A few weeks ago, I found myself craving a hearty stew that would fill me up and warm my chilly bones from the inside-out. Instead of following a recipe, I did something I very rarely do in the kitchen—improvised entirely. I am definitely not skilled enough as a cook to do this on the regular, but my improvised Italian stew turned out deliciously, if I do say so myself.
Ingredients
- 4 cups of vegetable stock + ~1 cup of water
- 1 tbsp of veggie bouillon
- 1 good, hearty-sized yellow onion, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 2-3 large carrots cut into small rounds
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 pound of little potatoes, quartered
- 1-2 cans of white beans
- 1 box of teeny farfalle or pastina pasta
- Lemongrass paste (optional; I used ~1 tbsp)
- White pepper, to taste (I used ~2 tsp)
- Chili crisp, to taste (I used 2-3 tbsp)
- Toss the garlic and onion into a large pot over medium heat. Cover and heat for 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant. Toss the celery and carrots in as well. Cover and cook for another ~3 minutes or so.
- Pour in the vegetable stock, bouillon, and potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are tender enough to be easily pierced by a fork. This will depend on how many potatoes and how big the chunks of potatoes are. It took about 20 minutes for the potatoes I was using to cook. Make sure the potatoes are not overly done, though, otherwise they'll disintegrate. Add the chili crisp, too.
- Add the beans and pasta at the same time, plus the extra 1 cup of water. Check the cooking directions on the box for an estimated time. It's okay if the pot is very crowded—the pasta will absorb most, if not all, of the liquid. Add the lemongrass paste and white pepper, if using.
Once all the liquid is absorbed by the pasta, your stew is ready to serve! I could easily see how carnivores could add shredded chicken or small meatballs to beef up the dish, but trust me—the vegetable version alone is hearty enough to fill a cold stomach on a blustery winter day.
Post a Comment