Hearty Veggie Stew
When we chose to consume less meat/animal products, we were relying quite heavily on additional gluten – adding breads and crackers to more meals like soups, to give the food more bulk and our feeling full.
Over the course of changing how and what we eat, we began to pay closer attention to how we felt and what we felt after eating anything. Through observation and process of elimination, we figured out we’re both highly gluten-sensitive/intolerant and wanted to make better choices and teach others like you, that with a little courage, you too can find a better way. I was determined to develop a one-pot recipe that is easy, quick, and doesn’t require additional trips to the grocery store to buy ingredients you use once and then it goes to waste.
When we spent some time completely off-grid without electricity, running water, or heat, our access to ingredients, especially fresh ingredients was limited – it was 40 miles one way to the nearest grocery store of any kind, or 85-90 miles to the nearest national chain like WalMart or Safeway. The weather made traversing the 16 miles of desert sand roads occasionally impossible, so I had to get super creative with what we had on hand. Thankfully, it was cold enough that I could keep potatoes, onions, and garlic in a cardboard box for a few weeks, and things like baby carrots and veggie bouillon concentrate in a jar, stayed fresh in our old fashioned, non-refrigerated cooler.
I began experimenting with different quantities of what we had on hand, to come up with one-pot meals that were healthy, satisfying, and filling. I tried sautéing veggies with herbs of various kinds and eventually developed what has become one of our favorite meals, and want to share with the world how easy, quick, and better for you this Hearty Veggie Stew is, compared to crap canned soups that are full of preservatives and days and days worth of salt in one small can. While this stew is not lite on sodium or vegan, (from the bouillon and worchestershire sauce), you could substitute the bouillon and water with a low-sodium veggie broth and leave out the worchestershire sauce. It’s a matter of preference, taste, and what you and your family needs. The entire batch of this hearty veggie stew has approximately 2 days of the RDA for sodium intake, but separated into 6 servings, you’re lightyears better off than canned store-bought crap.
I start with a basic mix of chopped carrots, onions, celery and garlic, cut into small chunks about the width of my pinky finger, and add it to a pre-heated pot with a little olive oil. As it sautes with the lid slightly vented, it cooks down a bit. When the onions are clear, I add the Worchestershire sauce, veggie bouillon, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, and water.
Then I add the larger chunks of baby carrot cut in half and chunks of russet potato with the skins on, bringing to a boil and cook it on medium-high heat, stirring often, until the biggest potato chunks are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Then I reduce the heat to medium and continue to stir. The stirring begins to break up the smaller chunks of potato which then begins to thicken the stew, and I cook that, stirring and stirring, until the stew gets nice and thick. From the point of adding everything to serving time is about 30-35 minutes.
You’d never know it was gluten-free, and meatless (save for the Worchestershire sauce), because it’s so hearty, chunky, filling, and delicious. You’ll never want to waste your money on store-bought canned hearty soup again. And this is made with versatile ingredients we always keep on hand, so no extra trips or packaging waste. WINNER WINNER STEW FOR DINNER! The recipe below makes about 6 hearty servings, give or take. Note: you may need to add more bouillon or worchestershire sauce for your own personal taste preference.
Our favorite way to enjoy this hearty veggie stew is to top leftover, seasoned brown jasmine rice with it and it gets even thicker and more delicious, as well as adds extra fiber. (Helpful trick: We cook up a large pot of brown jasmine and regular jasmine rices that we have in the fridge and reheating makes meal prep even quicker).
Speaking of re-heating… can you reheat this stew? You sure can!! I like to first heat up about a cup or so of water with a little more veggie bouillon, add the leftover stew, and another bit of fresh potato chunks, and heat again, until the fresh potato chunks are fork tender, about 15 minutes or so. As a matter of fact, we had leftover stew for lunch today and it was every bit as tasty with chunky potato, the carrots hold up well, and the flavor gets even better. 🙂
Ingredients
2c each of chopped baby carrots, sweet onion, and celery
1/4c chopped garlic cloves
1T olive oil
1T Worchestershire sauce
1T parsley
1t sage
1t rosemary
1/2t thyme
2 slightly heaping Tablespoons of veggie bouillon (I use Better than Bouillon in a small glass jar)
6c water
2c baby carrots cut in half
4c potato chunks of various sizes
Directions
Heat your cooking pot on medium-high heat. Add olive oil and then add your chopped celery, onion, carrots, and garlic, stirring often and sauteing until onions are clearish, keeping the lid slightly ajar between stirring. Add worchestershire sauce, water, bouillon, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, then your large chunks of carrots and potato. Stir often and cook for about 15-20 mins until the larger potato chunks are fork-tender. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to stir, it will break up the smaller chunks of potato and basically dissolve them into your stew and it will begin to thicken after about another 10 minutes or so. Keeping the lid ajar between stirrings is key. The quantities are all quite forgiving and flexible to meet your personal preferences as needs.