Vegetable and Lentil Stew with Herb Dumplings

We are off to Denmark next week to spend Christmas with a friend and his family. But before we leave I thought I'd post this yummy winter stew.

My picture does not do this dish the justice it deserves. It's a really delicious, filling dish that's great for cold winter nights. It's based on the recipe for Mushroom Stew with Herb Dumplings in vegan.

I hope you all have a great Christmas and and I'll see you all in the New Year!

Vegetable and Lentil Stew with Herb Dumplings

1 potato, chopped
25 g shiitake mushrooms, halved

125g oyster mushrooms, sliced

600ml (1 pint) vegetable stock

200ml of water

125g puy lentils (dried)*

1 red onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

125g frozen peas

1 red pepper/capsicum, deseeded and chopped

125g cabbage, chopped

2 heaped tsp cornflour

2 tsp vegan bouillon powder**
2 tsp cocoa

1 tablespoon of molasses***

1 tsp vegemite****

2 tbsp tomato sauce

125ml sherry

Dumplings:

1 3/4 cup self-raising flour

1 tsp vegan bouillon powder**

1 tsp chopped sage

1 tsp chopped thyme

1 tsp chopped parsley

3 tbsp oil

1/2 cup soya milk

Place the potato, shiitake mushrooms and lentils into large saucepan with stock and water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Mix all dumpling ingredients together in bowl. Make 12 balls (this is easier to do between 2 spoons or with 1 spoon and a hand. Two hands get rather sticky).

Add remaining vegetables to stew.

Mix the remaining stew ingredients into a small bowl. Then gradually add this to the stew. Stir constantly until stew thickens.

Sit dumplings on the stew and replace lid. Simmer for another 20 minutes until dumplings are cooked.

* We can never get dried puy lentils so use the canned ones. If you use the canned ones then don't put them in until the end just before you put the dumplings in. Alternatively, you can use red lentils or green lentils (the green ones will need pre-soaking, though, and may take longer to cook).

** If you can't get this, don't worry too much. We actually use this as the vegetable stock so just add a bit extra to make this. You could use dried vegie stock.

*** I use golden syrup instead of molasses. It's not really the same but it does the trick. 

****  Or whatever yeast extract you use.

Ripe From Around Here

Some of the lovely gals from UQ gave me this book as a going away present when I recently left Australia. I was a little excited when I got it because I was very much looking forward to getting northern hemisphere weather and local produce when I arrived in England. I had, however, forgotten all about the benefit of the EU and find it a bit hard to refuse bananas from Portugal simply because they are "imported" when the distance between here and Portugal would be like Brisbane to Melbourne.

Yes, I'm exaggerating.

I also found it quite hilarious that the first recipe I decided to make (simply because it was listed under her fall/autumn recipes) involved shiitake mushrooms and the only ones Geoff could find were £2 for 120g and were imported from China.

For those of you geographically challenged like myself... China is a long long way away.

Anyway, I couldn't very well change my mind since Geoff had already done the groceries and we had an hour before we had to go bowling. Yes, we computational scientists like to bowl after work.

So I made two recipes from the book to make a whole dinner. Only neither were particularly satisfying (although I made up for that with two pints of cider while bowling). They looked great but the delicate taste of the mushrooms in the salad was drowned out by the vinegar and the sweet potato... well, it tasted just fine but it just wasn't very satisfying.

If I made these dishes again they'd either be together as an entree or as sides as part of a much bigger meal. And I'd significantly reduce the amount of vinegar. And since the shiitake don't really add any flavour to the meal that isn't drowned out I think I'd chuck in some heartier mushrooms and a few more of them. So below is my adapted recipe for these dishes.

I want to make a few more recipes from the book before recommending it (or otherwise). However, I do think that since vegans make up such a small part of the population and that getting any book, let alone a vegan cook book, published is a mammoth effort ( more likely a miracle) we vegans should go out and buy as many cook books as we can afford. And what better month to do it in than Vegan MoFo!

Anyway, below are my adaptations of the two recipes I used in the book. Enjoy!

 

Sweet Potato in Jacket

Serves 2

Preheat oven to 200C. Scrub sweet potato and cut out any blemishes (if it's anything like the poor vegetables in my kitchen they'll probably be growing some sort of mould/arm/attitude). Prick the sweet potato evenly all over and place on a baking tray. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes or until soft. Slice down the middle and serve with butter. (Next time I'm going to make my own herb butter and melt it on top).

Warm Spinach and Mushroom Salad

Serves 2

2 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion

2 cloves garlic

200g spinach leaves

100g (a dozen) mushrooms*

1/4 balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup chopped nuts**

salt and pepper

Toast the nuts on an unoiled hot pan. Set nuts aside.

Heat the oil in the same pan and put in garlic, onion and mushrooms. Stir for several minutes until mushrooms and onion are soft. Meanwhile put the spinach in a bowl and stir through the vinegar with salt and pepper to taste. Then add the onion mix and then the nuts. Stir through until the heat from the onion mix begins to wilt the spinach leaves and serve.

* Shiitake, if it pleases you.

** I used walnuts but pine nuts would give it more flavour or slivered almonds or pecans would also work.