Idaho Dutch Oven Stew Recipe (vegan)

This stew is a childhood memory. My mom used to make a non-vegan version of it when I was a kid. We both happen to be vegan now. She still had the recipe so I decided to modify it and 'dutch oven' it. A barbecue isn't the only way to cook in the back yard.

If you want to make this while camping you will probably need to make the sauce ahead of time since it requires a blender. My mother-in-law just aquired a hand crank blender. I haven't had a chance to test it yet - maybe it would do the job.

I cooked this on a day when temperatures were in the 50s and there was a moderate wind. You can see from the third photo that I attempted to make a wind shelter with some patio pavers. Even with that precaution my cooking temperature was affected. The weather can have a dramatic effect on temperature when you are dutch oven cooking. You can read up on it over at the dutch oven dude. See my notes following the recipe for temperature advice.

Do you want my biased opinion? this stuff is G-O-O-D, even if it doesn't bring back childhood memories for you. My kids thought it was great. Their favorite part was the little corn on the cobs.

Idaho Dutch Oven Stew

Serves 6

>1/4 cup vegetable oil
> 16oz Morningstar Farms Veggie Steak Strips
> 2 medium potatoes, cut into 6 pieces
> 2 large carrots, cut into 6 pieces
> 2 large ears of corn, quartered

sauce ingredients...

> 28 oz. canned tomatoes
> 1 small red onion, chopped
> 2 garlic clove,minced
> 4 oz. canned green chili peppers, drained, halved, and seeded
> 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
> 1 tsp coriander
> 1/2 tsp. salt
> 1/2 tsp. black pepper
> 1/2 tsp. chili powder
> 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1.) First make the sauce. Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

2.) Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Add the veggie steak strips and fry until browned.

3.) Stir in the sauce and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for 35 - 45 minutes.

4.) Stir in the potatoes, carrots, and corn. Cover again and continue simmering gently for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Adjust the seasoning before serving.

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My notes for this recipe:

1. Keep in mind that a batch of briquettes will typically stay good and hot for about 35 - 45 minutes. You probably need two or three batches to get this stew cooked.

2. I was stewing in a 12" dutch oven, shooting for 325 degrees F. According to the dutch oven dude's calculator that requires 21 briquettes. It was too cold of a day - I should have used extra. It took more than 1 hour for the vegetables to get tender.

3. You could get it to cook faster if you cut the vegetables smaller, but there goes the coolness factor.

4. This is best served on a plate with a fork - so you can smash the large chunks of vegetables before eating.

See Also...

Vegan Dutch Oven Pot Pie Recipe