Sweet & Sour Mixed Bean Hotpot - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb potato, unpeeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1 1/4 cups tomato puree (or passata)
2/3 cup apple juice, unsweetened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
14 ounces lima beans, canned
14 ounces flageolet beans, canned
14 ounces chickpeas, canned
6 ounces green beans, chopped & blanched
8 ounces shallots, sliced and blanched
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon thyme, chopped

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400\u00b0F.
Thinly slice the potatoes and parboil them for 4 minutes. Drain the potatoes thoroughly, toss them in the oil so they are lightly coated all over and set aside.
Place the butter, flour, tomato puree, apple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, sherry, vinegar and soy sauce in a saucepan. Heat gently, whisking constantly until the sauce comes to a boil and thickens. Simmer gently for 3 minutes, stirring.
Rinse and drain the beans and chickpeas and add to the sauce with all the remaining ingredients. Mix well.
Spoon the bean mixture into the casserole.
Arrange the potato slices over the top of the bean mixture, overlapping them slightly and completely covering.
Cover the casserole with foil and bake for about 1 hour, until the potatoes are cooked and tender. Remove the foil for the last 20 minutes of cooking time to lightly brown the potatoes.