Serves: 4-6
If you’re in need of some veg, greens and beans then this recipe is for you! Niki Webster offers up her healthy comfort food for the winter.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium leeks sliced
- 2 celery stalks sliced
- 2 carrots diced
- 3 garlic cloves sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp thyme leaves
- Pinch cloves
- 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
- 100g button mushrooms
- 100g mushrooms
- 750ml vegetable stock
- 2 tomatoes chopped roughly
- 1 tsp sea salt
- Pinch black pepper
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 cans cannelloni beans drained
- 150g spinach shredded
For the croutons
- 2 chunky slices of fresh bread – I used sourdough
- Big pinch sea salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the Polenta
- 100g instant potenta
- 400g water
- 3 tbsp coconut yogurt or cream
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 -1 tsp sea salt
- Black pepper
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
For the toppings
- Cashew Parmesan
- Fresh thyme
Directions
1In a large pan, add the olive oil and leek and fry for 6-7 minutes until very soft.
2Add the garlic, celery and carrots and fry for 5-6 minutes.
3Now add the herbs, tomatoes and mushrooms. Stir to combine.
4Add the beans, stock, balsamic, salt and pepper and simmer gently for 25 minutes.
5Finally add the spinach and allow to wilt in.
For the croutons
1Preheat the oven to 180c.
2Slice the bread in to large squares – I chopped them into aprox 1inch squares.
3Drizzle some olive oil onto a large baking tray. Add the bread and move around to coat the bottom well.
4Add a big pinch of salt and pepper and drizzle a little more olive oil onto the top.
5Transfer to the oven and cook for 5 minutes. Flip then return to the oven for 5-10 minutes. Be careful not to burn them.
6Allow to cool.
For the Polenta
1Add the water to a saucepan, bring to the boil.
2Slowly add in the polenta in a steady stream. Stir continuously for 1 minute. Turn off the heat.
3Allow to cool a little.
4Add the polenta and all the other ingredients to a food processor and blitz smooth and creamy consistency.
Recipe curtesy of Rebel Recipes
