Hodge Podge | Nova Scotia-Style Creamy Vegetable Stew

Scrub the new potatoes without peeling them; the skins help them hold their shape and release starch into the water slowly. Halve the larger ones and leave walnut-sized potatoes whole. Snap off the ends of the green beans, remove the strings, and cut them into 4 cm pieces. Slice the carrot into 1 cm-thick rounds, and shell the peas.

Put the potatoes in a wide pot and add 400 ml water and the salt—the water should not cover the vegetables and should be only 2 cm deep at the bottom of the pot. Cover and cook over medium heat for 12 minutes. A knife should meet some resistance; fully softened potatoes will fall apart in the next steps.

Add the carrot rounds and cook for 5 minutes, then add the fresh green beans and cook for 6 minutes more. Keep the lid on; the steam also cooks the vegetables above the water. At this point, the liquid in the pot should look noticeably cloudy and thickened: that is the starch, and it is the sauce.

Scatter in the peas and cover the pot for 4 minutes. They are ready when they turn bright green; after that, their color fades and they lose their sweetness. There should be about a finger's depth of liquid at the bottom of the pot. If there is none, add 50 ml hot water.

Turn the heat to its lowest setting, add the butter and cream, then hold the pot and shake it to combine—the spoon will mash the potatoes. Keep it over the heat for 3 minutes, just until warmed through without letting the sauce boil; boiling can cause the cream to split and turn grainy. Add the black pepper, finely chopped green onions, and dill, then remove the pot from the heat.