OK, these are the basic ingredients. Time I guess was 15 mins prep and 1 hour 15 cooking.
First I got all the vegetables all prepared. Peeled and wedge sliced the mushrooms. Chopped aubergine, carrots, courgettes and potatoes into rough cubes. Sliced the leek and the onion, and roughly chopped the tomatoes. I must say, the values above are guesstimates, as I like to wing it when cooking. Also, I prefer to grind the pepper fresh (hence the pestle and mortar).
Learning by faults (I would recommend blanching the carrots and potatoes for five minutes before starting cooking)
Once the ingredients are ready, in the biggest saucepan or cooking pot you have, melt the butter. I put in about 250g (a quarter of a block), so it had a little pool at the base of the pan. Then throw in the aubergines and potatoes. Have the heat set to medium, as you don’t want to burn anything. After about a minute of cooking those, I added the leek and the onion. Tired it altogether, and then sprinkled some salt and pepper. I use Himalayan salt (it’s pink), as it’s the best salt to stop high blood pressure.
Now, once those ingredients have been cooking for a while. I would say around 10 minutes, you can add the carrots and broccoli. Over this, pour the glass (or a little more) of red wine. Stir everything together, then lower heat to low and simmer in the pot for 20 minutes. Making sure you check and stir occasionally.
After the 20 minutes, remove the lid, and add the courgettes, mushrooms, herbs, tomatoes, tomato puree, and the 2 tbsp of dark brown sugar (this will help sweeten the pot against the taste of the red wine). As you see in the image, it’s advisable to use a big pan, as this will reduce to 2/3rds of the size during cooking. Stir everything in and, at this point, I added a half glass of water, some extra salt and pepper. Cover and have it simmer.
You will notice after about 20 minutes, the size has reduced, and there is a great deal more liquid in the pan. Stir occasionally and replace the lid.
Depending on the cooker or the vegetables it can then be upto 40 minutes of cooking to make all things soft enough to heat. If you blanch the potatoes and carrots then the time could be 20-30 mins after adding final ingredients. When ready, serve hot and add, yoghurt or cheese as a side. It was lovely, and the sweetness came through, even though the wine could also be tasted.
Enjoy!
Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Instagram | Pinterest | LinkedIn | BeHance & Dribbble
