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A Stew Built for the Hungry Months

There is a point in the year, somewhere between the last of the Christmas leftovers and the first brave shoots of spring, when the vegetable patch offers little more than mud and hope. This is when the root crops come into their own. Carrots lifted in October and clamped in damp sand, swedes still firm in the ground, onions strung up in the shed — these are the things that keep a smallholding kitchen going when everything else has gone quiet.

This stew is what I make at least once a fortnight from November through to March. It costs very little, asks almost nothing of the cook, and somehow tastes better on the second day. Best of all, it turns plain roots into something sweet and deeply savoury, which is not a sentence you could ever apply to a boiled swede.

What You Will Need

This is a forgiving recipe, so treat the quantities as a starting point rather than a rule. What matters is the balance of sweet roots, alliums and good stock.

• 50g butter — salted is fine, and do not be tempted to swap it for oil. The butter is doing real work here.
• 2 large onions, sliced not diced. Slices hold their shape and give you something to bite on.
• 500g carrots, cut into thick coins or chunks roughly the size of a thumb joint.
• 1 medium swede, about 750g peeled weight, cut into 2cm cubes. If you have neeps left over from a Burns Night, in they go.
• 1.2 litres good stock — chicken, beef or a well-made vegetable stock all work. Use a light hand with the salt if your stock is salty.
• Herbs: a few sprigs of thyme, a bay leaf, and a handful of parsley stalks tied together. Strip and chop the parsley leaves for later.
• 1 tbsp plain flour (optional, for thickening)
• A splash of dry cider or brown ale, if you have some open
• 1 tsp honey or a spoonful of redcurrant jelly — this sounds odd but it lifts the swede beautifully
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

If you also have a couple of parsnips or a wedge of celeriac going soft in the rack, add them. A handful of pearl barley turns it into something more substantial still.

Softening the Roots in Butter

Melt the butter in a heavy casserole over a low to medium heat. Add the onions with a good pinch of salt and let them go gently for ten minutes until they are soft, glossy and just beginning to catch at the edges. Do not rush this. Pale, sweet onions are the foundation of the whole pot, and onions browned too fast taste bitter.

Tip in the carrots and swede and stir them round so every piece is coated. Let them sweat for another five minutes. If you are using the flour, sprinkle it over now and stir for a minute until it disappears into the fat — this gives the finished stew a lovely velvety body.

Pour in the cider or ale, if using, and let it bubble away for a minute or two, scraping the bottom of the pan as you go. That sticky brown layer is pure flavour and you want it in the stew, not welded to the casserole.

Stock, Herbs and a Slow Simmer

Add the stock, the thyme, the bay leaf and the bundle of parsley stalks. Bring it up to a bare simmer — you want the odd lazy bubble breaking the surface, nothing more — then clamp on the lid and leave it alone for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, lift the lid and check. The swede should give way to a knife with only the faintest resistance, and the carrots should be tender but still holding their shape. If they are not there yet, give it another ten minutes. Stir in the honey or jelly, season to taste, and fish out the bay leaf and parsley stalks.

If the liquid is thinner than you would like, take the lid off and simmer for a further ten minutes to reduce it. If it is too thick, a splash of hot stock sorts it out. Crush a few pieces of swede against the side of the pan with the back of a spoon — it thickens the gravy without any fuss.

Making It a Meal

On its own, this is a fine bowl of vegetables. With a little help, it becomes dinner.

• Dumplings — 100g self-raising flour, 50g shredded suet, a pinch of salt and enough cold water to bring it together. Drop walnut-sized balls on top, lid on, 20 minutes.
• Stoved potatoes — sliced potatoes layered on top with a knob of butter, then finished in a hot oven for half an hour.
• Sausages or a ham hock — brown them first and add them with the stock. The roots will take on the smokiness.
• Buttered soda bread or a crusty cob — because you will want to mop the bowl.

Batch Cooking and Keeping

This stew keeps in the fridge for four days and freezes well for three months, though the carrots will soften a little on thawing. Cool it quickly, portion it out, and label it — a February freezer full of stew is one of the smallholdings' quiet pleasures.

Reheat gently on the hob with a splash of water, never in a furious boil, and taste again for seasoning before it goes to the table. Like most things cooked with roots and butter, it improves for the waiting.