The Perfect Summer Stew

This summer stew involves very little standing over a hot stove (?Phew!? says you), and makes for a fab midweek meal that you can happily consume al fresco. Full of texture, it could easily be eaten on its own or with quinoa as a super-speedy supper. It also doubles up magnificently as an impromptu picnic dish served with chunks of crusty bread. The fresh, simple flavours are the main draw for me with the griddled sweetcorn just adding that necessary barbecue edge. More of an assembly job than anything else, the recipe requires very little cooking skill, but the results are still impressive – my kind of dish. Take it one step further by doubling the quantities and serving it in one large bowl that everyone can dig into at a small summertime party? trust me, I’ve never had any complaints yet! Now, where’s that glass of sangria?

Ingredients

• 1 corn on the cob
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 large carrots, grated
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and
• roughly chopped
• 4 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
• 1 celery stick, roughly chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 avocado, roughly chopped
• juice of 1 lemon or lime
• 30g basil leaves, roughly torn
• For the dressing
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground
• black pepper

Method

1. Preheat a griddle pan. Rub the sweetcorn with the oil and cook in the?griddle pan for 15 minutes, turning occasionally, until slighty blackened.?Carefully remove the sweetcorn kernels from the cob using a sharp knife.
2. In a large bowl combine the carrot, red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, celery,’red onion, avocado and griddled sweetcorn. Drizzle with a little lemon or?lime juice and gently stir through.
3. For the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and’seasoning and pour over the stew. Finally stir through the basil and serve.

You can find this recipe and more in Keep it Vegan by ?ine Carlin. Published by Kyle Books, priced from €22.55. Photography by Ali Allen.