This stew or stew has a much more interesting flavor than traditional stew. It has more umami (savoury, rich, delicious) due to the mix or layers of flavors from pumpkin, shiitake mushrooms, parsnips, soy sauce and white wine (optional).
Shopping list
- 1 large parsnip
- 1 large onion
- 2 celery sticks
- 3 small carrots
- 1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
- 3 large portabello mushrooms, chopped
- 1 cup chopped green beans (fresh or frozen)
- 1 can (15 oz) diced organic tomatoes (reduce or replace with tomato paste if desired)
- Organic vegetable bouillon
- Organic extra virgin olive oil
- Onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried coriander or parsley, sea or Himalayan salt, 3 bay leaves
- Optional: 1/4 cup white wine, 1 tbsp. Soy/Tamari, 1 tbsp. Tomato paste
PROCEDURE
1. Peel and Dice:
Half an acorn squash
1 large parsnip
1 large onion
3 small carrots
2 celery sticks
1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
*Note: The secret to a good stew is to cut everything to about the same size. I cut mine small – about 1/4 inch square. This is also good for digestion as most people don’t chew enough before swallowing 😉
2. Sauté everything together in a large, deep skillet with about 1/4 cup organic virgin olive oil until the onions are soft. Pumpkin and parsnips are not cooked, that’s okay. Simply fry in the pan until the onions are soft.
3. Now chop up the 3 portobello mushrooms, add them to the pan with vegetables and sprinkle these seasonings on the portobellos:
1 tbsp. Soy or tamari, onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried coriander or parsley, sea or Himalayan salt*.
*Listen to your body’s intuition and add as much or as little of these herbs as your body desires. If you’re not sure, you can always add more later, it’s all good! Trust your body, start spraying and stop when you feel “enough.”
4. Mix well and fry the portobello mushrooms. Then put the entire mixture in an extra large pot (about 10 liters – fits about 11 cups of stew) or a stock pot and add 3 bay leaves (if you don’t have a bay leaf, that’s no problem, it’s tasty without it).
5. Then add 6 cups of filtered water or spring water, the can of diced tomatoes (OR replace 1 tbsp of tomato paste + 1 cup of water with the canned tomatoes if you prefer) and the vegetable broth you prefer: use 2-3 squares of pressed broth or 1/4 cup of paste or 2-3 tbsp of powdered broth*
*Note: Your stock plays a big role in how good your stew tastes. Test different brands until you find the best one. The bouillon also involves roasting/cooking vegetables, creating a concentration of any toxins/pesticides present. So make sure to only use bouillon from certified organic farming.
6. Bring the stew to a boil in the large sauce pan, add 1/4 cup white wine (optional, but it increases the flavor and the alcohol burns) and simmer for about an hour. Keep adding more water as the liquid evaporates and reduces depending on how thick/thin you like your sauce. If you like your sauce particularly thick, you can always thicken it with rice, tapioca or cornstarch.
7. Half an hour before you plan to consume the stew, add 1 cup of chopped green beans (fresh or frozen).
You can always swap out this recipe or add more vegetables if you like. For example, if you want, you can replace the acorn squash with butternut.
You can also add: peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, black or pinto beans, corn, chard, cauliflower, broccoli, snap peas, bok choy, savoy cabbage, etc. The variations are endless! In fact, you could make the same stew every week by simply switching up the vegetables and making it taste different (but delicious) each time.
Portabello mushrooms are a great source of protein, B vitamins, copper, selenium and anticancer agents. 1 cup of portabello mushroom contains:
5.2 grams of protein
7.2 milligrams niacin – Vit B3 (36 percent DV)
0.6 milligrams of riboflavin – Vit B2 (34 percent DV)
21.4 micrograms selenium (31 percent DV)
0.6 milligrams copper (30 percent DV)
1.9 milligrams pantothenic acid (19 percent DV)
182 milligrams phosphorus (18 percent DV)
630 milligrams potassium (18 percent DV)
0.1 milligrams thiamine (7 percent DV)
23 micrograms folate (6 percent DV)
0.9 milligrams zinc (6 percent DV)
18.1 milligrams magnesium (5 percent DV)
0.1 milligrams manganese (5 percent DV)
0.1 milligrams vitamin B6 (4 percent DV)
0.7 milligrams iron (4 percent DV)
*If you also eat meat, click here for the beef version of this stew.
Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert in natural healing for digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread Crohn’s disease and has been medication and surgery free for over 25 years. Jini has appeared on numerous podcasts, TV and radio shows in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, giving people hope and vision on how to heal their colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using all-natural methods. Her books on natural healing of digestive diseases have been sold in over 80 countries worldwide. Jini is married and has three children, nine sheep, 11 horses, a cat and three dogs.
