Tin Can Stew

This is a bit of a kitchen cheat recipe, but its a great back-up meal if you haven't fresh food in the house. This is a vegetarian stew made out of my can cupboard... mainly non-perishables and a few herbs. Using whole cans, it make a cauldron full and will last two or three people a couple of days. You can add or take away any of the ingredients so its real easy going! Of course if you have fresh veg you can use those instead, but I will stick to the tin-can recipe as an example.


Ingredients:


2 stock cubes
1 can new potatoes
1 can baked beans
1 can button mushrooms
1 can red kidney beans
1 can peas
1 can carrots
a handful of pearl barley
3 cloves garlic, sliced
a healthy pinch of herbs - I like rosemary, thyme and corriander but it doesn't matter


to these if I have them I may also add:
two small onions, cut in half
a handful of frozen mince
a spoonful of gravy granules if it seems too watery


Because of the amount of the ingredients, you'll need to start out with a large and deep saucepan.


Dissolve the stock cubes in a little under 2 pints of boiling water, then add to the pan. Put this over a hot temperature while you add the ingredients. Add all the cans, pouring away about half of the liquid in the can first. Add the barley, mince and garlic before giving it all a good stir. Turn the heat down to a simmer and leave for about half an hour, or whenever it looks cooked - especially if you decide to use fresh veg.


Right at the end stir in your herbs. If it still looks to liquid then stir in some gravey granules and likewise if it has gone too thick (this will depend on things like the quantity of barley and mince used) then add a little more stock.


This is great served with fresh bread and will sit quite happily on the hob til the next day when it just needs reheating.