Recipe: Vegetarian Kitchen Sink Stew

OK, so there isn't any kitchen sink in this stick-to-your-ribs vegetarian stew, but that's about the only thing I didn't put in it. This stew made good use of all those vegetables that were hanging around in my crisper drawer, along with some of the leftover beans from the batch I made for my red beans and rice. If you don't have some of the vegetables I used, you could substitute whatever root vegetables you have on hand.

I didn't snap a picture because, honestly, I wasn't expecting it to be blog-worthy. Surprisingly, it turned out to be one of the best vegetarian meals I've made. My carnivorous boyfriend even gave it his seal of approval, saying "That was pretty good considering it didn't have any meat in it."

Vegetarian Kitchen Sink Stew
(Adapted from Vegetarian Times)

Ingredients

2 TBSP olive oil, divided
1/2 large red onion, cut into 1/4" wedges
2 stalks celery with leaves, chopped
4 medium carrots, cut into 1" pieces
4 medium potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
1 large sweet potato, cut into 1" pieces
8 oz. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
3 cloves crushed garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 dry white wine
1 TBSP soy sauce
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp savory
1 1/2 cups red beans, drained and rinsed

Instructions

1. Coat the bottom of the crock pot with 1 TBSP of the olive oil. Add the vegetables and toss them to coat with the oil.

2. Add the garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Cover with the broth, wine and soy sauce. Sprinkle with the sage, thyme and savory and then drizzle with the remaining TBSP of olive oil. Do not mix at this point.

3. Cover and cook on Low for 5 to 7 hours. Stir in the beans about 2o minutes before serving.

I cooked the stew long enough that some of the potatoes were very soft and created a thick sauce when I stirred in the beans, which I liked. If your potatoes aren't quite as cooked, the sauce will be thinner, but you could also mash a couple of potato chunks against the side of the pot and stir them into the liquid before serving. I ate the stew with biscuits, but it would also be really good with crusty French or Italian bread.