SCRUMPTIOUS SCRUMPY CHASSEUR

The cold winter evenings drive on and so does the need for a good warm meal in the evening. We can't spend all January eating soups though so what this calls for is a little cheeky chasseur but with my little twist. This veggie friendly stew is perfect for throwing in your favorite winter veg and contains oodles of a good strong scrumpy instead of the traditional wine (well they are both made from fruit at the end of the day so who's bothered). It's a yummy winter warmer that will have you all roasty toasty in no time!

Now I have used Quorn for two reasons. First because I have a veggie in the house and secondly is good for my old new year diet. My regular disclaimer of other meat substitutes are available still apply and also you are more than welcome to pop a bit of chicken in if you the thought of a meat free meal fills you with dread. Just pop those chopped up bits of bird in

I've packed out my chasseur with loads of veg. Your traditional chasseur would contain onions and mushrooms (apparently its french for hunter - I don't know, that's what Wikipedia told me!) hence there inclusion here. You can follow my recipe below if you wish but feel free to take anythign out you don't like or chuck in anything else you have lying around. Nice wholesome winter veg such as parsnips or turnips would be perfect in my opinion but have a little experiment with what you enjoy the most or have sitting in your kitchen.

Strangely for me, this is a recipe that has a complete absence of any kind of spiciness (I must be having an off day!) but this really is a recipe that calls for fragrant, woody green herbs for that truly classic french stew vibe. I've chosen to use thyme which I love but try mixing up the flavor
by using oregano, rosemary or maybe a touch of coriander. It's a fabulously versatile stew that you can really tinker to your taste.

Which bring us on to the scrumpy. Use a good quality cider in this dish, it doesn't necessarily need to be scrumpy just something yummy (white lightning is probably not going to work in this one). Cider is my tipple of choice but if your not a fan then take it right back to the traditional white wine instead. If your not an alcohol consumer, then just add an extra 250ml of stock in its place but still add it in separately first as you would with the scrumpy just to make sure the tomato paste blends into the stock perfectly.

Finally it's a slow cooker recipe. Prepare at the start of your day up until the finally simmer stage and then whack in your slow cooker to really intensify those beautiful herby flavors. If you don't have time for that then it's still a great meal to rustle up after a hard days work. Check out the recipe below, give it a go and see for yourself!

Veggie Scrumpy Chassuer 

1 Peeled And Chopped Carrot

2 Chopped Celery Sticks

4 Small Peeled And Chopped Onions
200g Quorn Pieces

250g Chopped Mushrooms

3 Grated Peeled Garlic Cloves

250ml Scrumpy Cider

2 Tbsp Tomato Purée 

1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme Leaves

4 Chopped Medium Tomatoes

450ml Vegetable Stock

Salt And Pepper To Season

1. Place a good glug of oil in a large stew pan and turn up the heat to high. throw in the carrots, celery, onions, quorn, mushrooms and garlic and fry until the onions are beginning to soften. Keep stirring everything as you go so nothing sticks to the pan and all the ingredients cook equally.
2. Add in the scrumpy and give everything a good mix. Wait
   
   until the scrumpy begins bubbling and then add in the tomato paste. Give this a good mix until the paste has incorporated into the scrumpy.
3. Add in the thyme leaves (leave some to garnish), tomatoes and stock and season with a good crack of salt and pepper. Give everything a good mix before bringing to the boil and then reducing to a simmer for 25-30 mins.

Serve super piping hot straight from the pan and garnish with the leftover thyme leaves for an extra burst of herbiness and so it looks all mouth-wateringly pretty. Serve with some warm buttered crusty baps for mopping up all that yummy cider broth and you good to go.

Another simply delicious winter warmer to add to your repertoire. A truly scrumptious stew  for a cold winters evening.