It’s getting to be that time of year when we start regretting that extra slice of holiday pie. Yes, swimsuit season is closing in. My FARRO VEGETABLE STEW is low in calories, easy to make, and adaptable to what you happen to have in the fridge or prefer.
NOTE: Even though this recipe is called Farro Veggie Stew, you can use a different grain that you might prefer. I did try quinoa, but didn’t care for it. However, taste is subjective. As they say now: you do you!
FARRO VEGGIE STEW – makes about 6 cups (1.5 litres)
- 160g (1 cup) uncooked farro
- 1 T olive oil
- 170g (1.5 cups) onion, chopped
- 80g (about 1 large) red pepper, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 1/2 T paprika
- 1 tsp coriander
- 3/4 tsp cumin
- 675g (3 cups) vegetable stock – homemade or purchased
- 232g (8 oz) Yukon Gold or red potatoes, unpeeled
- 230g (1 cup) tomato sauce
- 60g (1/2 cup) corn (frozen, canned, or from the cob)
- 60g (1/2 cup green peas (frozen or canned)
- 2-3 tomatoes (I like Roma), chopped
- 1 tsp table salt
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar (or whatever vinegar you prefer)
- OPTIONAL (RECOMMENDED!) TOPPINGS:
- 80g (1 cup) Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
- 227g (1.25 cups) Feta cheese, crumbled
First thing to do, before any prep work, is to hydrate the farro. This gives a jump start to the cooking time.
Rinse the farro in a sieve. Pour drained farro into a bowl, cover with boiling water, then top with a plate to retain the heat. Set aside. Proceed with prep work and cooking.
Into a saucepan that can hold at least 6 cups (1.5 litres), saute the onions and red pepper in olive oil over medium/high heat for 5 minutes. Stir often.
Add garlic, paprika, coriander, and cumin. Stir over medium/low for 30 seconds to bloom the favors.
Cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
Drain the soaking farro and discard liquid.
Into the pot, add the vegetable stock, potatoes, and drained farro. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for 18 minutes.
Chop tomatoes.
After the 18 minutes are up, add tomato sauce, corn, peas, and chopped tomatoes to the pot. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so to heat the veggies.
Add in red wine vinegar and salt. Adjust seasoning to taste, bearing in mind the cheeses are salty.
Top with Feta, Pecorino Romano, croutons, or whatever you like. Serve.
Needless to say, having a food blog, I cook a lot! Not only do I prepare tried and true favorites, but I’m always on the search for something new. As we all have preferences in tastes, I often tweak other’s recipes to suit myself.
Chop the greens into 1″ (approximately) pieces.
Add in the ginger, garlic, paprika, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes – bloom 1 minute. (Blooming brings out the flavors.)
Add in the 1/4 cup cilantro – bloom for another 1 minute. 
Add in the vegetable stock, chickpeas, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cover with the lid slightly askew and let simmer for 20 minutes. 
Add in the tomatoes (plus their juice) and orzo. Partially cover and let simmer for 7 minutes.
Add in the Swiss chard (or whatever greens you want) and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. 
Add in the lemon juice, the parsley, the 2T cilantro, and Feta. 
Taste for seasoning. (I added 1/2 tsp salt.)
This soup started out as a Stuffed Squash recipe I was developing. I had a lot of leftover filling and, as it was on the bland side, knew we weren’t going to eat it. But as regular readers may know – I HATE waste!!! There was no way I was going to throw it out.
Let cool enough to handle. Scrape out and discard seeds and fibers. Cut into 1/2″ slices, then cut away the peel. Cut flesh into 1/2″ cubes. 
While squash is cooking, cook the rice.
Add in shallot, garlic, mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes over medium/high flame, stirring often. 
Add in squash, rice, garbanzo beans, cranberries, pecans, thyme, chopped tomatoes and it’s juice, tomato sauce, and water. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered.
Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning if needed, and serve.
Let me start by pointing out the quotation marks around the word SAUSAGE mean imitation. (For you carnivores, you can use real sausage.)
Add in onion, red pepper flakes, and garlic. Cook 3-5 minutes – until onions are softened. 
Add in stock, beans, tomatoes, salt, and black pepper. Bring to boil, cover, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes.
Stir in spinach off heat and check for seasoning (I add another 1/2 tsp salt). 
Sprinkle servings with Parmesan or Pecorino Romano, if desired.
Green Chili Stew is an incredibly tasty blend of flavors that’s quick to put together. The little pop of lime is my favorite part!
If you’re using fresh chilis, turn oven to broil. Wash and cut pepper and chilis top to bottom. Discard seeds and ribs. Lay cut side down on cookie sheet.
Broil until skin starts to blacken. (It only takes a few minutes, so keep an eye on it!!!). Remove and discard blackened skin. 
Chop skinless pepper and chilis into bite-sized pieces.
Wash tomatillos well (they feel kind of waxy) and chop into bite-sized pieces. 
