting to soften.
- Then add in the borlotti beans and chopped apricots and cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Serve either with basmati rice or Moroccan cous cous.
- You can add some chopped parsley or coriander to garnish to suit your taste.