White Bean and Vegetable Stew

Beans are a great source of low fat protein and a source of consternation to many when it comes to incorporating them into regular meals. Canned beans make quick work of this simple stew when combined with little effort and a handful of ingredients you probably already have in your fridge.

This recipe came about after work one night when I had a can of navy beans to hand and lacked the patience to wait around for a long simmering stew to be ready. This dish reheats nicely as most soups and stews do and goes quite well served over biscuits. You can also use this as the base for a super easy pot pie by pouring it into a baking dish and arranging canned crescent roll dough strips across the top and baking at 375 degrees for about 13-15 minutes until the crescent rolls are golden brown.

White Bean and Vegetable Stew
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 to ½ pound carrots cut into bite sized pieces or baby cut
1 large or 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cubes vegetable bouillon
1 cup water
6 oz white mushrooms, sliced (optional)
2 cups plain soy milk (dairy milk or almond milk can be substituted)
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence or Italian seasoning
coarse ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 15oz can white beans (navy, great northern, cannellini, etc), drained and rinsed
1 1/3 cup frozen green peas

Directions:
Saute the onion and carrot in the olive oil in a large skillet with deep sides over medium heat. When the onions begin to brown add the potatoes and garlic to the pan and continue to cook, stirring frequently to keep from burning. When the potatoes are about halfway done cooking through, deglaze the pan with a cup of water and stir in the bouillon cubes. When the bouillon is dissolved stir in the mushrooms and soy milk and allow to come back up to a simmer. Add the herb mixture of your choice, ground black pepper to taste, two good pinches of nutmeg and the beans to the pan. Stir in the frozen peas and heat through. The stew is ready when the potatoes and carrots are cooked through, usually about two minutes past the point when the peas are heated through.