Summer Vegetable Stew ♥ Recipe

Hello, summer! Hello, vegetable lovers! Here's a soupy stew packed with a rainbow of fresh vegetables and full of different flavors and colors and textures. This is a great master recipe for a vegan vegetable stew, packed with easy-to-find and inexpensive fresh vegetables. It's one of A Veggie Venture's top summer recipes – and one of mine too, for well more than a decade!

Low Cal. Weight Watchers Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free. Paleo. Not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real".

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Lesson #1 It pays to make something called Summer Vegetable Stew at the height of summer (duh!) when gardens and farmers markets and even grocery-store produce bins are overflowing with a cornucopia of fresh, seasonal vegetables.

Lesson #2 While I've streamlined this "soupy stew" recipe to put it on the table in 40 minutes – I've also learned that the stew's flavors really meld overnight so now I make it one day to serve the next.

Lesson #3 Make it your own! This is a master recipe for a summery vegetable stew, one that moves and adjusts based on what's available or tastes good, lima beans, fresh okra and tiny new potatoes would be great additions. The only thing that's really essential is the tomato, which provides the cooking liquid.

Lesson #4 But really, just get out a sharp knife and revel in the color and architecture of vegetables that appear, magically, from dirt with a lot of help from sun, water and the human beings who make it all happen so that all that's left for us to add is a little chop-chop time.

Lesson #5 And then feast. Because really, isn't that what the moons tell us, that it's time to fill our bellies to gird for the scarcity that will follow ...

COMPLIMENTS!

"It was wonderful, and the leftovers were even better last night." ~ Kathy G

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RECIPE for SUMMER VEGETABLE STEW

Active time: 35 minutes
Time to table: 40 minutes
Makes a bunch, 9 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
2 bell peppers, green, red or yellow or a mixture, diced in large chunks
1 pound eggplant, skin on, trimmed and cut into 1" cubes
1 yellow squash or zucchini, trimmed & diced
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed & snapped in bite-size lengths
A scant 2 pounds (about 3 medium) perfectly ripe tomatoes, cut in pieces
2 ears corn, kernels removed and "milked"
1 teaspoon dried oregano, ground between fingers before adding
Salt & pepper
1 tablespoon good vinegar (don't skip)
Tabasco (just a few drops)

Heat a Dutch oven or large kettle over MEDIUM HIGH. Add the olive oil and heat until shimmery. Add the onion, stirring to coat with fat, then sauté for about 5 minutes until just soft. Add the garlic and peppers, sauté for about another 5 minutes. Add the eggplant, cook about another 5 minutes. Add the squash, beans, and any other vegetables and let cook for about 5 minutes. Finally, add the tomato, corn, oregano, and season to taste. Reduce heat to MEDIUM, cover and let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are done but still crisp-tender. Stir in the vinegar and Tabasco, adjust seasoning to taste. Serve immediately or better yet, refrigerate for 24 hours. I love this served cold, with a spoonful of yogurt or a splash of cream!

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
TIMING I just add vegetables as they're prepped, no mise en place. But if you're a slow chopper, you might want to cut up the vegetables through the eggplant before beginning to cook. Either way, manage the stove temperature, you don't want any of the vegetables to burn or get mushy.
OIL On occasion, I've made this with no added oil, it works and still tastes great, just start with a splash of water or vegetable stock, then add more if the vegetables start to stick as they cook. That said, I really learned the value of oil for flavor with this master soup recipe, Master Recipe: How to Make Homemade Vegetable Soup.
MILD FLAVOR The flavor is mild, the texture soft. For a bit of heat, add Tabasco or red pepper flakes after cooking. For a bit of crunch, add at least some of the bell pepper after cooking.
HERBS Crumbled dried herbs between your fingers before adding. Your fingers will smell good and the herb's essence will be more pronounced.
WEIGHT WATCHERS This recipe gets deserved attention from Weight Watchers fans!
EGGPLANT If you worry about bitterness in eggplant, this technique from the inspiring recipe can be used before starting the cooking. "Cut the eggplant in cubes, leaving the skin on. Transfer to colander in several batches, sprinkling each batch liberally with salt. Let drain one hour. (Don't rinse away the salt.)" That said, I find this technique unnecessary and never use it.
CORN Much of the flavor from fresh corn is in its "milk". Remove the husk and silk, then, holding the ear upright inside a bowl, slice off the kernels with a knife. Then run the side of the knife along the cob top to bottom, "milking" the corn juice into the bowl. Here are step-by-step photos, How to Cut Corn Off the Cob, Keeping All Ten Fingers, Capturing Every Delicious Kernel and Every Drop of Sweet Corn "Milk".

SERVING SUGGESTIONS
First Night, serve hot or room temperature – straight from the pot, with a splash of vinegar if at room temperature.
Second Night, on a pizza – Roll out refrigerated pizza dough, top with Summer Vegetable Stew, add other toppings as culinary creativity inspires!
Other – Along with cottage cheese, other vegetables, serve on lettuce or spinach for lunch or light supper.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Cup: 100 Calories; 2g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 33mg Sodium; 20g Carb; 6g Fiber; 7g Sugar; 4g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 1 & PointsPlus 3 & SmartPoints 4 & Freestyle 0 & myWW green 1 & blue 0 & purple 0 CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 1 cup (4g protein).

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION My Kitchen in Spain: 225 Authentic Regional Recipes by Janet Mendel

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MORE FAVORITE VEGETABLE STEW RECIPES

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SEASONAL EATING: MID-JULY & AUGUST ACROSS THE YEARS

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A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

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