Comforting Veg Stew

On a stormy winter day, what's more awesome than a steamy bowl of nourishing and delicious vegetable stew?

Veg stew

So Healthy You'll Crave a Naughty Dessert

Okay, not that healthy. And not really room in tummy for dessert.

I added 1/2 cup barley and 1/2 cup red lentils to boost up the protein factor, but they also served to boost the flavor and texture. As well, they add some iron and magnesium and a few vitamins, but then, the veggies have a lot of that stuff too. Needless to say, dumplings and potatoes aside, it's a really healthy meal.

Pot of veggie stew with dumplings

Veggies

The veggies included potatoes, rutabaga, carrots, onions and parsnips because that's what we had on hand and neither of us felt like braving the weather. These are pretty much all a stew needs anyway.

Grains/Legumes

The barley was pre-cooked in vegetable broth and added once tender, and the lentils were pre-cooked, pureed and then added at the end as a thickener. As it turned out, between the barley, potatoes and dumplings, it probably didn't need an additional thickener but still glad they're in there.

Broth

The broth is 1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth and about 2 L water.

Seasoning

Dried thyme and oregano, salt and pepper for seasoning.

Dumplings

Dumpling recipe
The naughty part of the meal! Laura made the dumplings using this recipe.