It’s time to put on your jackets and get under the blanket and sit on the couch. The temperatures are dropping, and the nights are getting longer. One of my favourite things to eat during this time of year are hearty stews. Not only do I like soups for their flavour and one pot, little mess wonder, but for some stews, especially this one, there is little mistakes you can make. I made this stew by looking what veggies I had left over in my fridge and pantry and then just threw it all in.
Veggie Stews are full of vitamins and low on fat. So, no guilty bowls here. I love making huge batches of this soup and just splitting them in different Tupperware, so they are easy to eat up and take with you for lunch on the go.
When making stews that are only veggie based, I like to use some sort of bean in order to keep you fuller. In this case I used kidney beans. The hearty beans mixed with all the veggies and the spices blended nicely and gave it a hearty feel to it. I mean even the hubby who claims he hates soup or stews nearly licked the bowl. I mean, that’s all the approval I need.
Vegan Hearty Veggie Stew
1 leek, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
5-6 large brown mushrooms, chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
400g canned kidney beans, rinsed
400g canned corn, rinsed
5-6 small carrots, diced
2-3 yellow onions, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
400g canned diced tomatoes
200g pureed tomatoes
700ml water
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper
In a large pot add olive oil. Add onions, garlic, carrots and celery and simmer until golden brown. Add tomato paste. Simmer for another 3 minutes on high heat. Add your liquids and stir. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the rest of your veggies and spices. Simmer for about 2 hours, stirring every half hour.
If the stew still does not have the consistency you like, just continue to simmer. I had a very large pot, so I simmered my soup for about 4 hours on low.
