Aduki bean stew
Serves 2/3
Ingredients
cooked aduki beans – 250g
an onion
2 apples
a red pepper
2 bay leaves
basil leaves – a handful
vegetable stock – a dash
salt
black pepper
olive oil
soy sauce
Method
Lightly fry the chopped onion in olive oil then add the chopped pepper to fry for a further minute. Add the peeled and chopped apple and fry for a further ten minutes. Add the beans, bay leaves, basil, vegetable stock, seasoning and soy sauce to taste, and simmer on a very low heat for 20 minutes. Don’t allow it to boil dry. Serve with rice and bitter greens.
Commentary
Variations
Aromatics, spice and sourness can all be varied in this dish. Aromatics through the addition of other fresh herbs such as parsley or coriander. Spice through adding a little ginger which goes so well with apple and sourness through adding a little lemon juice or cider vinegar, most desirable when the weather is particularly hot.
This is a delightfully balanced, light summer dish. It has just the right level of aromatics to stimulate digestion in hot weather, whilst there is a refreshing sourness from the apples which is exaggerated when eaten with bitter greens.
The aduki beans on which it is based are more or less the ideal bean for Britain. They are nourishing and have a mild diuretic action which has the benefit of draining excess fluid from the body, highly beneficial since, traditionally speaking, our damp climate is said to stagnate circulation and encourage fluid retention.