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Summer vegetable hot pot

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At Bert’s we serve this hot pot in individual dishes but at home it works perfectly served in a large pot, this can then be served family style, set in the middle of the table and everybody just helping themselves. Any vegetables can be used in this recipe just try to use the best of local, fresh seasonal vegetables, whatever the time of year.
Ingredients;
For the gravy;                           

1tblsp olive oil                                                  
1 onion diced                                                                                                                   
2 cloves of garlic, chopped                                                                                                                 
3 carrot peeled and diced                                                                                 
2tblsp sweet soy sauce                
150ml red wine                                                                                                                                                    
500ml vegetable stock                                                 
8 shallots peeled                                                                                    
8 gloves of garlic peeled
8 baby carrots, peeled                                                                                                                
1 small courgette cut into 8 even pieces   
1 fennel cut into 8 even pieces                                                                                                
200g broad beans, removed from their pod and shelled                           
1 red pepper roasted and skinned, cut into 8 even pieces            
1tblsp chopped parsley                                           
4 potatoes peeled and sliced thinly on a mandolin

Method;

For the gravy;

Pour the olive oil into a saucepan and place over medium heat, add the onion, garlic and carrots, cook until the vegetables start to brown around the edges, stirring all the time. Turn the heat down to as low as you can and continue to cook over this low heat until the vegetables are very soft and breaking down, check and stir every 5-10mins. This may take up to an hour. This stage is very important as the slow cooking of the vegetables releases as of the vegetables natural sugar and adds intensity to the finished gravy.  When the vegetables have broken down turn up the heat add the soy sauce and the red wine reduce by half then add the vegetable stock, turn to a simmer and cook for20mins. Remove the gravy from the heat and place in a blender. Blend until very smooth then pass through a fine sieve. The sauce is now ready to use. This gravy can be made in bulk and frozen for later use. I find that freezing them in an ice tray works well. When you need to use them just pop out a couple of cubes and melt in a pot.
Pre heat the oven to 180c
Place an oven proof pot over a medium heat and add a little olive oil, add the whole shallots and whole garlic cloves and cook for 5mins, add the carrots and cook for a further 5mins add the courgettes and fennel and continue to cook for a further 5mins. At this point add enough of the gravy just to cover and bring to the boil, turn the heat to a simmer and add the broad beans and diced pepper, season to taste and add the chopped parsley.
Remove from the heat and top neatly with the sliced potatoes, pushing then lightly down to compact the vegetable below so they sit evenly on the top. Place the hot pot into the oven and cook for 25-30mins or until the potatoes are golden brown and cooked through.
Serve with a lightly dressed green salad for the perfect vegetarian summer dinner.

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