My vegetarian meals come out rather bland and I am cooking a stew for some friends. Any tips?

Jo Elliot, Penrith

  • Although vegetables in their own right have a great flavour, it can easily be lost during cooking. For extra flavours try to add a little heat with either some dry or fresh chilli or you could add some fresh herbs. The following is based on one of Nigel Slater’s vegetable stews. Slice one aubergine into thick slices and pan fry in olive oil till golden brown. Remove and set aside. Dice two red onions and two potatoes, add to the pan and colour till golden brown. Set aside with the aubergine. Roughly chop three garlic cloves, slice two courgettes and cut four red pepper in six pieces and remove the seeds, then fry in the same frying pan with some extra olive oil. Remove from the pan and add one can of chopped tomatoes, one punnet cherry tomatoes and 500g of tomato passata. Add some a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, fresh marjoram, fresh flat leaf parsley and two bay leaves. Season with salt and black pepper. Allow the sauce to simmer for 20 minutes, then add the vegetables back. Simmer for a further 25 minutes. Add fresh basil.
  • Justin Woods, head chef at The Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, and Greenhouse restaurant