Hearty Vegetable Stew

This hearty stew is packed with tender vegetables, and would be perfect for a comforting evening meal. I used meat free stock by Oxo, and thickened the stew by adding a béchamel sauce. I didn’t add any mock meats to this, as it’s just as good without them, but you could add them if you prefer

Yield; Six large servings Cook time; One hour

You’ll need;

Two tablespoons of oil
A couple of brown onions, minced
Four cloves of garlic, minced
One parsnip, peeled and diced
One swede, peeled and diced
Five carrots, peeled and diced
Two potatoes, peeled and diced
A litre of meat free stock
Two tablespoons of tomato puree
One tablespoon of fish free Worcester sauce, I used Henderson’s relish
Two teaspoons of the following dried herbs rosemary, thyme and parsley
Three handfuls of frozen peas

For the béchamel you will need;

35g plain all purpose flour
35g dairy free spread (or swap for oil)
350ml plant milk, warmed
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method;

Start by preparing all the vegetables, this takes a little while but it’s easier to have them all ready before you need to add them. Next heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic, and give them ten minutes to soften
Now you can add the rest of the vegetables, again give them another ten minutes or so to cook
Now you can add the stock, Worcester sauce, tomato puree and herbs. Pop and lid on and leave it to simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring every now and then
To thicken the stew we’ll be adding a béchamel sauce. To make this you just need to add the flour and spread/oil into a small saucepan. Give the roux three or four minutes to cook, this ensures the flour is cooked, and won’t give any raw flour flavour to the stew
Now you can slowly add the milk, a little at a time, until it’s all incorporated. Once you’ve used all the milk you can season to taste with salt and black pepper
Stir the béchamel through the stew along with the peas. Once the peas have warmed through, and the stew is to your desired consistency it’s ready to serve. I would serve it with slices of crusty bread with butter, as that’s best to mop up the liquid with