Vegan Mediterranean Stew
This hearty, vegan Mediterranean Stew is food for the soul - dig in on a rainy day, after a stressful day of work, or just about whenever you need a pick-me-up. Packed with great ingredients like chickpeas, zucchini, tomatoes, and a couple incredible spices, too - this stew is one for the books.
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Introduction
I was reminiscing over my university days recently when trying to think of inspiration for ideas - but rather than think about recipes themselves, I thought about what I used to look for. Those were, typically, four main things. The recipe had to:
be affordable
make as little mess as possible
taste great
make a bunch
So, when writing up this recipe, I kept it to one pot, I used dead cheap ingredients - potatoes, chickpeas, zucchini, tomatoes, and spinach, I made sure it made loads, and insisted on it tasting great before I even thought about posting it.
Sometimes, though, stews can leave you feeling a bit underwhelmed. Maybe they’re not tasty enough, they can come out like a soup, or worst of all, they leave you feeling hungry. But don’t fret. Potatoes and chickpeas are the powerhouses of filling foods. Have yourself a small bowl of this stew, and if you’re feeling hungry in half an hour. send me a message and I’ll personally send you a Snickers (just a heads up though - you’ll still be full.)
Finding a great recipe that you can cook one night a week, enjoy, and then microwave the next day for lunch or dinner is the best. It takes the stress out of cooking. When you come home from school or lunch, it’s hard to put your best effort into cooking every single night of the week. So don’t do that. Put your best effort in once with this stew, and enjoy.
Check out the Spruce it Up section for some great ideas on how to bring this stew to the next level.
Before we Get Started
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 5-7 Bowls
Ingredients
2 cans of Chickpeas
1 can of Diced Tomatoes (28 oz)
3 medium Potatoes
2 Zucchini
~500 mL Vegetable Stock
1 medium/large Red Onion
4 cloves Garlic
2 tbsp. Chili Powder
1 tbsp. Cumin
2 tsp. Cloves (powdered)
2 tbsp. Onion Powder
2 tsp. Oregano
2 tsp. Thyme
1 tbsp. Crushed Red Chili Flakes
Squirt of Lemon Juice
There are a lot of spices here - if you don’t have some of the spices, don’t sweat it. Use what you have, but I highly recommend picking spices up when you have the opportunity. They’ll make your dishes 1000x better.
Hint: Don’t buy spices from the grocery store. You’ll wind up paying $6 or $7 for a bag. Go to Bulk Barn (or your equivalent of a bulk store) and grab spices there. You’ll be hugely surprised at home many spices you can take home with less than $10.
Method
Preheat a large pot to medium-high heat with oil. Dice your garlic and onion, and add to the pot.
Once the onions are translucent, drain and rinse your cans of chickpeas, and add to the pot.
While those are frying up, cut your potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Add them to the pot.
Add all of your spices to the pot, as well as a tbsp. of salt and a splash of lemon juice, and stir.
Cut your zucchinis in half lengthwise. Place the flat sides down, and slice into semi-circular pieces, approximately 1 cm. thick. Add them to the pot, and stir.
Once everything has sizzled away for about 5 minutes, add the can of diced tomatoes, a good pinch of salt, and add vegetable stock until everything is covered.
Turn up the heat to max, bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and allow the liquid to reduce to your liking.
To reach the consistency of the dish in the picture, allow the liquid to reduce for approx. 25 minutes.
Grab a big handful of spinach, add to the pot, and stir. Allow them to wilt, and add more if desired.
Enjoy.
Spruce it Up
Grab your favourite bread and some vegan butter, and dig in.
Put some rice and the bottom of your bowl and top with the stew to take this dish to the next level.
Add some chopped parsley or cilantro.