Spicy Squash Stew

We're down to our very last few squashes from last year now. We grew 'Jack O'Lantern' pumpkins, some F1 butternut whose name I have no record of (and which didn't get very big, as you can see!) and these 'Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato Squash' (try getting all that on a plant label!) - an acorn type from Real Seeds with a meatier texture and earthier flavour than pumpkin or butternut.

Some of the pumpkins suffered from lack of watering over the summer and were dried up inside, and like I say, the butternuts were not very impressive, and a few of the squashes didn't do too well in storage, but boy have we still managed to eat a lot of squash over the autumn and winter! And this is how we've been eating many of them - in a spicy pumpkin, potato and bean stew.

And here's the recipe (serves 2):

• Roughly chop an onion and fry in a little oil with 1 tsp mustard seeds and 1 tsp cumin seeds, until they start to pop.
• Add chopped chilli and garlic, and cook for a minute or two to soften.
• Add 300g bitesize chunks of potato, stir in and cook for 3 minutes.
• Add roughly two-thirds of a pint of stock, plus a tablespoon of lemon juice, a squirt of tomato puree, 1 tsp each of sugar and garam masala, 1/2 tsp each of ginger and mustard, and 1/4 tsp each of turmeric, black pepper, cumin, paprika and coriander (alternatively skip all these and add a tablespoon or two of curry paste, but I find that stuff FAR too salty). Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add 300g bitesize chunks of any winter squash, and simmer another 20 mins or so, until all the veg are cooked.
• Add a can of black-eyed beans (okay, it's kidney beans in the photo, but black-eyed beans suit this better) and two tomatoes cut into wedges, then heat through, stir in another tablespoon of lemon juice and check seasoning.
• Serve with bread to mop up the juices!

(This makes a great soup too; just add canned tomatoes instead of the wedges, earlier in the cooking process, more stock, and blend until smooth.)

Delish!