No-Beef Stew

[DeAnn]

Potatolicious -
Was wondering if you'd share your stew recipe - it must be good considering the number of days you've been eating it.
Thanks,
DeAnn

[potatolicious]

DeAnn,

It was delicious. I found the recipe on My Vegan Cookbook. http://www.myvegancookbook.com/recipes/recipe.php?id=54.

Here is the recipe as is, with my comments following.

No-beef Stew

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil (omit - use water to saute instead)
8oz. Baby Bella Mushrooms, Sliced
1 Cup Onion, Chopped
1 Clove Garlic, Minced
5 1/4 Cups Water (too much 3 ½ - 4 at most)
1 Bay Leaf
1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Sugar (start with less; add more to taste)
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
Pinch Cumin
1/4 Teaspoon Thyme
Pinch All-Spice
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1/4 Cup Coffee
1 Cup Carrots, Chopped 1/4" Pieces
2 Cups Irish Potatoes, Chopped 1" Pieces (more!!! I assumed this meant waxy potatoes)
1/2 Cup Frozen Green Peas
3 Tablespoons Whole Wheat Flour (could use cornstarch)


In a large soup pot on medium heat, saute the mushrooms with half the olive oil until shrunk and lightly browned. Remove from pot and set aside in a small bowl. In the same pot place the onions, garlic and rest of olive oil and saute until soft and caramelized. Add to the pot 5 cups of the water, bay leaf, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice, cumin, thyme, all-spice, salt, pepper and coffee. Bring to a boil. Then add carrots and cover. Turn heat down to medium and cook carrots for about 15 minutes. Uncover, add potatoes and cook 20 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are done. Add peas and cook 5 to 8 minutes. Add mushrooms back to pot. Then, in a shaker jar, add the flour and the remaining 1/4 cup of water and shake together. Push vegetables to one side of the pan and stir this into the pot. Cook for about another 5 minutes until the liquid thickens.

I doubled the recipe, but used only used 8 cups water. DH and I thought it was too much gravy still. We solved the problem by serving it over a baked potato. In the future, I would add more veggies and/or less water. We could not believe how much like real beef stew this tasted. DH also ate it for several days and loved it. This is a keeper.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

[DeAnn]

Janet,
Thanks so much for the recipe - I am always a fan of stews and especially those reminiscent of a 'beef' stew.
Take care - will let you know how it turns out for me.
DeAnn

[fiddler3]

I wanted to give this a bump, since I am so happy with this recipe..thanks, potatolicious, for sharing, and DeAnn for asking for the recipe.

I spotted this thread and thought it might be a good dish to take to the Super Bowl party I am attending this afternoon. So, I made a trial run yesterday. I followed the recipe just as written, except no oil, and I decreased the water to 4 cups, figured I could add more if necessary. Also, I think that "Irish potatoes" are probably really round white potatoes, rather than waxy potatoes. Since where I live you have to be content with russetts, I used those.

Here is the review: I was put off by the sweet taste of 1 T sugar, but my taste tester, a friend in "transition" to McDougall, never even noticed the sweetness. Otherwise, the flavor was startlingly like beef stew. My taster was convinced it was beef stew...sans the meat. The color is perfect, the consistencey was perfect. I think the broth cooked down a bit, since I wanted my potatoes well done, with those soft edges of well stewed poatoes, and I simmered a long while. It looked like I had put out a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew! Visually, I may have sliced the mushrooms too thin. I put the leftovers in the freezer, and if this stew freezes well, well, it will become a standard.

So, today, I am doubling the recipe for the party, and tweeking a bit. I am starting with 8 cups of water. I am taking more care to carmelize the onions further, perhaps to deepen the flavor even more. I am adding more potaotes, perhaps another cup or so. I will wait to put the sugar in until the very end, and then, only if I am convinced I have to. I cut the mushrooms more thickly and added a couple of dried shitakes I had...hope this isnt a mistake, making it suddenly a "foreign" dish with the chinese-food flavor.

So, I don't usually go on and on in the recipe section, but this stew is pretty darn good! A quick look at My Vegan Cookbook looks interesting,too.

fiddler3

[dlb]

Potatolicious - thanks so much for the recipe and

Fiddler3 - thanks for bumping it up, I missed it the first time.

I live with a meat eater who has been very supportive of my change to the McDougall plan. He was so excited when I told him I was going to give this a try. He read the recipe - first time in 20 years I've ever seen him do that - then jumped up and said "I'll make the coffee." I was a little afraid that he might be disappointed. But no problem - he loved it and so did I. It was nice to make him something special but still have it be legal.

Based on my taste buds, I cut the sugar in half and think next time I might just try it without any. I also added more potatoes per your suggestions. It was wonderful. This recipe is a real keeper.

Thanks again.

Donna

[fiddler3]

My Superbowl party was a disappointment, in that no one oo'ed and ah'ed over my stew, but *I* liked it!

fiddler3

[petalpusher]

Do you think leaving out the coffee would make a big difference in the taste?

[dlb]

In one word - yes. Sorry. I used decafe if that helps.

Donna

[petalpusher]

Thanks, Donna...just didn't want to make a big mistake...I will use decaf.

[fiddler3]

I am thinking that in those prop[ortions, the coffee was probably contributing more to the color of the gravy than the taste

fiddler3

[potatolicious]

fiddler3 & dlb, I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

petalpusher, I think the coffee gives the flavor a little depth. In my pre-McD days, I made roast beef with coffee and balsamic vinegar. The coffee just really improves the flavor, and probably makes the gravy a nicer color, too.

I made this again last night, substituting balsamic vinegar for the red wine vinegar and cider vinegar for the lemon juice. No sugar was necessary due to the sweetness of the balsamic vinegar. It was amazing...better than the original.

[dlb]

Janet -

I will give that a try - since it seems this is now to be our Sunday Night Stew by request! You don't know how happy I am that he likes this so much.

Thank you!
Donna

[petalpusher]

I tried this tonight...it is really very good!! I used the original recipe posted but with 4 cups of water and more potatoes. I will try it next time with the balsamic vinegar/apple cider vinegar substitutions. Thanks for posting it.

[Concerned]

Hi,

Was the 1/4 cup coffee prepared or powder? Could this work with Postum?

Thanks

[potatolicious]

Concerned,
That's 1/4 cup of prepared coffee. I'm not sure if Postum will work. The coffee gives the gravy some depth of flavor. If you don't have coffee or want to use it, I would probably substitute veggie broth or water. It won't taste quite the same, but still should be fine.