Waking up with cold feet and no sunshine could have bummed me out, seeing as it's the middle of August, but instead I got excited to cook. Rarely do you have opportunities to cook hearty, comfort food in the middle of summer, so I jumped at the chance. I stocked up at the local food co-op and decided on a mushroom stew. I hear it's going to stay cool this week in Marquette, so here's your opportunity to cozy up with some healthy comfort food:
Vegan Mushroom Stew
Serves 6-8 people
Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped small
Roughly 2 cups chopped portobello mushrooms (3 small or 1 large)
Roughly 2 cups chopped shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and discarded (4 large or 6-7 small)
3 medium red skinned potatoes, chopped into small cubes
3 medium leeks, sliced into thin half-moons
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tablespoon italian seasoning
A dash of cayenne pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1-1/2 cups gluten-free pasta
1 cup nutritional yeast (you can find this in bulk at the Co-Op)
8 cups vegetable broth
1 cup shredded kale
2 sliced green onions
Sea salt, to taste
Directions:
- Lightly coat the bottom of a large soup pot with olive oil and warm up on medium-high heat.
- Add onion and mushrooms and sauté for about five minutes until onions are soft.
- Add potatoes, leeks, garlic, italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, and apple cider vinegar and sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Add pasta, nutritional yeast, and vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
- Let simmer on medium-low, uncovered until potatoes are soft and pasta is cooked, roughly 30 minutes. Stir regularly so the bottom doesn't burn. You may need to cook a little longer to allow it to thicken up.
- Stir in kale and green onions then adjust seasoning. Adding more nutritional yeast will thicken it up if it seems to thin.
Today I toasted up some fresh baguettes from the Marquette Baking Co. and served it with the soup... so good!
