Jamie Oliver
@idealconsulting: What do you recommend for a tasty vegetarian stew?
Jamie Oliver: You can create the same mellow flavours you get from slow-cooking meat with vegetables – it's all about caramelization. I will cook the base of the stew – onions, leeks, celery and garlic – really slowly, so it has a chance to become sweet and intense. You then want to add veg that will hold its shape a little, like pumpkin, squash, celeriac and beautiful heirloom carrots or beets.
At the same time, juicy, plump chick peas always work well and, depending on which country you want to base your stew in, adding dried porcini mushrooms, harissa or curry pastes will give your stew a slap of flavour. Last but not least, I also like roasting some veg before adding them, so you get a triple whammy of tastes.
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