Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for white bean, leek and artichoke stew | The new vegan

Waiting for spring to arrive, with its promise of more daylight and warmer days, can be agonising. Some people don’t wait – they wear shorts and sandals even when it’s cold and frosty outside – but I cope in my own way with my cooking. Today’s recipe gives the appearance and flavour of a spring dish, but with none of that season’s ingredients. There’s a lot of green frippery – artichokes, peas, leeks and fresh herbs – but the artichokes are jarred and the petits pois are from the freezer. If you’re struggling to wait for spring, too, perhaps this is the recipe for you.

White bean, leek and artichoke stew

To clean the leeks, slice the full leek (both white and green parts) crossways from top to bottom, then put in a bowl of cold water. Vigorously swish the leeks with your hands, and all the sand and dirt on them will fall to the bottom of the bowl. Scoop out the leeks with your hands, then put in a sieve to drain and dry off.

Prep 15 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 4

5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for the toast
2 red onions, peeled and finely diced
1¼

tsp fine sea salt
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 leeks (200g), whites and greens thinly sliced and rinsed
160g drained jarred artichokes in oil (ie, from a 285g jar)
400g tin butter beans in water, drained
200g frozen petits pois
1 vegetable stock cube, dissolved in 250ml boiling water
1 tbsp lemon juice
10g fresh mint, leaves picked
10g fresh flat-leaf parsley
¼ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
Sourdough, to serve

Put the oil in a wide, deep frying or saute pan for which you have a lid, and set it on a medium heat. When hot, add the onion and salt, and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes, until soft and sweet. Stir in the garlic and leeks, cover the pan and leave to cook for eight minutes, until the leeks are soft.

Add the artichokes, butter beans, frozen petits pois and stock to the pan, mix well, then cover again and cook for a further five minutes.

Add the lemon juice, then chop the herbs and stir them in, too, along with the ground pepper.

Taste and adjust the seasoning as you wish, then distribute between shallow bowls. Serve with toasted sourdough drizzled with more extra-virgin olive oil on the side.