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Delicious Bean Stew is creamy, vibrant, budget-friendly and incredibly satisfying. It is vegan comfort in a pot. Easy to make in under an hour, this deceptively rich vegan stew is incredibly satisfying without leaving you feeling as if you over-indulged.

Since the Pandemic, I have been following a vlog out of Amsterdam called Pick Up Limes. They now also have a really terrific app and a website. If you are looking either to add some vegan meals to your repertoire or are choosing to go whole-hog vegan (pun intended) this is a great place to start. It is accessible, non-judgmental and best of all – the recipes really work. Yes, I do make some tweaks, but they would also be great as written.

This Delicious Bean Stew has a few changes from the original, in part because my store and pantry were out of some items. But this only proves how good the recipe is. I went to three separate grocery stores and no one had either Butter Beans or Dried Rosemary. As it happens, I really love to cook up my own beans as I have mentioned many times before. Not only do dried beans store well, with no worries of exploding or leaking cans, but I control the aromatics. In addition, I use the resulting cooking liquids to replace or augment the liquids in soups and stews.

Would canned beans work? Of course. And if that is your preference or all you have time for, please use them. While the original recipe called for Butter Beans, I used Royal Corona. We absolutely love these beans, which are easily available online. These large European runner beans cook up to be meaty and creamy and can replace pretty much any white bean called for in a recipe. If you have never tried them, you are in for a real treat. I cook them with a sprig of rosemary, a bay leaf and some confited garlic in olive oil. Even without the aromatics, they are delicious.

Maybe there is a run on dried rosemary, but every store was out of it and mine was packed away for our move. However, there was fresh rosemary available. I know! When using fresh herbs, just essentially double the amount of dried herbs suggested in the recipe. I tend to be very generous in my measurements for herbs so don’t get to precise here. I did use dried thyme.

Delicious Bean Stew needed nothing more than some good bread (I used my Breadsticks in an Hour, but any good bread will do.) If you want to make a salad or serve some grapefruit with pomegranate seeds as I did – go for it. Leftovers can gently be reheated.

So whether you made any New Year’s resolutions or are just looking for some healthy, delicious vegan meals to add to your repertoire, Delicious Bean Stew is a great option.

Recipe

Yield: 4 servings with bread

Ingredients

1.5 Tablespoons neutral vegetable oil (I like Avocado)

1 large or 2 smaller leeks, white and light green parts only, washed well and thinly sliced

4 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped or 1.5 teaspoons dried rosemary, crumbled

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and coarsely chopped

1 rounded Tablespoon all-purpose flour

1.5 cups water or cooking liquid if preparing your own beans

1 vegetable bouillon cube, crumbled

4 cups of large white beans (Royal Corona, Butter Beans, Lima’s)

3/4 cup plant-based heavy cream (I like soy, but any will do)

About 5 cups of coarsely chopped fresh spinach

2.5 Tablespoons white wine or Champagne vinegar

Cracked black pepper, to taste

Optional but Recommended Garnish

Red pepper chili flakes

chopped, flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Place oil in 5 quart pot, preferably with a heavy bottom, over medium-high heat. Add the sliced leek and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Then add the garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until fragrant.

Now add in the sun-dried tomatoes and flour and continue cooking, while stirring for 1 more minute.

The liquid and bouillon cube are added next. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered until thickened. This only takes a minute or two.

Stir in the beans and cooking “cream” and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.

Add in your spinach, the vinegar and pepper and mix through just until the spinach wilts. Again, only another minute or two.

Garnish and enjoy!