My mother, now aged 92, makes this traditional Lebanese recipe regularly and we all thoroughly enjoy it. When two of my sons became vegetarians many years ago, one of the meat dishes they said they particularly hankered for was fasoulia. So when I make it for a family gathering, I make this vegetarian version I devised, as well as the traditional meat dish for the non-vegetarians, and everyone is satisfied.

Fasoulia Butter Bean Stew

Ingredients:

30ml (2 tbsp) oil

1 medium onion, diced

600g soya chunks

Salt and pepper

5ml (1 tsp) paprika

30ml (2 tbsp) tomato paste

1 x 40g packet premixed vegetable soup/stew mix (or 'hearty beef'-flavoured mix, suitable for vegetarians according to the ingredients list)

250ml (1 cup) red wine

2 x 400g cans butter beans, undrained

Method:

Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion until soft. Add the soya chunks and fry for a couple of minutes. Season and add the paprika. Stir in the tomato paste and the packet stew mix. Add the wine and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the butter beans and their liquid and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Serve with rice and salad.

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