Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

Yesterday ...

• Preheat a shallow layer of olive oil in a pot, with curry powder and mustard seeds in it.
• Chop up a medium sized yellow onion and dump it into the oil when the mustard seeds begin popping.
• Peel a parsnip, then keep going with the peeler to produce a large pile of shavings, then chop up the shavings to make them shorter.
• Do the same thing to a carrot, but don't worry about the chopping step.
• Shake the pot every so often so that the onions cook more or less evenly and all the onion chunks get some time in the oil.
• Cut up a potato into smallish chunks.
• When the onions start getting translucent, add the potatoes and stir.
• Chop a beet into very small pieces.
• Add the parsnip, carrot, beet, and a crumbled cube of vegetable bouillon to the pot. Dump in a handful of oregano and a sprinkle of coriander, fill most of the way with water, and add slightly more salt than you think you'll need.
• Cut portabello or "baby bella" mushrooms into spoon-size chunks.
• Boil until the beet pieces start to soften a wee bit, then add the mushrooms.
• Boil and stir until the water level drops enough to add a can of corn (without draining it) and a handful of red lentils.
• Keep boiling and occasionally stirring, because the beet is going to take a little while. Meanwhile, try to get the rest of the beet juice off your hands.
• Top up the water a couple times along the way.
• Last stage: let as much water boil off as it takes to reach your preferred water:solids ratio for a stew while the beet finishes cooking, stirring a lot more often to prevent the bottom from burning.
• Remove from heat, stir extra well, and serve.

Later I'll find out how well the leftovers reheat.

You'll notice an absence of garlic. That was an accident -- I got distracted. Oops. But it worked really well despite that. The potato and beet flavours played off each other even better than I thought they would. The bits of onion that browned, plus the parsnip, added a surprising amount of sweetness. The potato chunks turned pink; the parnip and carrot pretty much dissolved. Tasty and filling. :-) And no, I didn't measure anything. I'm just glad I remembered all the steps a day later, because I never remember to take notes when improvising in the kitchen.

First time I've tried using fresh beet in a stew. Definitely won't be the last.

Does this dish need a name?