Try as hard I like to vary my cooking, I often find myself turning back to the same authors time and time again. Sabrina Ghayour is one such author. Sabrina’s newest book, Bazaar: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes is full of delights.
In the headnote, Sabrina readily admits that her Harissa black bean ragout with butternut squash is no looker. From the picture below, you will probably agree. If instagram smoothie bowls are the epitome of style over substance, this is surely the epitome of substance over style. A murky melange of browns, blacks and burnt orange.
With only a handful of ingredients and very little prep, this seemed like an excellent meat-free Monday option. The black beans are even cooked straight in the pot, no soaking required. The total cooking time was about an hour and a half but most of that time was spent idly pottering around letting the pot do all the hard work.
The only change I made was replacing the butternut squash with sweet potato. It’s just so much easier to peel and prepare. I don’t imagine it made a massive difference to the finished result. Just don’t be modest with the salt. Keep seasoning and tasting. I used about 1.5 teaspoons of fine sea salt.
Sweet, earthy, and spicy. Delicious. 100% will cook again. I served this with some homemade wholemeal bread as I was pottering about the house in the day, but I wouldn’t normally be so domestic. Any shop bought crusty bread would be welcome. Oh and to keep it vegan, I switched the greek yoghurt on the side for some Oatly Creamy Oat Fraiche with a teaspoon of harissa stirred through. There was some coriander to use in the fridge so that was sprinkled on top too.
Any leftover ragout and bread makes a very delicious beans on toast the next morning, I can attest to this. Poached egg optional.
The recipe can be found in Bazaar: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes, or on the Great British Chefs website.
