This spicy vegetarian cassoulet is packed full of flavour & freezes well. The pistachio & coconut lift the couscous from the boring into the celebratory.
Last week we were eating slow cooked beef stew with sweet potato and thyme. It’s the time of year for heart warming food and if dishes like this can fill the freezer at the same time, so much the better. Both the stew and this spicy vegetarian cassoulet can easily be doubled or tripled in quantity and then frozen for a later date. This spicy vegetarian cassoulet is packed full of flavour and yet has no meat. I love it’s apricots and coriander and the pistachio and coconut lift the couscous from rather boring carb into something fitting a celebration. They taste like a mid week treat. Both the cassoulet and couscous keep well in the fridge, so we might often have these beans on Monday and then again on Thursday. There is a lot of pleasure in finishing work after a long day only to find this sitting in the fridge ready for your evening meal.
JP has been having rather a lot of Weetabix for his supper recently. It’s a bit disheartening preparing a meal for your child only to have it rejected and rejected with angry tears. Weetabix is our solution to these highly charged moments. At least he has something in his tummy that will hopefully ensure we all get a good night’s sleep. I was blown away therefore when he dug into these beans quite happily. I had added some yoghurt to ensure the spice was tempered and he happily ate away. He studiously avoided the coriander, but loved the pistachios in the couscous.
The inspiration for this spicy vegetarian cassoulet comes from across the world. The mustard and cumin seeds are straight from Indian vegetarian cooking. The haricot beans are as per French cassoulet, that warm and comforting peasant dish so perfect after a day on the hills. Lastly, a Middle Eastern influence sees the addition of the dried fruit and cinnamon to give sweetness to the beans. If you can’t find haricot beans, you could use three tins of any beans. I like a mixture of dried apricots, sultanas and dates with the rest of the cassoulet, but the make up of this mixture can be changed to suit your tastes. The chilli powder is there for a background spicy kick, nothing more. Chilli powders vary massively in their heat. The one I use is properly spicy, so just 1/8 teaspoon is all that is needed. But add more or less depending on your need for spice.
To make the pistachio and coconut couscous, I put the couscous in a bowl and cover with hot vegetable stock. Put a plate over to contain the steam and five minutes later the stock will have been completely absorbed. Fluff up with a fork, add the remaining ingredients and it’s ready to eat. I use stock to enhance the flavour of the couscous rather than just plain hot water.
Spicy vegetarian cassoulet with pistachio and coconut couscous
- Yield: 4
Ingredients
Spicy vegetarian cassoulet
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4cm/1½” ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp chilli powder (optional)
- salt
- 2 x 400g/14oz tins of tomatoes
- 1 x 400g/14oz tin of chickpeas, drained and washed
- 2 x 400g/14oz tins of haricot beans, drained and washed
- 150g/5oz mix of dried apricots, sultanas, dates
- 350ml/12½ fl oz vegetable stock
- 30g/1oz fresh coriander
Pistachio and coconut couscous
- 200g/7oz couscous
- 240ml/8½ fl oz vegetable stock
- 80g/3oz pistachios
- 40g/1½oz toasted almond flakes
- 50g/2oz desiccated coconut
- 30g/1oz fresh coriander
Instructions
- Heat up the oil in a large pan with a lid. When hot (but not smoking) add the mustard and cumin seeds. The seeds will soon start to pop, so put the lid on and cook until most of the popping has stopped.
- Add the onion, stir well and replace the lid. Cook the onions until they are translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and continue cooking for a further three minutes before you add the ground cumin, cinnamon, chilli powder (optional) and salt. Add enough salt for your palate; for me a ¼ teaspoon is just right.
- Add the tins of tomatoes, stir well and then simmer for ten minutes with the lid off, stirring occasionally.
- Stir the beans and chickpeas into the tomato mixture. Add the stock and simmer again for five minutes with the lid off.
- Roughly chop the leaves of the coriander and finely chop the stalks. Keep some of the leaves back to scatter over the top just as you serve, but stir in the rest and simmer for a further five minutes before serving.
- To make the couscous – put the couscous in a bowl and cover with hot vegetable stock. Cover the bowl with a plate to contain the steam. After 5 minutes the stock will have been completely absorbed, the couscous is cooked. Fluff up with a fork, add the remaining ingredients and it’s ready to serve with the cassoulet.
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Hooray for Type 1 Kitchen! We’ve missed you! JP is doing what Sid’s been doing until just this month when his appetite returned, large piles of exotic veg now consumed and nappies no longer needed. I read that small people, once they can feed themselves, need to have foods presented a lot of times before being certain about eating them. This was not [and IS not] the case for Sam but Rosie was the worst until she renounced all flesh. Hope to see you in the best ever city in the universe soon. x
Nappy free sounds great, looking forward to that! I’m with you on presenting food many times, certainly the case with JP and pasta – he hasn’t been keen but after the umpteenth time he is finally enjoying it. Will look forward to see you soon x
We had this cassoulet for supper over the weekend. It was delicious. What was really good was that the ingredients were mainly from our store cupboard and it was quick to assemble.
Thanks Holly
I love a meal from the store cupboard. So glad you enjoyed this one. Thanks Holly