Recently I visited the north of Serbia known for it’s phenomenal paprika powder production and of course, brought some of it home. Well, quite a big bag of it actually 🙂 as I couldn’t resist its rich and fragrant aroma and just look at that red colour, fantastic! Just what I need for a big bowl of delicious late summer vegetable stew that tastes like hugs and kisses when the summer heat drops.
This hearty dish of gorgeous red colour is rich in texture and yummy veggy flavours. Light tastes of chickpeas and sweet potato balance the smokey sweetness of peppers and intense paprika flavour. And there’s basil, and tomatoes for a true late summer feast. But enough me talking let’s go make this one.
What you need for 4-6 servings of stew or one medium pot
- 2 small onions
- 4 large sweet red peppers
- 1 smaller sweet potato
- 200g precooked chickpeas
- 600ml tomato juice
- 1-2 teaspoons of sweet red paprika powder
- olive oil
- salt
- fresh basil
How to make it:
Prepare the veggies: cut onions in thin slices, chop peppers and potato in large chunks.
Heat some olive oil in the pot, add onions and fry stirring for a few minutes until transparent, than add peppers. Make sure to stir well, reduce the heat to medium-low, add just a bit of water if necessary and saute for another few minutes.
When most of the liquid evaporates, add paprika powder to taste, stir some more and pour in tomato juice. Add the sweet potato chunks, cover with a lid and leave to cook for some 20 minutes or until the potato is done. About some 10min before it’s cooked, pop in the chickpeas to soak in some of the flavours, add salt to taste and serve with fresh basil leaves.
