Saturday, 07 November 2009

• Comfort Stew

  Comfort Stew
  
  
  
  For this weeks I Really Like Food theme, enter, stew. Stew used to be a big comfort food for me. I remember taking March break ski vacations, and hitting the hill in the morning after mom put a jumble of stuff in the slow cooker and coming back to a delicious filling meal. I haven't had stew in maybe 5 years, so this posed a challenge to me. How to make a stew that could contest with my childhood memories, but maintain my values? This is what I came up with. Pretty delicious I must say, it has a nice savory flavour, but without the meat classically used to achieve it.
  
  Ingredients:
  2 Tbsp olive oil
  1 medium onion chopped
  as much garlic as you like
  3 stalks of celery sliced
  8 white mushrooms chopped
  4 carrots sliced
  2 large potatoes, cubed with skin intact
  1 cup chopped green beans (i used frozen, use fresh if they are in season)
  3 Tbsp flour
  1 can of white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  6 cups vegetable broth
  3 Tbsp soya sauce
  1/2 tsp salt
  1/2 tsp pepper
  1 tsp thyme
  2 bay leaves
  
  Directions:
  1. In a large stock pot combine onions, garlic, celery, mushrooms and oil, saute on medium heat for 10 minutes or until onions are translucent
  
  
  
  2. Add carrots, potatoes, and green beans.
  3. Dust veggies with flour and combine well.
  
  
  
  4. Add kidney beans, broth, soya sauce, pepper, salt, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil.
  5. Reduce heat and cover, cook for 20 minutes, serve hot with bread.
  
  Soya sauce adds some browning colour to your stew but it also adds a much missed savory taste in combination with the mushrooms. I added a little extra to my bowl after serving it and my fiance ate his as is. He even enjoyed it despite his being sick.
  
  
  (thats the most joyful expression he has sported in 2 days)
  

  • 6:41 PM
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