Greek Stew

A meatless stew inspired by Greek flavors.

I'm not Greek.  I had my first Greek/Mediterranean food after college and I instantly loved it.  I associate many things with Greek food such as lamb, chickpeas, eggplant, pita, hummus, feta, and certain herbs & spices.  This stew is not authentically Greek but I was inspired by Greek and Mediterranean flavors while making it.  I didn't know what to call this stew with out making a long name listing all the ingredients so I just simplified it by calling it Greek Stew.

No matter what this dish is called it is delicious.  It contains plenty of vegetables, chickpeas, and rice which give it lots of nutrients, fiber, and protein.  It's a meatless meal that is high in flavor yet low in calories and it fills you up without weighing you down.  And, it makes a huge pot of stew that will feed many or just one all week long.

Greek Stew

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper
thyme, oregano, and rosemary
olive oil

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I used crimini)
4 mini sweet peppers, sliced (optional--I had them so I used them and they add pretty color)
salt & pepper
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
4 cups cooked cargo or brown rice (1 cup dry, cooked)
2 cups cooked chickpeas

Toss the chopped eggplant and zucchini (you can either peel them or not) with the garlic, herbs, salt and pepper, and olive oil.  Use enough olive oil and herbs to coat the veggies well. Maybe about 1/2 tsp-1 tsp of each (salt and pepper is to taste).

Spread the herbed vegetables on a sheet pan and roast at 425 F for about 20 minutes until nicely browned and very fragrant.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil, in a large stock pot, over medium heat.  Saute the onions, mushrooms, and peppers, with salt and pepper to taste, until soft.

To this add the roasted eggplant mixture, broth, tomatoes, rice, and chickpeas (with a little more salt and pepper).  Mix well and cook on low, covered, for at least 1 hour.

I made this on the weekend so I had plenty of time to let it sit and stew.  You could also put it all in a slow cooker and let it cook all day, or turn up the heat and it would cook in less time...just keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.

Serve hot with any sides of your choice.  I had it with pita chips and tzatziki.  Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Pretty Pintastic, Best of the Weekend, Show Stopper, Saturday Night Fever, See Ya in the gumbo, Much Ado, Merry Monday, Two Cup, Teach Me, Lou Lou Girls, Whimsy Wednesday, Wednesday Roundup, Cook Craft Share, Full Plate, Eat Create Party, Freedom Friday, Plant Based Potluck


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Bean and Barley Stew

A healthy, meatless, one pot meal stew with beans, barley, and veggies.

I recently got a new rice cooker. My old rice cooker was fine but it had a glass lid, which I dropped and it broke.  That happens alot unfortunately.  The kitchen in my apartment has a tile floor that breaks everything that's dropped on it and I am kind of dropsy (I drop things quite frequently). So anyway after shouting a string of obscenities I cleaned up the mess (luckily it was tempered glass so it broke into little cubes instead of sharp shards).  I had to cook rice the 'old fashioned' way (on the stove top) for a couple of weeks before my husband brought home a new rice cooker.  This new rice cooker is super fancy.  It has different options for cooking white or brown rice, it has a timer, and it also works as a slow cooker.  It's huge too, I can cook like 10 cups of rice at a time if I wanted too.  For this recipe I used the slow cooker option.

My husband was out of town, for work, again so I wanted to make a meal that would last for the week.  I also didn't want to have a bunch of dirty dishes so this was cooked completely in the rice cooker.  When my husband isn't around I tend to eat more meatless meals.  I like meat just fine but vegetarian or meatless meals often are cheaper and easier. For this stew, I initially started out trying to make a soup.  I was just planning on having a bean soup but I saw a package of hulled barley and at the last minute decided to throw it in.  It was a great idea making this much more filling and nutritious.

Bean and Barley Stew

Ingredients:

1-2 Tbsp butter or oil
1 onion, chopped
5 stalks of celery, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.4 oz can of stewed tomatoes, crushed
3/4 cup barley (dry)
3-4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups small red beans, cooked
1 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
a dash of marjoram
a dash of rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

Turn the rice cooker's slow cooker feature to high (this could all be cooked on the stove top, probably in less time).  Melt the butter in the bottom or the insert.  Once the butter is melted add the onion, celery, and carrots (with salt and pepper).  Cook on high, uncovered, for about 15 minutes until softened.

Add jalapeno and garlic for a few minutes then add the dried barley.  Stir the barley with the vegetables and butter then add the 2-3 cups of chicken broth and spices.

Turn the rice cooker/slow cooker to low, cover and allow to cook for 3 hours until barley is cooked.

Lastly stir in the beans (add more broth if needed) and let cook for 1 hour more until beans are heated through.  Add more salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Makes about 6 servings, serve with rolls or crackers.

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Random Recipe Roundup, Much Ado About Monday, Two Cup Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Brag About It, Whimsy Wednesday, Freedom Fridays, Eat Create Party, Best of the Weekend, Show Stopper, Shine a Spotlight, Saturday Night Fever, Empty your Archive


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