Cannellini Chipotle Stew

   A new year brings a fresh start for healthier food choices.  Successful change is easier when the effort is not too great.  This bean stew is a delicious, effortless way to incorporate legumes into your meals.

   I thought this was the perfect opportunity to highlight a recipe inspired by my friend, Nancy Olah, from her playfully titled cookbook, Fool a Carnivore.  Her approach to creating tasty vegetarian recipes that will please the most ardent meat-lovers is perfect for those looking to explore vegetarian meals—for a “Meatless Monday”, or any day of the week.   This recipe delivers on her promise of a “meaty” main dish that will satisfy a carnivore!

   Nancy is a serious and accomplished home cook.  She became a vegetarian during her college days back in the 70’s; and her culinary skills have been honed over the years through a passion for wholesome, tasty food.  She’s also resourceful; and enlisted the help of one of her culinary heroes, premier vegetarian chef, writer and cooking teacher, Deborah Madison (think Greens Restaurant), who offered constructive and incisive suggestions on her recipes.

   This cannellini stew is a recently updated version from the original in her book.  Her glowing recommendation for Sweet Earth’s Chipotle Seitan, what she calls a meat “analogue”,  (made in Moss Beach, CA!) piqued my curiosity so much so that I had to try it for myself.

   I was able to prepare my version starting with dried cannellini beans.  There are many ways to easily cook dried beans, and a reliable one is from Napa’s Rancho Gordo, who sells an heirloom, runner cannellini bean.  I added onion, celery, carrot and garlic to the simmering beans to imbed a layer of flavor within them.  Stews are very adaptable, so by all means, make adjustments in the spices and other flavorings to suit your taste buds.  I can see a future version of this where I add a dollop of chipotle en adobo!

   Nancy’s recipe is designed for a weeknight dinner, using a crock pot – preparing and assembling ingredients before leaving for work.  Adding final ingredients upon your return, and an additional 10 minutes of cooking leaves time to prepare a simple salad for a healthy and hearty meal.

   Cooking the combined ingredients on stovetop is an easy switch from the crock pot.  Simply sauté the vegetables as Nancy instructs, but in a heavy, three quart saucepan and instead of transferring them to a crock pot; then add the remaining ingredients to your saucepan to complete the recipe.  Since the beans are already cooked, the stew is really “done” once the potatoes have cooked, about 20 – 30 minutes.  As with most stews, the flavors will deepen if refrigerated overnight, so make plenty to enjoy for leftovers!

Cannellini Chipotle Stew

Adapted from Fool a Carnivore by Nancy Olah

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 large or 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/ 4 to 1/ 2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile powder, or to taste (Substitute smoked paprika + cayenne pepper)
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 19-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bunch Swiss chard or spinach, washed well and sliced into thin ribbons
• 1 package Sweet Earth Chipotle Style Seitan

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet.  Sauté the onion for 5 minutes until translucent.  Add the diced carrots and celery, and sauté for 5 minutes more.  Add the garlic and sauté for one more minute.
2. Prepare the tomatoes and potatoes, and assemble the other ingredients while the vegetables are sautéing.  Put a liner in the slow cooker.  Add the contents of the skillet, the tomatoes and potatoes, spices, stock, tomato paste and cannellini beans.  Stir a bit to make sure everything is well mixed.  Cover the slow cooker and cook 4 – 5 hours on high, or up to 8 hours on low.
3. Before serving, add additional broth if needed to obtain desired consistency, with the slow cooker on the high setting.  Add the Swiss chard.  Chop or crumble the chipotle seitan directly into the simmering stew.  Cook another 8 – 10 minutes until heated through.

Note:  Dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight and cooked “al dente” can replace the canned beans.  Once the beans are cooked, proceed with the recipe steps using a heavy saucepan on the stovetop.  After sautéing the vegetables, reduce the heat so that the stew barely simmers.  After 30 minutes, increase the heat to medium and add the chipotle seitan and Swiss chard.  Boil gently for 5 – 10 minutes to heat through and soften the Swiss chard.

And I have a confession:  I made a simultaneous batch using pork chorizo and homemade chicken stock in place of the chipotle seitan and prepared vegetable stock.  I figured it a requirement to give her recipe a full run for its money before telling you all, with the utmost of confidence, that her recipe is mouth-watering delicious and pretty darn close to a real meat version.

   Nancy’s version is satisfying and flavorful.  There are bits of seitan that hold together to give a meaty texture.  If I had used the sliced variety of seitan, I imagine the bits could be larger still, closer in size and to the crumbled chorizo.  Adding herbs and spices to create a full flavor is the key to ensuring any dish is satisfying, all the more so with a dish were beans are the primary ingredient.  Served with a hearty wholegrain bread (cornbread in this case) and salad, her recipe made for a very gratifying dinner.