Recipe of the week: porotos granados (Chilean bean and corn stew)

This lovely Chilean bean and corn stew has long been a River Cottage favourite, says Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Many versions contain squash, but I’ve used courgettes here, along with not-so-traditional celery, which adds a savoury note. It’s an easy dish – and very moreish

Serves six people

Ingredients

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

• About 500g small/medium courgettes or a peeled, deseeded squash, such as butternut, Crown Prince or onion squash
• 2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 celery sticks, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• a handful of oregano leaves, roughly chopped (or you can use thyme)
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 200g green beans, trimmed and cut into 2cm pieces
• 400g tin beans, such as kidney, borlotti or butter beans, drained and rinsed
• about 300g sweetcorn kernels (you should get this from 2 medium cobs, but frozen is also fine)
• 300g tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 6-8 basil leaves, torn
• sea salt and black pepper
• dried chilli flakes, to finish (optional)

Method

• If using courgettes, cut them into 1cm slices (first quartering them lengthways if large). If you’re using squash, cut it into 2cm chunks.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan or flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the onion, celery and garlic and sauté gently for 10-12 minutes. Add the paprika and chopped oregano (or thyme). Cook, stirring, for another minute.
• Add the squash and/or courgettes, vegetable stock and bay leaf, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until all the vegetables are almost tender.
• Add the green beans, tinned beans, sweetcorn and chopped tomatoes and simmer the stew for a further 5 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender.
• Stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Serve the stew in warmed bowls, adding a pinch of chilli flakes for those who like a little bit of heat.

Taken from River Cottage Good Comfort: Best Loved Favourites Made Better For You by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, published by Bloomsbury at £27. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £21.99 (incl. p&p), call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.