Hearty Vegan Stew Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good stew? ›

"Soups and stews really need to simmer for long periods to allow the ingredients to meld together. Taking that a step further, most soups and stews are better if you prepare them the day before serving. Allowing them to cool and then reheating them really helps bring out the flavors and textures."

Onion, carrots, celery, bell peppers, zucchini, and yellow squash add flavor, freshness, and nutrients. Feel free to customize this stew recipe and add in different veggies. Garlic cloves add a delicious garlicky flavor. Diced tomatoes add moisture.

Sturdy root vegetables are a classic addition to stews and braises. They really bring more substance and body to these dishes and turn velvety and soft as they cook. Carrots are a go-to for stews and braises, but look beyond them to parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, celeriac, and sweet potatoes.

While certain vegetables can work just fine added directly to simmering soups and stews (say, carrots and celery), other vegetables (onions, garlic, and the like) will almost always need at least a brief sweat in a fat-based liquid before adding the remaining ingredients.

The first step to a flavorful stew is browning the meat. Searing it over high heat gives the meat a deeper, richer flavor thanks to the Maillard reaction, a chemical reaction that browns and caramelizes the exterior of the meat.

Paprika. Use regular or hot paprika if you want a little warmth and Smoked Paprika if you're after more of a barbeque style smoky flavour. Chilli and paprika work well with tomato based dishes where as herbs work best with gravy based stews.

The most straightforward way to thicken soup is to puree the vegetables. Starchy vegetables in particular offer the most creaminess. Try with corn, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, or yams.

When it comes to stews where there is not as much liquid, you can use almost any potato, including russet potato (see stew recipe below), if you like. The waxy and fingerling potato will also do well in stews.

Onions: The stew's foundation flavor is savory thanks to the onions. They give the food more flavor and depth. Celery: Celery gives the stew a little herbaceous flavor and a little crunch. It goes really nicely with the steak and the other veggies.

Slow Cooker vs.

While high heat may cook the potatoes and meat quickly, only low, slow cooking can create the tender morsels of meat and flavorful broth that we seek. The stove (hob) will create a thicker broth/gravy for the stew because more liquid will escape during cooking in the form of steam.

Do carrots or potatoes cook faster in stew? ›

Add the onions and carrots and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Add broth or water if the stew is dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Rush the cooking process and the beef will be tough and chewy. Follow this tip: For really tender meat, cook the stew low and slow, for approximately two hours.

Sear the meat well.

Searing meat takes a long time, and it's tempting to skip it. Don't. Searing the meat until it develops a dark brown crust and a sticky “fond” starts to glaze over the bottom of the pan are both key to creating the kind of rich, caramelized flavors that make stews irresistibly good.

The addition of the vinegar adds subtle acidity that balances well with the soy sauce and the honey giving this otherwise super hearty beef stew a nice lightness to it. Feel free to add sweet potato noodles(glass noodles) or egg noodles to this dish, serve it alongside rice, or as-is.