Niki's Spring Veg Stew with Pesto & Roast Fennel

Niki’s Spring Veg Stew with Pesto & Roast Fennel

Niki Webster

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Serves: 4-6

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

For the soup:

2 onions, chopped roughly

2 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, sliced

2 carrots, chopped into small dice

2 courgettes, diced

5 plum tomatoes, roughly sliced

1 litre veg stock

1/2 tsp oregano

1 tbsp fresh thyme

1 (400g) tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

3 handfuls broad beans (frozen or fresh)

3 handfuls of fresh spinach

Juice 1/2 lemon

3 tbsp nutritional yeast (you could use Parmesan if not vegan)

1 tsp sea salt

For the roast fennel:

1 bulb fennel, sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

Pinch sea salt flakes

For the pesto:

100g pine nuts, toasted

60g fresh basil

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp nutritional yeast (you could use Parmesan if not vegan)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 lemon juice

50ml water

Veg Portions / Serving: 3

Packed with 8 veggies, this spring stew is an easy way to eat them! Let your stove and oven do the work for you and enjoy the delicious result.

Method:

In a large pan add the olive oil and onions and cook on a medium heat for 7-8 minutes until soft and browning. Add in the garlic and carrot. salt, Stir to combine and cook for a further 2-3 minutes or so.

Add courgette and fry for a further few minutes. Now add the chopped tomatoes, allow them to soften a little. Next add the veg stock, oregano and thyme. Simmer for 10 minutes covered then remove the lid and add the beans simmer for a further 10 minutes.

Finally add the spinach, lemon juice and nutritional yeast – stir to combine. Season well.

To roast the fennel:

Preheat your oven to 180c (gas 4). Chop the fennel and add to a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 30-40 minutes until soft and slightly charred. Remove from the oven.

To make the pesto dressing:

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blitz to combine.

To serve:

Top with the roast fennel. Stir in dollops of the pesto dressing.

Kids in the kitchen:

Get the kids to drizzle the olive oil and salt over the fennel before baking and lay it out on the cold baking tray. Help them make the pesto by adding the ingredients to a blender and pushing the button.

Niki Webster

Niki is a cookbook author, freelance food consultant, recipe creator, food stylist, photographer and qualified Holistic Health Coach. Niki shares her easy and accessible plant based recipes packed with fresh seasonal organic veg on her award-winning food blog Rebel Recipes.

www.rebelrecipes.com/

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