Having just published a warming braised chicken recipe http://notecook.com/soup/braised-andalucian-chicken I then had a look around for an equally tasty hot pot for my vegetarian friends out there.

This one seems to have loads of ingredients, but it takes no time at all to prepare and I tend to have all the ingredients to hand in my store cupboard or, if not, they’re readily available in local shops – nothing too peculiar!  The dish serves six people so it’s ideal for a winter supper with friends.

INGREDIENTS

2 Sweet potatoes (about 450g/1 lb in weight)

2 Medium courgettes

2 tbsp Sunflower oil

2 Medium onions, halved and sliced

2 Garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp Hot chilli powder

tsp Ground cumin

0.5 tsp Smoked paprika

400 g (14.1oz) Can chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp Tomato purée

2 Bay leaves

400 g (14.1oz) Can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

400 g (14.1oz) Can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 tbsp Cornflour, mixed to a paste with 1 tbsp cold water

1 pinch Salt

1 pinch Ground black pepper

For the potato topping

600 g (around 20 oz or so) Potatoes

50 g (2 oz) Butter, melted

1 pinch Salt

1 pinch Ground black pepper

METHOD

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into rough 2.5 cm (1″) chunks. Trim the courgettes and cut into 1 cm (0.5″) slices.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan or deep frying pan. Gently fry the onions for about minutes, stirring them from time to time to make sure they don’t stick to the pan or burn.  When the onions are cooked and slightly golden, add the garlic, chilli powder, cumin and paprika. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly so the spices don’t burn and lose their gorgeous flavours.

Tip the tomatoes into the pan, refill the can with water and add this to the pan. Stir in the tomato purée, bay leaves and sweet potatoes. Bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in the beans and courgettes and bring the mixture back to a simmer. Cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring.

Add the cornflour paste and stir swiftly and constantly (so it doesn’t go lumpy!) until the sauce has thickened.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes and leave to one side.

Spoon the vegetable mixture into a 2.5 litre/about 4.5 pint shallow ovenproof dish.

Top the mixture with overlapping slices of potato.Brush the potatoes with melted butter and season with salt and pepper.

Bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes until the potatoes are tender and lightly browned.