If you want to lose weight this is the dish for you. As well as being great for weight loss, aduki beans also contain high levels of B vitamins to nourish the adrenal glands and iron, zinc and manganese, all of which are excellent for general health. They strengthen the body's energy battery, the spleen, and soak up damp in the body like a sponge.

The aduki bean is a tiny, reddish-brown bean with a cream coloured seam and sweet, nutty flavour. It is particularly popular in Asian cooking, most often used for sweet dishes including soups, desserts and as a dim sum filling.

Aduki beans are regarded as the king of beans in Japan and are prized for their health-giving properties: reputedly benefitting the liver and the kidneys. In Japan and China aduki beans are often cooked, puréed and mixed with sugar to make a chocolately paste which is used to fill cakes and desserts.

Serves 4

Ingredients

· 200g aduki beans

· 1 wheat free vegetable stock cube

· 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

· 2 carrots, trimmed, peeled and thickly sliced

· 1 leek, washed, trimmed and finely sliced

· half a butternut squash, peeled, halved, deseeded and cut into chunky pieces

· half teaspoon ground cumin

· half teaspoon turmeric powder

· 250g cury kale

· 4 tablespoons chopped fresh chervil

Method

1. Presoak the beans for 12 hours or overnight in cold water. Drain the beans and rinse well. Place in a saucepan of water and bring to the boil. Boil hard for 15 minutes to remove toxins. Drain and rinse well.

2. Return the beans to the pan with a litre of fresh cold water. Add the stock cube and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the vegetables, cumin and turmeric and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes.

3. Add the kale and cook for a few minutes until just tender. Sprinkle with chervil and serve with Millet Mash and Onion Gravy.