Vegan Practically

I’ve been up in Haliburton for a week and it’s been cold and snowy. And I know we’re not alone in this right now. It’s exactly the kind of winter weather that makes me want hearty comfort foods. I blogged about chili last week. Well last night I made a stew for dinner that was the perfect meal for a day where it snowed from morning to night.

Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Dilly Stew with Rosemary Dumplings is an easy, must-try recipe that I highly recommend. It’s from her cookbook Isa Does It (one of my faves). And unlike some of the recipes in that book, this one is actually also on her recipe site Post Punk Kitchen (one of my favourite sites: no ads or pop-ups, no long narratives before you get to the recipe, excellent recipes). The only difference between the two versions is in the carrots. In the book they’re sliced into thick half moons. Online she recommends baby carrots. I used big ones cut into half moons slices.

The recipe is a little bit more challenging than Nora’s chili in that it requires a roux of olive oil and flour to start with. I haven’t done tons of recipes with a roux, so I’m not completely sure what it means to stir it around until it’s “clumpy and toasty.” I did my best with it though. Also be aware that the stock has to be room temperature to prevent the roux from clumping when you add it. If you’re making it, whether from scratch or from bouillon you need to make it ahead so it can cool. I read the recipe over a couple of times and made a note of that, so I was fine.

Once the stew is simmering away to make the veggies tender and the sauce “nicely thickened” you mix the dough. It is a very simple dough and you mix it with a spoon. This recipe, which I’ve made once before, is the one and only dish for which I have ever made dumplings.

What amazes me about dumplings is their simplicity. You mix a dough, similar to bread dough but a little bit wetter. Then, at a certain point you just spoon dollops of it right onto your simmering stew and put on the lid. After about 15 minutes those little dollops have turned into bready dumplings that top the stew and absorb the gravy underneath. I know cooking, especially baking, is fundamentally chemistry. The miracle of dumplings is that a simple dough with some baking powder and salt exposed to wet heat for a few minutes turns into a luxurious and tasty morsel that is perfect for soaking up the stew.

Mine took longer than it should have to get “nicely thickened.” My mother thought I was simmering it too lightly and it would have thickened better on a higher heat. We turned it up for awhile but it still required a bit of extra thickening towards the end (I used cornstarch mixed with a bit of water before adding). Next time I’ll keep it at a higher simmer throughout and see if that makes a difference.

The ingredient list is mostly items that would already be in a well-stocked kitchen: potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, olive oil, canned navy beans, flour, baking powder, non-dairy milk, and salt. The only things I needed to buy specifically for the recipe was dill and the beans (it could work well with white kidney beans or cannellini too). My mother grows rosemary, so clipped a bit from her plant for this recipe. Dry herbs would be fine, and indeed the recipe calls for dry rosemary, not fresh, as an add-in to the dough.

Serve with a salad and you’ve got yourself a delicious, filling, nutrient-packed, and comforting meal.

Bon Appétit and stay warm!