Tomato, Butter Bean And Quinoa Stew

In the pictures you can see a vegetarian version of the stew, but if you want to make it vegan, all you need to do is give up feta cheese and sour cream – these are only used as a topping. You can also crumble or grate some vegan cheese on top or use nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is popular among vegans because it is a great source of B vitamins, folic acid, zinc and vitamin D. You can usually find it in health or specialty stores for plant based products.

To make this butter bean and quinoa stew you will only need one pot. You will start and finish off this stew in the same pot, which means little mess and saving time. If you don’t have butter beans, cannellini or red kidney beans will do. You can use kale instead of spinach, but in that case you should add it at the very beginning of cooking as it needs more time to soften. Don’t be afraid to get creative. Try it out and let me know what you think. I do feel you’re going to love this one.

Instructions

Heat a large pot, add olive oil and cook finely chopped onion with sliced carrots in it until translucent and caramelised.

Add dried herbs, beans, quinoa, pasta sauce and 2 – 3 cups of water. Cook with a lid slightly ajar, stirring occasionally for 25 minutes.

Add some chopped parsley and all of the spinach. Stir and cook for 2 minutes more. Add more water if the stew has become too thick. Add salt to taste if needed, but you probably won’t need a lot, because the pasta sauce is usually salty enough. Have in mind that feta cheese will also add saltiness, so don’t go overboard.

Top with some fresh parsley, feta and sour cream or a vegan cheese alternative.

Serve the stew immediately or reheat it later on.