Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Chicken-free Stew



I got the idea to make this stew from my late mother-in-law. She used to make Acadian chicken fricot for my husband and he enjoyed it very much. I never knew what the recipe was but I wanted to make something that was reminiscent of that. I looked up some fricot recipes online and the important ingredients were chicken, potatoes, carrots, broth and summer savory. To make it vegan, I used sauteed cubes of tofu to add a protein element to this warm, comforting stew. This picture shows what the stew looks like right out of the pot. If I had waited a bit, I believe it would be thicker.

Chicken-free Stew

2 TB Earth Balance margarine
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 tsp. vegemite
1 onion, chopped into large chunks
3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp. white miso paste
1-2 tsp. summer savory
salt and pepper to taste
1 TB cornstarch mixed with a little bit of water to dissolve
7 oz. firm tofu, cubed

Melt margarine and vegemite in a soup pot and saute mushrooms until they give off liquid and are cooked. Add onions, carrots, potatoes, zucchini, garlic, vegetable broth, miso paste, summer savory, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and add cornstarch/water mixture. Lower heat and simmer until vegetables are tender and soup has thickened. Meanwhile, heat a little olive oil in a pan and saute cubes of tofu until browned. Sprinkle salt and pepper over them while they saute. Drain tofu cubes on paper towel and add them to stew.

4 comments:

vegan.in.brighton said...

Yum, yet another delicious post! i'm definitely going to make this!

Trinity (of haiku tofu) said...

Your tofu looks beautiful. I've been seeing loads of those damn 'Chicken Soup for the _______ Soul' books lately, it's been a) making me mad that it's such a veggie-unfriendly title, and b)making me want to make an amazing vegan version of their blasphemous soup. Thanks Vegan Mouse!

Susan G said...

That looks delicious. I remember a Mexican restaurant by me that served a chicken stew with tarragon that I always wanted to try - now I can!

Oraphan said...

That stew looks delicious! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe.