Hearty Red Kidney Bean Stew with Herby Tofu and Chia Seed Dumplings

a close up of a rich red tomato and red kidney bean stew with chia seed and herbs dumplings looking light and fluffy and delicious.

Hearty Red Kidney Bean Stew with Herby Tofu and Chia Seed Dumplings

This is the kind of stew that feeds more than just hunger – rich, warming, and full of depth. Herby tofu and chia seed dumplings sit proudly on top, soft and nourishing with just enough bite. It starts on the stove, finishes in the oven, and reheats like a dream.

5 from 1 vote

Photographed truthfully. If you cook it, yours will look like mine.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 45

Total Time 50

Course Dinner, Main

Cuisine British Home Cooking

Servings people

Calories/Seving 541 kcal

Ingredients

300 g brown onion | unpeeled weight, small dice
1 pinch salt
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
3 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp soft light brown sugar
20 g stock cube
2 tbsp lime juice
4 units garlic cloves | peeled and thinly sliced
2 units red chilli | big fat mild ones
800 g tomatoes | tinned; 2 standard British cans; chopped
240 g red kidney beans | cooked weight

Ingredients for dumplings

110 g self raising flour
1 tbsp chia seeds
200 g firm tofu | pressed weight
45 g vegetable suet
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
20 g fresh coriander | chopped up into small pieces
½ tsp chilli flakes

Extra ingredients you'll need

¼ tsp chilli flakes
¼ tsp ground black pepper
200 g broccoli | or other green veg. to serve

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Instructions

Make the Red Kidney Bean Stew

Peel the onions, cut into halves lengthways, and dice into pieces approximately 1cm diameter. Meantime heat the oil thoroughly on a low heat in the Le Creuset.
300 g brown onion, 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
When the oil is warm (slightly shimmering), add the onions and salt and stir around in the oil. Continue to cook the onions until soft and translucent, 10-12 minutes. Prepare the red chillies and garlic: cut the red chillies lengthways and remove the seeds; then cut into thin strips; peel and cut the garlic into thin slices.
300 g brown onion, 1 pinch salt
When the onion is nearly cooked, add the garlic slices and the sliced red chilli and stir continually for 3 mins, keeping the garlic and chilli slices moving and taking care not to burn the garlic.
4 units garlic cloves, 2 units red chilli
When the onions are nearly cooked, add the tomato purée and stir to coat the onion in the tomato paste. Cook the tomato paste. It darkens as it cooks. This will take 3-5 minutes.
3 tbsp tomato purée
When the tomato purée is darker and thicker, add the paprika, smoked paprika and stir around. Perhaps add a touch of water to loosen.
1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp smoked paprika
Crumble the stock cube into the mix and stir. Then add the sugar and stir around for a couple of minutes to caramelise the sugar.
20 g stock cube, 2 tsp soft light brown sugar
When the sugar has caramelised, turn the heat up slightly, to a medium heat. Let the pan heat up. Once the pan is hotter, add the lime juice. You've made the pan hotter so the lime juice deglazes the pan. Stir for a minute.
2 tbsp lime juice
Then add the cans of tomatoes. Stir and lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes on low. After the 10 minutes, add the drained red kidney beans. Stir again. This is now ready for the dumplings. Please ensure that you don't cook all the water out of the stew. You need some water still in the pan to help cook the dumplings.
800 g tomatoes, 240 g red kidney beans

Make the dumplings

Measure all the ingredients for the dumplings into a mixing bowl. Squeeze all the water out of the tofu (it really must be dry) and crumble it into the mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients together thoroughly. Once everything is mixed properly, add as much water as you need to bring the mix together into a ball of dough. Start with only 2 tablespoons of water, and go from there. Go steady, you won't need much and the amount required will depend on tofu dryness.
110 g self raising flour, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 200 g firm tofu, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, 20 g fresh coriander , ½ tsp chilli flakes, 45 g vegetable suet
The mix makes 8 dumplings. Shape the dough into balls, placing them on the nearby chopping board. Then place all the balls quickly onto the top of the stew, add little pinches of chilli flakes and black pepper, put the lid on and put into a preheated oven 180℃ for 35 minutes. The steam will cook the dumplings. Don't be taking this out and looking at it... just leave it in the oven to do the magic.
¼ tsp chilli flakes, ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Serve with steamed vegetables. When I ate it, I enjoyed broccoli and also cauliflower (great colour and perfect additional dryer and firmer texture). You don't need separate carbohydrate.
200 g broccoli

Nutrition

Calories: 541kcalCarbohydrates: 69gProtein: 21gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 1900mgPotassium: 1366mgFiber: 14gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 1891IUVitamin C: 77mgCalcium: 235mgIron: 7mg

Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on specific ingredients used. Nutrition is per serving. Information is for the main recipe, not optional accompaniments.

Keywords chia seeds, comfort for cold times, cook it all in one pot, dumplings, earthy and bright, firm tofu, make it ahead, midweek solace, red kidney beans, tomato sauce, use your freezer, vegan bean stew

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