Veggie Stew

This stew is my go to, especially as summer turns to fall ! To me, this is comfort food.

Ingredients

1 large onion

4 cloves garlic

2-3 sticks celery

2 large carrots

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup lentils

3-4 small / medium potatoes

1 medium sweet potato

3/4 cup frozen peas

Garlic powder

1 tsp Dried rosemary

1 tsp Fresh or dried thyme

1 tsp Fresh or dried basil

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp maple syrup

1-2 tbsp coconut alternative soy sauce (optional)

Salt n pepper

So for this recipe I used a small amount of water to sauté my veggies to keep it oil free BUT feel free to use whatever method works for you.

Dice up onion and add to pot on medium heat adding water or oil to keep from sticking. Then do the same for the garlic.

Give those a few minutes in the pot on their own before adding your sliced carrot and celery.

Add in 1 tbsp tomato paste.

Let these cook until veggies are beginning to soften. Then throw in all your spices and bay leaves. If you are cooking with water instead of oil you will need to continue adding as needed.

Rinse 1 cup lentils and add to the pot along with roughly 1 & 1/2 cup water.  Cover and let simmer for a few minutes before adding in your potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Then stir in your maple syrup coco soy and salt and pepper if using. At this time I also stir in roughly 1/2-1 cup almond milk to give a bit of creaminess.

Now is when I also add in the frozen green peas as well. If I have them I will throw in frozen beans as well!

Then I cover and let everything soften for about 20 minutes. Once the lentils and potatoes have softened you are technically good to serve but I find the longer you can simmer it, the deeper the flavours develop.

Usually I find the lentils soak up the liquid enough that it makes a perfect stew like ticketless HOWEVER- if your broth is a bit thin for your liking I simply take a ladle full of the broth out adding it to a measuring cup, then I slowly add in a gluten free flower like brown rice continually mixing until it starts to thicken and then I pour it back into the pot and that will thicken up your stew!