Cannelini bean, pumpkin & sun-dried tomato stew

Stews are often synonymous with gelatinous, slow cooked meats, so I wanted to share a comforting and umami rich stew for those of us who don’t eat meat or just want to enjoy a meat-free meal! Admittedly, using the pumpkin as the bowl here is a bit novel, but it’s not just for novelty’s sake! It actually means that as you’re eating the stew, you can scoop out nice big chunks of the pumpkin for more texture. Serve this with lots of warm, buttered crusty bread and enjoy.

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 1/2 large pumpkin (I used crown prince)

• 1/2 white onion finely chopped

• 1/2tsp garlic paste or 2 finely chopped cloves

• 1/2tsp chilli paste (I used chipotle)

• 1tsp miso

• 1 can cannellini beans

• 6 sun dried tomatoes roughly chopped

• 1tsp dried mixed herbs

• 1tbsp olive oil

• 1tbsp plain flour

• 300ml water

Method:

1. Drizzle the flesh of the 1/2 pumpkin with a little oil and place flesh side down onto a baking tray and bake in the oven at 200c for around 20 minutes.

2. Simply mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large pan and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Remove the pumpkin from the oven, turn over and pour the stew into it. Turn the oven down to 180c. Place back into the oven for another 15 minutes.