I’m not fond of the word ‘stew’. It seems to denote something grey and overcooked when often it is neither of those things. Stews can contain layers of flavour and even though the colour may not be as full of sparkle as, say, a vibrant salad with pops of red and bright green, they can provide warmth, heartiness and richness.

I had treated myself to a quarter of a Crown Prince squash. Or pumpkin. I’m never sure which it is as they seem to be used interchangeably, but this specimen has a smooth grey-green skin, with a beautiful orange inner. This is one for roasting because it softens and attains the floury texture of a decent mashing potato whilst being lighter at the same time.

I’d forgotten I had it, and then when I found it in the fridge my first thought was “Just cook the thing before it dies.” so I set it on a small baking tray and put it in the oven at 160C fan to roast. No seasoning, no oil, not peeled, just plain. When it was thoroughly soft and scoopable with some browned edges, I took it out and let it cool. We are not at home to burned fingers.

I had a whole green cabbage so I halved that, then chopped one half into rough chunks plus two white onions, also very roughly chunked and two eating apples that were on the sad side of ripe.

The whole lot went into a pot on the stove with maybe a scant 1/4 cup of water in the bottom to aid steam, a teaspoon of salt and two teaspoons of stock granules. Covered with a lid they cooked on very low until everything was soft and had released their juices.

Next, the scooped pumpkin flesh went in along with a 400g tin of drained butter beans. The pumpkin and the beans happily soaked up all the juice.

I tasted it and yes, it was good, but it needed…something.

There’s an Indian method called a tarka which is where you cook off spices in very hot oil and then add that, sizzling and sputtering, to the pot of whatever you are cooking. It’s a finisher, and adds that final zing.

A generous glug of olive oil (use whatever oil you prefer) went into a pan – enough to cover the base – with two cloves of chopped garlic on a medium heat. Once they started to brown a half a teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of Spanish smoked paprika went in along with 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. I mixed it all together quickly then I turned off the heat. Right into the pot it went. Mixed into the smoothness of the cabbage and beans it lifted the flavours up from good to fabulous.

An apple in our garden

I loved it so much that I went out today and bought another chunk of the squash to go with the other half of the cabbage and the last of the onions. I think it will also go well with the parmesan I have left in the fridge to use up.