My
partner loves eating stews, especially the ones that contain beer. So
I had to give in and make such a dish again, and I wasn't
disappointed myself either, as this was a really nice and warming
vegan winter dish. It may look a bit rustic, but it was full of flavour.
A
rich and malty dark Belgian beer is the best for this dish. Hoppy
beers or wheat beer wouldn't work in this dish, so I decided to use
Gouden Carolus Classic, which was pretty much the perfect choice.
This is a vegan stew with otherwise basic ingredients so it's perfect
for economical eating as well. My cheap eats week is over, but it
doesn't harm to make more economical cooking choices.
Vegan Flemish inspired stew
Ingredients
Vegetable oil
3 medium onions
Pinch of salt
400 g small
potatoes
1 large carrot
2 cloves garlic
150 ml dark
Belgian beer
1 tbsp vegetable
stock extract or to taste
1 large bay leaf
Couple of grinds
of black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
½ cup dried broad
bean crunch
Method
Chop the onions
into half moons and caramelise them in the vegetable oil with the
pinch of salt. Let them caramelise under the lid until they are very
soft and brown. Stir every 5-10 minutes.
Chop the potatoes
into chunks. I leave the peels on, but you can peel if you prefer.
Chop the carrot
into fine slices and the garlic finely.
Add the carrots
and the garlic and fry for a minute or two, and then add the beer.
Stir and cook off
the alcohol for a couple of minutes, then add the potatoes.
Cover the potatoes
with water or vegetable stock. I added water and then the vegetable
stock extract.
Add the bay leaf,
black pepper and thyme.
Let it lightly boil
under the lid until the potatoes cooked and melting in the mouth.
Stir occasionally while it's cooking.
Add the broad bean
crunch to the stew and let it cook until done. Alternatively soy
mince or beans can be used.
Once all the
flavours have blended nicely after the slow cooking, serve the dish.
Enjoy!
Your VegHog