In a Dutch oven, place the oil, onions, garlic, cumin, coriander, and 1 tsp salt. Sauté over medium/high heat 4 minutes, stirring often. 
Add in corn, chilis, and pepper – cook 3 minutes, stirring often.
Add in hominy, beans, tomatillos, vegetable stock, and fake chicken or tofu. Turn burner to medium/high heat, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to keep a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes. Stir in cilantro, lime juice, and additional salt, if needed (I usually add in 1 tsp salt).
Summer is the time when vine ripened tomatoes are plentiful. If you’re lucky, these red beauties are growing in your own garden. (I’m so jealous!)
Purée tomatoes. Place a large sieve over a bowl and pour in the tomatoes. 
Using a spatula or large spoon, slowly stir the purée until all that remains in the sieve is a pulpy mash – this can take 5-10 minutes. Discard mash into your compost pile or down the drain.
Put about 4 cups of the bread into the empty blender. Pour the strained tomatoes back into the blender. Let set for about 15-20 minutes to wet and soften the bread.
Add in the garlic, salt, olive oil, and vinegar. Blend until puréed. Add in more bread to thicken, as needed.
Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve either chilled or at room temperature, topped with chopped hard boiled eggs.
One, generally, associates ‘gazpacho’ with the red, tomato based chilled soup. But there are other types, including ajoblanco – an almond based gazpacho.
While the bread is soaking, grind 1¼ cups almonds in a blender until they become a fine powder – about 30 seconds. 
Gently squeeze water out of bread back into the bowl (you’re going to use this water). 
Place the bread into the blender with the almonds. Set aside 1½ cups of the bread water for later. Into the blender, add the remaining water in bowl (NOT the 1½ cups you set aside), the vinegar, garlic, salt, and cayenne. Blend for 30 seconds. 
With blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.
Pour in the 1½ cups bread water and run blender to mix.
Strain soup into a serving bowl. 
Into a small bowl combine 1 T of the strained soup with the almond extract. Then pour 1/2 tsp of this mixture into the soup (it enhances the almond flavor) and discard the rest (a little goes a long way). 
Correct for seasoning, if needed (I usually need more salt). Chill, at least, 3 hours – more is better. Toast remaining 3 T almonds in a dry skillet or toaster-oven.
Chicken & Dumplings is one of those classic, stick-to-your-ribs meals that’s considered a comfort food by many. Of course, being a vegetarian, chicken was not an option. That pretty much left a watery broth and a few carrots, onions, and celery.
Add in mushrooms and continue to cook another 4 minutes, scraping fond on bottom of pan (the browned bits). 
Add dill, tomato paste, garlic, and 2½ tsp of the salt – cook 3 more minutes. 
Pour in the Sherry and continue to cook until evaporated, scraping any fond formed. 
Add the water, tofu, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, and parsley. Bring almost to a simmer. In a small bowl, make a slurry by combining the arrowroot with 1/4 cup of the soup. Stir slurry into soup until it thickens a bit – should take a few minutes. Taste for seasoning – adjust, if needed. Keep heating the soup to bring to full boil.
As soup is heating up, make the dumplings. Heat the butter and let cool a bit. Then combine melted butter with the buttermilk – it will get clumpy. Whisk the egg white a little, then whisk it into the buttermilk mixture. 
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and 
Form small dough lumps – 1″ or less. There will probably be about 62. (These will plump up with cooking.) Make sure you form all these balls before you begin dropping them in the soup so they cook at the same rate.
When soup has come to a full boil, one by one drop in the dough balls. Wrap a towel around the pot lid and cover. (MAKE SURE THE TOWEL DOESN’T DROP ANYWHERE NEAR THE BURNER! YOU DON’T WANT A FIRE!!!) The towel will absorb steam moisture so the dumplings don’t get soggy. 
Decrease flame to medium and cook 11 minutes. Remove lid and allow steam to escape a few minutes before serving.
Caldo Verde is a hearty Portuguese soup that is very quick to prepare. It can be made with or without sausage. (There are fabulous fake sausages available everywhere!)
In a large saucepot heat 1/2 T olive oil over medium/high heat. Add in the onions, salt, garlic, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Sauté 3-4 minutes, until onions are translucent. 
Add in the potatoes and water. Increase heat to bring to a boil, then decrease heat to maintain a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until potatoes are tender when pierced – about 8-10 minutes. 
While soup is cooking, cut up the collards. First, remove and discard the center stem. 
When potatoes are cooked, remove 1/2 cup of the solids and 1/2 cup of the liquid to a blender. Don’t blend yet.
Start the blender and slowly drizzle in the remaining 1½ T olive oil. When it’s all added, continue to blend for 1 minute. 
Pour into soup. Add in the sausage (if using), vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce, and lemon juice. Adjust seasoning, as needed. (I add another 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper.)
Vegetarian Cooking For Carnivores BLOG 