winter vegetable stew with old baY & Green Onion dumplings
Winter vegetables are always left in the fridge when everything else is long gone. Carrots? Yeah, you've got 'em. Has that Butternut squash been sitting in your fridge for two weeks? Of course it has. This recipe for a vegetarian stew with fluffy dumplings was born out of necessity but it's a delicious crowd pleasure for sure. In many of my vegetarian recipes, I note that you can add meat if you want to. In this case, I urge you to keep it vegetarian.
Dumplings in all forms are amazing little things. These dumplings are delicious, texturally satisfying and seasoned with green onions and Old Bay - an AMAZING seasoning blend typically used for seafood. If you don't have Old Bay you can use any spices you like but I urge you to pick some up and give it a try.
Ingredients
1 small to medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 potatoes or sweet potatoes - peeled and cubed
1 can romano or fava beans - rinsed and drained
2 carrots - peeled and cut into large chunks
2 celery stalks - cut into large chunks
1 small onion - peeled and minced
2 cloves garlic - minced
1/4 tsp crushed red chilli flakes
10 mushrooms - halved
3 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp dijon mustard
5-6 stalks fresh thyme
1 stalk rosemary
handful of chives - minced
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
2 green onions - sliced
2/4 cup milk or un-sweeneted almond milk
salt and pepper to taste
Method
1. in a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, Old Bay, sliced green onions, vegetable oil, milk, salt and pepper. mixture should be thicker than pancake batter and drop easily off the edge of a spoon. set aside.
2. heat olive oil in a large pot over a medium high flame. add onions, garlic and red chilli flakes. sautée until onions are slightly golden brown.
3. add all remaining vegetables, tomato paste, thyme and rosemary. stir to coat.
4. add mustard and vegetable broth - enough to cover by 2 inches or so. bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. simmer at a low boil until vegetables are slightly tender but not quite cooked through, 7-10 minutes.
5. drop dumpling mixture into the stew by the spoonful.
6. cover the pot and allow dumplings to cook for 15-20 minutes. do not remove the lid. dumplings are cooked when they are fluffy, firm to the touch and not sticky.
7. remove from heat and garnish with snipped chives.