Vegetable Quinoa Stew

So I wasn't really paying attention when I went grocery shopping for this recipe, and picked up a genuine sweet potato instead of a yam like I had planned. Cue me having a personal crisis over believing I ruined my stew (spoiler: I didn't) and frustration over yam/sweet potato being synonymous in North American conversation. A lovely orange yam would be gorgeous in this, and that was originally going to be my main selling point for this recipe. But I digress - and to be truthful, the sweet potato was still delicious. (Honestly, couple of regular baking potatoes would probably even do the trick in a pinch.) Either way, a bowl of this soup will fill you up but it's not heavy enough to make you feel groggy and bogged down. It's perfect if you have lots to accomplish, like the spring cleaning you've put off all year.

I intended on making this soup vegan, but couldn't help myself by adding some freshly grated Parmesan on top to garnish...and well. Cheese is always a good decision if you can spare it. (Plus it made for pretty pictures!) However, it's certainly not necessary, and this stew can definitely stand on its own dairy-free. You could always add a handful or two of mushrooms for some extra umami goodness.

Vegetable Quinoa Stew
Author: Amanda
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 4 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, deseeded, and diced
• 1 medium sweet potato or yam, peeled and diced small
• 1 large 28oz can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 bunch kale, washed, woody stems removed, and shredded into bite sized pieces
• 6 cups vegetable or miso broth
• 1/2 cup dry quinoa
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan for garnish (optional)

Directions
Saute onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and red bell pepper in olive oil over medium heat in a large pot or Dutch oven until vegetables are soft. Add diced and peeled sweet potato or yam and the entire can of diced tomatoes in their juices to the pot. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer for 30 mins, or until sweet potato is tender. Add kale pieces and seasonings, and adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan, if desired.

Step-by-Step Photos

Dice up your onion, carrots, celery, and red bell pepper and throw them in a Dutch oven with some olive oil to saute and soften. In the interest of full disclosure, I forgot about mincing my garlic, so I cheated and used some garlic powder. You can too. I won't tell.

While the vegetables are sauteing, peel and dice the sweet potato (or yam. And if you meant to get a yam instead don't cry. It will still be delicious, just not as pretty as you imagined) and toss that in there too. Give it a good stir for good measure.

Pour in a can of diced tomatoes and a few cups of vegetable or miso broth. Give it another stir and bring it up to a simmer partially covered for about a half hour, or until the potato pieces are tender.

While the soup is simmering, wash off a bunch of kale and use a knife to discard the woody stems and roughly chop the kale into bite sized pieces. Add it to the soup once the potato pieces are tender. Add half a cup of dry quinoa and return the pot to a simmer for another 15 minutes or so. The quinoa will continue to soak up some broth as leftovers in the fridge, so it's okay to under cook it a little bit here.

Add the cumin, red pepper flakes, thyme, salt and pepper that you totally meant to earlier in the process but forgot because of how disappointed you were in yourself for picking the wrong potato. (If you like, you can also add the seasonings when you add the tomatoes and broth.) Taste the soup, realize it's still delicious and not a disaster, and adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan, if desired.