In continuing to cook down the pantry, I woke up inspired. I had a head of cabbage that they were hawking at the grocery store yesterday, but what inspired me was the realization I also had some soaked beans and turnips. Turnips move slowly around here, and I had a few left from last summer’s garden in the refrigerator. I also had garden carrots and potatoes. Sounding more and more like Irish stew! And hey! It’s St. Patrick’s Day!
So this morning I chopped up some veggies, starting with a recipe from Forks Over Knives, I chopped vegetables and got them in the crock pot this morning. Another nice thing about this recipe is that it called for barley. I had miscellaneous grains, so used wheat groats and wheat berries. Groats– good peasant grain, no?
After seven hours on a simmer, it looked bland. No surprise there. That’s where the genius of a good stew recipe comes in. Dump in a jar of tomatoes for the last hour. It transforms the scent and the color of this white stew. And I had a small bag of frozen pimentos– peppers help, and a teaspoon of spicy chili paste helps more. And again the joy of so many garden ingredients– in mid-March! You could put sausage in here and really spice it up. But for tonight, vegan yum.
Here’s my version.
Irish Bean, Grain and Cabbage Stew
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 ribs celery (I didn’t have this, just dried celery leaves)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 head cabbage, sliced
4 carrots, sliced (you could add parsnip, too)
2 small turnips, large dice
diced red pepper
1 potato, large dice
1/2 cup pearled barley or any other hearty grain
3 cups white beans
4-6 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth. You can also make this a meat dish by adding sausage or chicken.)
1 15 oz can/jar of tomatoes
hot red pepper paste to taste
herbs: I used thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and salt and pepper. You can use caraway if you like it.
Chop up the vegetables and put them with the grains in a large crock pot. Leave it on low heat for 7 hours.
After 7 hours, add the jar of tomatoes, beans, and taste for seasonings. Cook on low for up to another hour for flavors to meld. Serve with chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese. Cheese. Cheese also always helps finish a dish like this (but kind of breaks the vegan, so if you have vegans, put it on the side).