It might seem a bit mad to make a stew in the middle of Summer, but hear me out. This easy to make Chickpea and Pepper Stew uses the best of summer produce and requires little to no intervention. Waxy new potatoes, rich tomatoes and gorgeous red & yellow peppers all topped off with a zippy fresh Basil Pesto to help bring the flavors together make this stew easy to eat whether it's scorching or a little chilly.
I have to admit that I make this kind of stew on repeat throughout the winter months and tend towards salad & BBQ in the summer. But a chilly day combined with a lot of digging and prep in our garden meant we were wanting something hearty yet flavourful to sustain us for yet more garden work.
The combination of ingredients is pretty classic: I used,
- Chickpeas (you could substitute butterbeans or kidney beans, or even lentils)
- Tomato Passata (you could use fresh tomatoes or a tin of chopped tomatoes)
- Red & Yellow Peppers
- Waxy Potatoes (which in this case were new potatoes that I had kind of forgotten about.. waste not!)
- Onion
- Garlic
- White Wine (optional but yummy)
- and herbs..
You can get creative with other flavours to jazz up this simple recipe, but this is a classic chickpea stew and each individual part works together as a whole. All that needs to be done is to simmer it on your stove while you get on with other things.
The Basil Pesto is an optional extra to go on top. I happened to have some basil that needed using, but it does help add a delicious summery touch. You could easily use a different flavour pesto or a shop-bought one. Or leave it out altogether.
The lovely thing about this easy to make Chickpea, Potato & Red Pepper Summer Stew is that it keeps well. Serve it not too hot with some bread to dunk, or freeze it & bring it out in the middle of winter to remind yourself of sunny days.
If you like the sound of this yummy stew or need some other pesto inspiration, you might like these recipes:
Borlotti Bean, Sweet Corn & Tomato Late Summer Stew
Carrot Top Pesto (or Any Herb Pesto)
Spiced Carrot, Coconut and Chickpea Soup
Vegan Spring Greens Minestrone Soup with Gremolata
Chickpea, Potato & Red Pepper Summer Stew with Basil Pesto
Ingredients
For the Chickpea Stew
- 250 g Cooked Chickpeas ((Eg 1 tin drained) (1.5 cups) )
- 500 g Waxy or new potatoes ((about 4-5 large potatoes))
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 400 ml Tomato Passata (or 1 tin chopped tomatoes or 500g fresh tomatoes)
- 1 large onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon oregano (fresh or dried)
- 75 ml white wine (or water)
- 200 ml veggie stock (can use 1 teaspoon veggie boillion or a veggie stock cube in water. )
- salt & pepper to taste
For the Pesto
- 150 g fresh basil (a big handful!)
- 1 clove garlic
- 50 g pine nuts (or walnuts)
- 30 g nutritional yeast
- 50 ml olive oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
For the Chickpea, Tomato & Potato Stew
- De-seed and dice the peppers, peel & chop the potatos into 2-3 cm cubes. Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
- Sautee the onion in the pan with the olive oil for a few minutes, until translucent.
- Add the peppers and garlic and sautee for another minute or two.
- Add the chickpeas, potatoes, as well as the stock, wine and tomatoes.
- Add the oregano & season
- Simmer for about half hour- 45 minutes until the potatoes are soft. The longer and slower the simmer, the more delicious it will be.
For the Basil Pesto
- Toast the nuts
- In a Mortar & Pestle, bash the nuts & garlic into fine chunks
- Add the basil, bashing some more
- Add the nutritional yeast & olive oil. Season and bash until it is a lovely pesto.
- Alternatively, put everything into a food processor & whizz together.
To Serve
- Serve the stew hot or at room temperature, with the pesto dolloped on top
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