HEARTY TOMATO STEW
A rich, sweet and hearty stew to welcome in the cool autumn evenings
- 2 medium onions
- 4 tablespoons light olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons Arabica kabsa spices
- 1 large red chilli (optional)
- 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 400ml water
- 8-12 large vine tomatoes
- 100g thick yogurt (optional)
- 1 lemon
- Salt to taste
- Handful of fresh flat leaf parsley
Serves 4
Jad and I love garlic so we always use around 10 cloves ward off colds and keep the blood flowing. You could do the same but we’ve put in a more modest 4 cloves here.
Peel and roughly chop the onions. Gently heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pan and add the onions, cooking them on a medium heat until they become soft and translucent. Peel the garlic, slice them thinly and add them to the onions, turning up the heat a little so the sugars in the onions begin to caramelise and they turn a light golden colour. Make a long slice along the length of the chilli keeping it whole, so it imparts its flavour but you can still remove it. Those that are brave enough can share the whole chilli when you serve.
Stir in the Arabica Kabsa spices and continue cooking for a minute. Then add the tinned tomatoes, the water and a couple of pinches of salt. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil, then add the vine tomatoes leaving them whole to the saucepan. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, turning the tomatoes gently every 10 minutes. You want the tomatoes to be softened but still hold their shape. Keep covered but with the lid slightly ajar. This helps reduce and thicken your stew. It should be thicker than a soup but add a little more water if it thickens too quickly.
Just before serving, push the tomatoes to one side and stir in the yogurt . Heat through the sauce, stir gently and remove from the heat before it comes to the boil. Garnish with a handful of fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon. Serve with some steamed brown rice or scoop up with some warm wholemeal flatbreads or some hot, crusty bread.