Okay, so I think I’ve just created the best stew recipe ever. I love a good pasta as much as much as the next person and this makes the most delicious sauce of all time! It’s a Bolognese style recipe, however I’ve skipped the meat and used chickpeas instead, which are my all time favourite of the beans and pulses! I don’t feel like I miss meat at all in these kinds of recipes and still find that they taste super hearty and filling. Stews are such a great winter dish as they’re really warming and great to cosy up with on a cold evening! They’re also really versatile to serve and can be eaten with rice, salads, veggies, wraps and pasta, like I’ve done here!
Speaking of which, here I’ve actually used brown rice wide noodles in place of pasta, which I’ve found worked really well. They were super quick and easy to cook and didn’t come all starchy and stuck together. I love both the taste and texture and found that they worked really well in this particular dish. They’re also natural gluten free, so a great option if you’re gluten intolerant like me!
The key ingredient here for me, and what gives the dish the incredible kick of flavour is the spoon of pesto that I added into the sauce. The richness of this just takes the flavour to a whole other level and just gives it that extra little something. I’m so obsessed with pesto because it’s such a fuss free way of adding heaps of flavour into countless different dishes. I find that it works really well with just about everything. It’s a staple ingredient for me to have on hand in my kitchen especially for those times when you don’t have a lot of food in the fridge because pesto pasta is always a delicious and convenient option!
Pesto Chickpea Tomato Stew
Ingredients
- 500 g tomato passata
- Heaped Tbsp tomato puree
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 red onion
- 2 cloves garlic-crushed
- 1/2 stick celery
- 1 can chickpeas- drained and rinsed
- 1/2 Tsp smoked paprika
- Heaped Tbsp red pesto- use vegan if needed
- 2 slices roasted red peppers
- 200 g chestnut mushrooms
- Olive oil for cooking
Instructions
- Finely dice the onion and celery and add the into a frying pan with a little drizzle of olive oil. Heat over medium and sauté the onion until softened, then add in the garlic.
- Dice the mushrooms and pepper to create a mince meat like texture and add these into the pan also. Pour in a splash of water to de-glaze everything if needed.
- Once all the veggies are nicely cooked, pour in the pasta and lower the heat to low-medium.
- Stir through the tomato puree and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Finally, add in the chickpeas, paprika and pesto and leave to simmer and allow all of the flavours to infuse.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta or rice according to instructions. Serve topped with a generous helping of the sauce and enjoy!
