3 Warming Stews From Xavier Bramble’s New Cookbook

With the icy climes we’ve been facing in the UK lately, hearty, warming stews are looking all the more appealing. This winter, we’re getting inspiration from the just launched debut cookbook from Xavier Bramble, Stews. After teaching himself to cook while at Nottingham university, Xavier rose to fame under his online moniker @xavskitchen, garnering a loyal following of over 1.3 million across his social platforms. Below, he shares three recipes from the book – all packed with flavour and sure to warm the cockles.

Stew Recipes For Winter 2026

Chipotle Chicken Stew

‘This recipe means a lot to me – it was one of the first stews I learned to make as a student and was one of the early staple recipes of xavskitchen, setting the pace for the stews to come,’ he says. ‘When I got to uni, my mother gave me a set of chipotle pastes as part of a settling-in parcel, and my experiments with them led me to this. The paste is the secret: it packs such an incredible flavour.

• Prep: 15 mins
• Cook: 50 mins, plus marinating
• Serving suggestions: white rice, sliced avocado, lime wedges

Ingredients:

• 4 skin-on chicken drumsticks
• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• ½ onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1½ tsp tomato purée
• 2 tsp chipotle paste
• 110ml white wine
• 100g passata
• 350ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 80g sweet potato, peeled and diced
• ½ small potato, peeled and diced
• 50g frozen peas
• 10g fresh coriander, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• Salt

MARINADE

• 4 tsp chipotle paste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp salt

Method:

1. In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the marinade. Add the chicken pieces and stir until they are well coated. Cover the bowl and let the chicken marinate for 20 minutes, if you have time. If not, you can use it right away.
2. Heat up a large stew pot on a high heat and add the sunflower oil. Once hot, add all the chicken pieces and sear for 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown all over (do this in batches, if necessary). Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
3. Lower the heat to medium and add the onion and a pinch of salt to the pot. Sauté for 4 minutes, then add the garlic, tomato purée and chipotle paste and cook for 5 minutes, until the mixture is catching on parts of the bottom of the pot (this is where the flavour comes in). Deglaze the pot with the white wine and simmer until reduced by half (about 5 minutes), as you scrape off the stuck bits on the bottom of the pot.
4. Add the passata, chicken stock, oregano, paprika and cumin,bring the liquid to the boil, then add the chicken back in, and cover the pot with the lid. Cook the chicken for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and add both the potatoes. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, then add the frozen peas and simmer for another 5 minutes, until the stew is thickened and the peas are hot through. Stir in the chopped coriander just before serving with rice and avocado, and lime wedges for squeezing over.

Kerala Beef Stew

‘This rich, coconut-based stew is to die for – but, then, as you may know, I’m a big fan of coconuts. I love how the stew is altogether bold and rich, but provides lovely hints of delicate spice in every mouthful. Serve it simply, with some white rice, so that the layers of flavour take centre stage. They deserve it.’

• Prep: 15 mins
• Cook: 3 hours
• Serving suggestion: white rice

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 750g beef shin, cut into 4cm chunks
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 green chilli (deseed according to your preference for heat), finely chopped
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 cloves
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 3 tsp garam masala
• 200ml coconut milk
• 400ml beef stock
• 100ml coconut cream
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 potato, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 shallots, finely sliced
• 2 dried red chillies
• 5 fresh curry leaves (or use dried, if necessary)
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Put a large stew pot on a medium-high heat and add the sunflower oil. Once hot, add the beef and sear for 5 minutes, turning, until browned all over (do this in batches, if necessary). Remove the beef from the pot and set aside.
2. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and green chilli to the pot and cook for 1 minute, to soften. Add the cinnamon stick, cloves, fennel seeds and green cardamom pods, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, until fragrant. 
3. Spoon in half of the garam masala and mix well. Add the beef back to the pot, along with the coconut milk and beef stock and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pot with the lid, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours, until the beef is tender.
4. Add the coconut cream, carrot and potato, then mix well.
5. Add the remaining garam masala, part-cover the pot with the lid and simmer for a further 30 minutes, until incorporated well into the sauce.
6. Put a frying pan on a medium-high heat and add the coconut oil. Once melted and hot, add the shallots, dried red chillies and curry leaves and fry until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
7. Tip the contents of the frying pan into the stew pot, mix well and cook for a further 10 minutes, uncovered. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve with white rice.

Miso Mushroom Stew

‘Miso, soy, lentils and three types of mushroom – there’s bags of umami in this stew. Miso is really good for your gut health, and as a result is one of my favourite ingredients. I use it on toast, with eggs, in soups and, of course, in stews. I developed this recipe for exactly that reason and the result is a simple, tasty, creamy, gut-friendly bowl of deliciousness.’

• Prep: 10 mins
• Cook: 1 hour 5 mins
• Serving suggestion: white rice

Ingredients:

• 150g black lentils, washed
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 100g leek, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tsp brown miso paste
• 6 chestnut mushrooms, quartered
• 6 white mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce
• 400ml vegetable stock
• 200ml coconut milk
• Salt

Method:

1. Bring 800ml of water to the boil in a large stew pot on a high heat. When the water is boiling, add the lentils to the pot along with the bay leaves and rosemary. Reduce the heat and simmer with the lid off for 25 minutes, until the lentils are cooked. Drain the lentils and set them aside, discarding the herbs.
2. In a separate stew pot, heat the coconut oil on a medium-high heat. Once melted and hot, add the onion and leek and sauté for 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and miso paste, mix well and soften the garlic for 2 minutes.
3. Add all the mushrooms and lightly sauté for 2 minutes, then pour in the soy sauce, vegetable stock and coconut milk, bring the liquid to the boil, then reduce the heat and cover the pot with the lid. Simmer the stew for 20 minutes, until the flavours come together nicely. Taste and adjust the salt levels, then add the cooked lentils to the pot. Leave them to simmer for 10 minutes on a medium-high heat to help thicken and reduce the stew. Serve with rice.

Stews is out now (£26, Ebury)