THE STUDENT VEGETARIAN COOK BOOK

- METHOD -

Drain the beans, rinse in cold water and put into the saucepan with a lid. Bring to the boil in 1 pintl600 ml water (do not add salt), skim and boil briskly for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes; add a little more water if necessary.

2 Make the stock. Peel and finely slice the carrot and onion. Trim the root and leaf ends from the celery, wash and slice finely. Bring the vegetables to the boil in 11f2 pints/900 ml water with the bayleaf, 3 or 4 peppercorns and 1/2 teaspoon salt, reduce the heat, then simmer for 20 minutes. Strain and discard the vegetables.

3 Cut the leafand root ends from the celery for the soup; wash and slice finely. Add with the stock to the beans when they have simmered for 40 minutes. Cover and continue to simmer for a further 5-10 minutes or until the beans are tender.

4 Chop the green leaf and root ends from the leeks, peel off the outer layer, wash and finely slice. Wash and shred the cabbage, cutting out any very thick stems. Peel and chop the tomatoes, throwing away the hard cores. Trim the mushroom stalks; peel, rinse and dry large ones or wash and dry small ones, chop into 1f2 inchll cm cubes or (if very small) slice fairly finely. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Crush the cumin. Wash and dry the chilli, remove the stalk end and seeds, and dice the flesh as finely as possible. Do not rub your eyes while chopping it, particularly if it is fresh, and wash your hands directly afterwards (or wear polythene gloves).

5 Using the large saucepan, fry the onion in the oil over low heat, turning frequently, for �IO minutes or until soft and translucent but not brown. Add the garlic and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the cumin and fry for 1-11f2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season moderately with pepper and more lightly with salt and continue frying gently, turning very often, for 5-7 minutes or until soft. Add the tomatoes, season very lightly and simmer for 7-10 minutes or until Iiquified, pressing out the lumps of flesh against the sides and bottom of the pan. Stir in the tomato puree. Add the leeks, cabbage and beans with the celery and stock. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until the leeks and cabbage are tender. Serve hot with crustybread and plenty of grated Parmesan cheese.