Rich, comforting and packed full of flavour, this butter bean and halloumi stew with pesto is also a great protein hit.
Pesto is a great way of adding extra flavour, and I always keep a jar in the cupboard for weeknight dishes like this one. I use red pesto here and it is so, so tasty.
The stew is really simple with onion, passata, the pesto, butter beans and chickpeas. Top with some golden halloumi and you have a simple but hearty vegetarian stew that’s ready in less than half an hour.
Butter Bean and Halloumi Stew – The Ingredients
- Olive oil – to start the cooking. You could also use vegetable oil.
- Onion – use a brown or yellow onion.
- Red pesto – get a jar of your favourite red pesto like I did or, if you have more time, you can make your own.
- Passata – passata makes this stew beautifully smooth. Do use it if you can, don’t switch for chopped tomatoes.
- Butter beans – use ones in a tin in water. Use queen butter beans if you like – they have a great bite to them.
- Chickpeas – again, use a tin of chickpeas in water.
- Halloumi – if you don’t fancy halloumi, this stew would also be great topped with crumbled feta.
Top Tips
- To serve
This is filling enough to eat by itself, but it’s also wonderful with a wedge of fresh sourdough.
- Get ahead
Make the stew without the halloumi and you can freeze it for up to three months. Cook the halloumi freshly just before you serve.
- Alternative suggestions
It’s a simple switch, but you can also serve this stew with the halloumi stirred through rather than placed on top. You could also pan fry the halloumi if you prefer.
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Butter Bean and Halloumi Stew with Pesto
Save This RecipeIngredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion
- 100 g red pesto
- 690 g passata
- 400 g tin of butter beans
- 400 g tin of chickpeas
- 225 g halloumi
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a baking tray with a sheet of baking parchment. Cut the halloumi into 1 inch cubes and place on the parchment. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden.
- Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the onion.
- Put the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until starting to soften.
- Add the red pesto, stir and cook for 30 more seconds.
- Pour in the passata, drained butter beans and drained chickpeas. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 10 minutes.
- Taste your stew and season with salt and pepper if needed – if your pesto was very flavourful, you might not need to.
- To serve, ladle the stew into bowls and top with cubes of halloumi.
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