Harissa White Bean Stew with Preserved Lemon
Spicy and creamy butterbean stew with kale and preserved lemon, just what I need midweek!
I love how a few flavour bombs can elevate a dish to something extraordinary and I am going to think of ways to eat this! I am thinking in the morning with my eggs, afternoon on a slice of good sourdough and for supper with a rolled up freshly made flatbread and a dollop of good yogurt.
Ingredients:
Harissa – a spicy Middle Eastern dip made with chillies and red peppers. I always have a jar handy in my fridge and I try to source Belazu’s Rose Harissa which I get from Olive Branch Deli in Cape Town.
Preserved Lemons – adds a lovely ‘tang’ to dishes as you preserve the whole lemons in salt and lemon juice, you only eat the skin. I make my own but you can easily buy a jar from a good deli.
Serving Suggestions:
- quick flatbreads with spiced butter (recipe here)
- Indian yogurt dip (recipe here) or simply swirl some harissa through yogurt
Harissa White Bean Stew with Preserved Lemon
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale white stems removed, shredded (keep the stems)
- 1/4 cup good olive oil
- 1 large or two small red onions, peeled and sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 or 3 tablespoons good harissa paste
- 1/2 teaspoon Spanish smoked sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon fine good salt
- 3 x 400g tins butterbeans drained
- 600 g good veggie stock warmed
- 1 preserved lemon flesh discarded, skin cut into small slivers
- parsley to serve
- feta to serve
Cabbage
- 3 small cabbages quartered
- 6 tablespoon olive oil
- sea salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220c.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan on a medium heat, add the onions (you should hear a sizzle) and cook the onion, covered, stirring occasionally until the onions are starting to ‘sizzle’ on the sides. The onions should be soft and starting to caramelise at the sides, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, pepper, 1/2 teaspoon paprika and 1 teaspoon of salt and heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the harissa paste and I love how the oil turns a lovely orange tint, the flavours at this stage are amazing.
- Add the drained butterbeans and swirl the beans in the lovely fragrant oil, mash about 1 cups worth of butterbeans with a fork (in the pot) to create a creamy base.
- Add the vegetable stock and the kale stems and taste for seasoning, gently simmer for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, for the cabbage, add the olive oil to a baking tray, pop the tray in the preheated oven for the oil to heat up. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the cabbages and simmer for 7 minutes, drain, and leave to steam in the colander for 5 minutes (this is important for the water to drain off). Carefully remove the tray from the oven and add the cabbages quarters to the hot oil (be careful as the oil might spit) season well and roast in the oven, turning the cabbages every 5 minutes, until the cabbages are caramelised. Remove and keep warm.
- Back to the stew, after the 20 minutes, remove the kale stems and add the preserved lemon and kale leaves, gently stir and simmer for 5 minutes to wilt the kale. Take off the heat and season well.
- To serve, sprinkle over the chopped parsley and serve alongside some yogurt, flatbreads, feta and cabbage wedges. Enjoy!