Pumpkin, Chickpea and Roasted Pepper Stew

A lovely wintery one-pot dish. The spices really work their wonders here. It’s such an easy dish without meat but it still tastes like a hearty stew. It fills your tummy and keeps you warm.

Portions: 2 adults + 2 children
Cooking time: 1 hour

What's in it: This is probably one of the healthiest meals ever. It low in fat but provides everything your body needs. Chickpeas are a great source of vegetarian protein and fibre, as well as a great variety of vitamins and important minerals. Butternut squash, peppers and tomatoes provide beta carotene and Vitamin C which helps to absorb iron. A great meal that will help you to fight cold and promote a healthy growth for toddlers.

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash, cut into bite size cubes
• 3 peppers (red, orange, yellow)
• 1 tin chickpeas in water
• 1 handful Orzo pasta
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400g)
• ½ litre water
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, copped
• 4 cm ginger, chopped
• ½ teaspoon Allspice 
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ vegetable stock cube, salt, pepper
• 1 handful sultanas or raisins
• 1 handful fresh parsley, chopped

Preparation:

1. Start you making the tomato sauce. In a large casserole, gently fry onions, garlic and ginger with 3 tablespoons of olive oil until onions are soft. Add chopped tomatoes and water. Season with Allspice, cinnamon, salt, pepper and stock cube. Cover and simmer for about b10 minutes.
2. Break peppers in half, take out seeds and remove stem. Place on a baking tray and grill in the oven until skin is slightly burnt. Remove skin and cut into cubes.
3. Puree tomato sauce using a hand blender. Add butternut squash, chickpeas and orzo pasta. Cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add roasted peppers, sultanas and chopped parsley and cook until pasta and squash are soft. (Add more water if necessary)

Adult version: I don’t think it’s necessary but if you’re missing the meat here you could just quickly fry up some chorizo slices to go on top.

Suitable for freezing and re-heating.


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About this blog
This blog is about family cooking. It's important to get together for family meals. Here I'm posting healthy family recipes that kids and adults will love and make cooking for the family more fun. All my family recipes are well balanced and healthy family recipes but they can be tweaked for fussy eaters or spiced up for a more sophisticated adult palate. In addition to the healthy family recipes, I'm publishing some of my knitting and crochet patterns for toddler toys and accessories.