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
