January 5, 2016 - Radio Kitchen - Vegetable Stews
During the coldest days of the year we all start to crave a big steaming kettle of stew. Ordinarily I would think of a beef stew as being my go-to dinner idea, but with a little thought you can actually come up with vegetable-based stews that are equally satisfying. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School points out, the trick is finding ingredients that can fill and satisfy.
First, here are some basics. Think about your broth: if you are vegetarian you'll want a vegetable-based broth; if you're not, you can work with chicken broth.
Think about a featured meat substitute; it's hard to beat chickpeas for a solid chewy ingredient, but other dried beans or cubed squash can work just as well. And don't forget big solid mushrooms like portabellas.
And a word on philosophy: don't hurry your stew along, give it time and cook it slow. The crock-pot or slow cooker is your friend.
I scoured the internet for good examples of recipes that made a point and packed a message. This recipe for a Chickpea and Winter Vegetable Stew is a great example, as it has many of the virtues we just mentioned.
There are eight different vegetables being used. The recipe calls for vegetable broth, and it does have chickpeas for that great chewy texture. It also works in a very tasty condiment, harissa, which is a North African hot sauce.
Vegetable stews are an excellent chance to explore some of those more exotic condiments that you've always wanted to try. And finally, although you can cook this up quickly, it can benefit from well over an hour of slow simmering.
Chickpea and Winter Vegetable Stew
(By Tara Parker-Pope, New York Times)
2 tsp olive oil
1 chopped onion
1 cup cleaned and trimmed leek
season to taste with: coriander, crushed caraway seeds, cumin, ground red pepper
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 2/3 vegetable stock
2 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into 1" cubes
1 cup of chunky sliced carrots
3/4 cup cubed Yukon Gold potatoes
1 tbs harrisa (north African hot sauce)
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
salt to taste
1 lb. of turnips, peeled and cut into wedges
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 tsp honey
1 1/3 cups uncooked couscous
1. Sauté onion and leek in the olive oil in a large deep saucepan. Add seasonings and garlic, and cook for one minute, stirring.
2. Add 3 cups of the vegetable stock, the vegetables, the tomato paste and the harrisa. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover.
3. After an hour, stir in the honey and the parsley and keep the stew warm.
4. Drain off about 2/3 of a cup of the broth from the pot, and pour it and an additional 2/3 cup of vegetable broth into a small sauce pan. Add the couscous and cook over very low heat for about five minutes.
5. Serve the stew over the couscous in a large bowl.
Vinegars are useful ingredients in winter vegetable stew. I like the way they add zingy acidity to a dish, and they have a knack for bringing out the flavor of your vegetables. Here's a recipe that keeps things fresh with sherry, vinegar and lemons.
Winter Vegetable Stew
(from Williams-Sonoma)
olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
10 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tbs tomato paste
1/2 cup medium dry sherry vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable stock
cup sherry vinegar
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into small chunks
3 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
3 large carrots, trimmed and cut into chunks
1 tsp dried tarragon
salt and pepper to taste
the grated zest of 1 lemon, and its juice
tender sprigs of fresh thyme
1. Sauté onions and celery in olive oil in a deep skillet, until tender. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the sherry, stock and vinegar, scraping any brown bits up from the bottom of the skillet.
2. Transfer all of this to a slow cooker.
3. Add the vegetables and the tarragon to the slow cooker, season with salt and pepper, and stir. Cover the cooker up and cook on low for five hours.
4. Just prior to serving, add the lemon juice to the stew. Serve in individual bowls and garnish with the lemon zest and thyme sprigs and a drizzle of olive oil.
This recipe uses sherry and sherry vinegar as a condiment, to give a unique flavor to the stew, as well as an acidic structure. It calls for winter vegetables like squash, parsnips and carrots, but it also throws in a lot of garlic: 10 whole cloves, smashed.
Because you will cook this for five hours, the garlic will mellow out, and the flavors of the veggies will blend together. But the smart part to this recipe is how you add lemon juice and lemon zest at the very end to provide a fresh bright contrast to the other slowly cooked ingredients.
Many vegetable stews have a starchy component. It could be rice, it could be potatoes; but stop to think about some other very healthy alternatives: barley, bulgur wheat, couscous, and quinoa. You can cook them separately and use them as a bed for the stew, or you can cook them right in the pot with all the other ingredients, guaranteeing a rich thick texture. Here's an idea that Al cooked up.
Roasted Winter Vegetable and Barley Stew
(A Radio Kitchen Original Recipe)
1 1/2 cups of butternut squash cut into 1" cubes
1 large parsnip, peeled, cut into thick 2" spears
6 small sweet yellow onions, peeled, and quartered
1 red bell pepper, seeded, cut into 1" cubes
6 medium shallots, peeled, cut in half lengthwise
2 large carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into thick slices
olive oil
4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup uncooked barley
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp ground fennel
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1. Lay the cut up vegetables on a baking sheet, sprayed with Pam. Drizzle olive oil on the vegetables, and then cook in a 350° oven for about 45 minutes, or until they start to brown.
2. Meanwhile, brink 2 1/2 cups of broth to boil in a sauce pan. Stir in barley. Allow to cook for one minute at the boil, then reduce heat and cover tightly. Allow the barley to cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 50 minutes.
3. Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven, and scrape them into a slow cooker. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of broth and the spices. Pour the cooked barley into the slow cooker, and mix in with the vegetables. Cover and cook for two hours at low heat.
4. Season with salt and pepper and finish with a dollop of balsamic vinegar, about a tablespoon.
This recipe uses a fairly standard mix of winter vegetables, but it increases their flavor by roasting them first. It incorporates cooked barley and combines everything in a slow cooker. And finally it calls for a dollop of balsamic vinegar to finish the mélange of flavors, and give the stew a bit of a kick.
Obviously, any recipe for a vegetable stew is merely a starting point. There is ample latitude for experimentation and creativity. It's also a great chance to rummage through your cabinets looking for bottles of this and that to add to your pot. It's pretty hard to make a mistake.
