If I had to name my favorite type of winter dish, I wouldn’t think twice: there’s still nothing better than a plate of hot, tasty soup or stew. I make soups and stews through all seasons, yet they taste best in the cold part of the year, when there’s an abundance of all those root vegetables that give to a soup/stew that characteristic “earthy note”: kohlrabi, celery, parsnip, parsley, potato,  to name just a few. I like to combine them with beans, chickpeas or lentils, and a chunk of meat – usually chicken or sometimes veal. And when I also happen to have a couple of slices of chorizo around, I know the cooking result will be close to perfection.

Today I’m offering you 3 examples of stew that I make in winter. I never stick to the same recipe twice (that’s something I’m just not capable of!), the ingredients also vary depending on what I have/don’t have in the fridge.

BROWN LENTIL STEW

• chicken breast, deboned and cut in medium chunks
• cca. 200g of cooked brown lentils (the smaller they are, the better)
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-2 carrots, sliced
• some celery root, sliced
• 2-3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 tsp of chopped dried or fresh rosemary
• 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika (pimentón de la Vera)
• freshly grated nutmeg
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• sea salt
• 150 ml white wine
• 1-2 Tbsp of tomato puree or 1 tomato, diced
• freshly prepared vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp of chopped parsley

1. Heat some olive oil in an appropriate stew pot and quickly brown the chicken. Add the onion, garlic, and the rest of the vegetables, season with spices and sautée while stirring occasionally.
2. Add the wine, tomato purée and finally, the stock which has to be heated up to boil. Allow the stew to simmer (covered with a lid) gently for about 30 minutes, then add the lentils and simmer for 30 minutes more.
3. Switch off the heat and let the stew rest for 30 minutes before before serving. Or -if you’re preparing it in advance- heat it up before serving: this kind of stews taste even much better when reheated or eaten the next day.
4. Prior to serving the stew, decorate it with some chopped parsley.

CHICKPEA STEW

• freshly prepared chicken stock
• chicken breast, deboned and sliced
• cca. 200g of cooked chickpeas
• chorizo, peeled and sliced
• 3-4 potatoes, peeled and cubed (1 or 2 can be replaced by one little chayote)
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 dried, smoked pepper (seeds removed if too spicy)
• 1/2 tsp of pimientón de la Vera
• sea salt
• freshly ground black/white pepper
• 1 small leek, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• extra virgin olive oil

1. The procedure is similar to the one above. Sometimes when I want the stew to have a bit thicker consistency, I take out some cooked vegetables (even chickpeas), purée them and stir them back in the stew.
2. I always cook the chickpeas apart first (in the pressure cooker), then I add them to the stew in the middle of cooking. The simplest thing would be to cook all the ingredients together in a pressure cooker. I rarely do that because I don’t like my vegetables mushy.
3. A real “must” to serve together with a plate of any stew: freshly baked bread and a bowl of salad.

PINTO BEAN STEW

• cca. 200g cooked pinto beans
• 4-6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 150g of boiled ham, chopped
• 1 small kohlrabi, peeled and cubed
• 1 carrot, sliced
• a small piece of celery root, peeled and cubed
• 1 small leek, chopped
• 100ml dry red wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp of each: chopped dried thyme and savoury
• freshly prepared vegetable stock
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat some olive oil in a big pot and sautée all the vegetables, add chopped ham, the spices and season with red wine – when it evaporates, add the heated up stock and let the stew simmer with the lid on.
2. Add the cooked beans and cook until the vegetables are soft. Let the stew stand for a while before serving.
3. Sometimes I’d serve it with some pasta (angel hair or other micro pasta type) which provides more density to the dish.
4. The combination of red wine, ham, thyme and savory gives to this dish some French touch. And if you happen to have a slice of meat around, then don’t hesitate to add it to the stew.