Smoked Vegetable Stew

Slow cooked dishes have so much flavour and they are so comforting.

Today I bring you a vegetable stew with a subtle smoky flavour. It is like a hug in a bowl. Especially if you serve it with crusty bread.

It tastes like a slow cooked stew, but didn't take long to cook at all.  I made it in my REDMOND Multicooker. It has a stew setting, which was just what I needed.

What can a Redmond Multicooker do?

It has a large range of functions, but I just wanted to see how easy it was to make a quick stew now the colder nights have set in. 

..............................................................................................

Related - Slow Cooker Triple Tomato & Spinach Pasta

..............................................................................................

So what do I think of the Redmond Multicooker?

The text in the instruction manual is teeny and my eyesight just isn't up to it. I gave up on that and just had a play with the control panel. Bigger text please REDMOND! (Since I made my stew I've discovered the manual online, which you can zoom in for bigger text. Excellent!)

There are lots of preset programs, but you can change the amount of time you want it to cook your dish. I used the stew function, which takes 40 minutes and added an extra 10 minutes. The vegetables came out tender and the gravy was tasty, but next time I think I'll add a little flour to thicken it up. Mind you Graham requested I serve the stew with mashed potato and it soaked up the gravy marvellously.

I thought it was a really handy and swish looking bit of kit. I also appreciated not having to fry the onions and garlic first before adding the other vegetables, I just popped all the ingredient in at the same time. I'm all for time saving, so thumb up on that score.

The Multicooker REDMOND RMC-M4502 was quiet and the outside didn't overheat. Once the stew was ready, the pot just lifts out. It didn't beep once it was ready, so I had to keep an eye on the time, but leaving it to keep warm in the cooker wouldn't have done it any harm and it also has a keep warm function if you want to leave it until you are ready.

.......................................................................

Related - Slow Cooker Vegan Stuffed Pasta

.........................................................................

I'm a bit set in my ways, so I can't see myself making pasta or cakes in it, but it could be useful if you have a tiny kitchen and not much in the way of cooking and baking equipment. It would actually be a really good present for a teenager heading off to university for the first time. My advice would be to try it a few times first so they know what they are doing.

photo: Steenbergs

My stew featured butternut squash, carrots, aubergine and courgette in a smoky tomato gravy. A very Autumnal stew that was fabulously filling and very comforting served with mashed potato.

I gave the gravy a smokey flavour with the addition of smoked paprika. I've been using the smoked paprika from Steenbergs recently. I love their stylish, easy-stacking pots and the paprika has a wonderful flavour and a rich red colour.

..........................................................................

related - Slow Cooker Vegan Irish Stew

...........................................................................

A great thing about this stew is there is no fat added to it and it's pretty low calorie wise, so it's great for the 5:2 Diet and super healthy.

If you divide the stew into 6 portions it comes in at only 103 calories per portion. Divide it into a heartier 4 portions and you are still only looking at 154 calories.

• Stew (divided into 6 portions) and 1 slice of medium wholemeal bread = 199 calories.
• Stew (divided into 6 portions) with 1 medium potato and 38g peas = 302 calories.
• Stew (divided into 6 portions) with Tesco Light Fresh Mash (½ pack) = 243 calories.

............................................................................

Related - Luxury Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese

.............................................................................

print recipe

Smoked Vegetable Stew

Written by Jacqueline Meldrum

October 20, 2014

An Autumnal vegetable stew cooked in a multicooker.

If you don't have a multicooker saute the onion and garlic in a little oil until soft, then add the vegetables and cook a little, before adding the liquids and simmering until the sauce has thickened and the vegetables are tender.

Ingredients

• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• ½ butternut squash, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 1 aubergine cut into 2 cm cubes
• 1 large courgette, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 3 medium carrots, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 200 ml vegetable stock (2 cubes)
• 100 ml red wine
• 3 tbsp tomato puree
• a large handful fresh coriander, chopped
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• a good grinding of salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Add all the ingredients to the pot of a multicooker.2. Close the lid securely and choose the stew function. Add another 10 minutes to the standard 40 minute timing.3. Leave it to cook while you go do something very useful or very fun.4. Serve with mashed potatoes and a smile.5. Enjoy!

Details

Total time: 50 mins
Yield: Serves 4-6

Here are a few more reviews and recipes for the Redmond multicooker:

• Veggie Stew - Feeding Boys and a Firefighter
• Cheesey Mexican Potatoes - Amuse your Bouche
• Fatless Apple Cake - A Mummy Too
• Carrot Cake Oatmeal with Pecans - Veggie Desserts

also try - Slow Cooker Vegan Savoury Mince

Disclosure: REDMOND sent me a multicooker to try and paid me to create a recipe for them and Steenbergs kindly sent me some spices to try. I was not required to write a positive review by either company and any opinions expressed are my own.