Warming Vegan Stew with Squash and Cardamom
When the temperature dips below freezing, it’s time to start on your warming vegan stew. This stew contains winter squash, beans, mushrooms, and canned tomatoes, and is given a little heat from dried chilies and the ground cardamom. Served over rice, it’s hearty and filling and the perfect meal for a chilly night. It’s very filling, and will leave you with a warm and cozy feeling in your belly. The only thing left to do will be to curl up by the fire and take a nap.
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Welcome to Winter and the Wonderous World of Winter Squash
I love winter squash! When all the plump, bursting tomatoes have long since rotted away, and the fresh leafy spring salads have wilted into nothingness, winter squash remain, firm, unyielding, and impenetrable. They’ll sit on your kitchen counter for months, giving no sign of weakness. From bright orange to black-green, their mottled colors remaining just as bright as the day they were picked. These squash are here to get you through the winter in a way that the flashy tomatoes never could.
So maybe I’ve anthropomorphized my vegetables too much, but squash really are a great winter staple. This stew was made from one of two turban squashes I picked up for $1 each. They’re a delicious, lightly sweetened squash variety, with a distinct and striking appearance, but you could use any one of the gazillions of winter squash varieties out there. Don’t like any of them? Plant a few different squash and see what happens- squash will readily cross-pollenate, making it so farmers have to put in effort to stop new cross-varieties from springing up willy-nilly. Squash really are a wonderous winter vegetable.
Looking to Keep Warm? Try one of these toasty recipes!
- Easy Minestrone Soup with Beets
- Classic Vegan Chocolate Ganache Truffles
- Cold Weather Cabbage Soup with Butternut Squash and Turmeric
- Vegan Instant Hot Chocolate Mix, 5 Ways
- Vegan Spinach and Chickpea Curry
- Rhubarb Vegan Hot and Sour Soup
- Vegan Brown Rice Congee (Savory Rice Porridge) with Jackfruit and Mushrooms
How to Make Warming Vegan Stew
We cook a lot of dried beans, but they amount of time they take to cook always varies. Depending on their age and type, beans can take between one and three hours, so it’s no good counting on them to be done at any specific moment. Because of that we decided to cook our squash separately, rather than chance raw or mushy squash. Roast the squash and cut them into something sort of bite sized, and cook the rest of the stew separately. Cook some rice on the side too- I usually start my rice once the beans get close to being cooked, but it’s okay to get it done early. Once the beans are cooked, combine it with the squash and you’re ready for some cozy, comforting, winter eats.
Warming Vegan Stew with Squash and Cardamom
Ingredients
- 1-1.5 lbs. winter squash (I used turban squash)
- Olive oil for cooking
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- ½ tsp. ground cardamom
- ½ tsp. dried thyme
- ¼ tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1-2 dried chile peppers (Chile de Arbol, Thai chilies, or similar)
- ½ lb. dried pinto beans (or similar)
- 1 lime, juiced
- Several sprigs of cilantro, chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ cups dried rice, cooked as directed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Cut your squash in half and remove the seeds. Place the squash face-side down in a glass baking dish and add an inch of water. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the squash is soft. Remove from the oven and scoop the flesh from the skins once it has cooled down. Cut into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
- Heat a small amount of oil in a large pot, and add the garlic and onions, sautéing until fragrant. Next put in the carrot and mushroom, cooking for a minute to two until they’ve softened. Add the spices, and toss well. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, dried chile, and beans and toss well. Add 4 cups of water (or vegetable broth, if you prefer), and to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the beans are done.
- While the beans are cooking, make your rice as directed on the package.
- Once the beans are cooked, add the roasted squash, and season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat, add the lime juice and cilantro, and serve warm over rice.
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