Vegetable hot pot

This tasty economical dish takes very little effort to prepare, even in large quantities. It makes a filling and nutritious meal, ideal for a large hungry family or when you have a lot of guests. 
Hotpot lends itself particularly well to slow cooking. If you can spare the time, you can improve it by turning down the oven and cooking for longer than the one hour suggested here. It won't overcook or dry out, provided you keep the pot covered.
The qua

ntities given here will make a main course dish for four. But please don't follow the recipe too slavishly. In particular, feel free to vary the vegetables according to what you have available and what's in season , root vegetables always form a great base which you can add to.

Ingredients

• 5 large potatoes
• 1kg of your choice of mixed vegetables, such as carrots, celery, leeks, mushrooms, parsnips, swede, turnips, onions or anything else you like, in any combination
• One 400 g can of beans (cannellini, haricot or butter beans)
• 2 tsp. yeast extract (Marmite, Vegemite, or similar) 
• 1 tsp. mixed dried herbs
• 8 fl oz, 240 ml  hot Vegetable stock ( water + vegetable stock cube or similar)
• Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 320F (160C)

Peel or clean the vegetables as appropriate, cut them into 2 cm chunks,  drain and rinse the beans, and mix with the vegetables being sure the beans and vegetables are well mixed and place them in a large oven dish.

Fully dissolve the yeast extract in the vegetable stock, add the dried herbs & Pour the mixture over the vegetables.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1 cm slices.

Arrange the potato slices over the top of the vegetables so that they cover the entire surface. 

Sprinkle a little salt and ground black pepper over the potatoes.

Cover the pot. Cook it in the oven for an hour, or until the potatoes are completely soft. Optionally remove the cover for the last ten minutes so that the potatoes are browned.

If you like a little extra heat in your food try adding a little paprika, chilli or even curry powder but not so much as to spoil the sweetness of the vegetables.

For more texture 2 or 3 table spoons of red lentils can make a nice addition.

If you have the time gently sauteing the vegetables in extra virgin olive oil for a few mins before adding the beans can also add extra flavour and the oil is a nice addition to the dish as a whole.

If you choose to try out this dish why not post a comment ?