White Bean and Garlic Stew
This week I had a request from my husband to make an old favorite that we haven't had for a while. This stew is different from anything else I make because it uses a whole head of garlic. Now, if you've tasted my baba ganoush, you know I can tolerate some garlic. But even I couldn't stand 15-20 cloves, except for one thing--they're not chopped. Cooking them whole mellows them out much like roasting does, so when you bite into one, you still get the garlic taste but in a milder, creamier version. The recipe is adapted from one I found on an email list years ago; I wish I knew who originated it, so if anyone recognizes it, please let me know.
(click for printer-friendly version)
2 15-ounce cans cannellini or great northern beans (about 3 cups), rinsed and drained
1 head garlic (the whole bulb--15-20 cloves)
2 tablespoons water
3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Break the garlic bulb into cloves and peel off the skin. If you'd like, chop one of the cloves, but leave the others whole. If some of the cloves are very large, you may cut them in half lengthwise.
Spray a large, non-stick pan lightly with olive oil. Add the onion and sauté until it turns a rich, medium-brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and carrots and sauté for 1 more minute.
Add the beans, tomatoes, bay leaves, and water. Cover the pot and simmer for about an hour, adding water if it gets too thick.
Stir in the salt and pepper. If you're serving the stew right away, add all the parsley and the lemon juice. If you're serving it later or at room temperature, add the parsley and lemon juice right before serving.
Serve over brown rice.
Makes 6 servings. Each contains: 246 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (3% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 47g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 385mg Sodium; 15g Fiber
(click for printer-friendly version)
2 15-ounce cans cannellini or great northern beans (about 3 cups), rinsed and drained
1 head garlic (the whole bulb--15-20 cloves)
2 tablespoons water
3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Break the garlic bulb into cloves and peel off the skin. If you'd like, chop one of the cloves, but leave the others whole. If some of the cloves are very large, you may cut them in half lengthwise.
Spray a large, non-stick pan lightly with olive oil. Add the onion and sauté until it turns a rich, medium-brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and carrots and sauté for 1 more minute.
Add the beans, tomatoes, bay leaves, and water. Cover the pot and simmer for about an hour, adding water if it gets too thick.
Stir in the salt and pepper. If you're serving the stew right away, add all the parsley and the lemon juice. If you're serving it later or at room temperature, add the parsley and lemon juice right before serving.
Serve over brown rice.
Makes 6 servings. Each contains: 246 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (3% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 47g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 385mg Sodium; 15g Fiber
Labels: eat to live, gluten-free, life
posted by SusanV at 12:27 PM
40 Comments:
Susan -- I'm thankful you will be posting the "good for you" stuff in excess for a while. I've also grown out of my skinny-guy clothes, and would very much like to wear them again.
I'm also sick, and I attribute that largely to being unhealthy and on the fat side. So, while I'm not happy you feel the need to lose weight, I am happy that I'll benefit from it!
-Shawn (trunkboy on bloggerchoice thingy)
Susan
Yes! Yes! and Yes!
I also have been too dependent on tofu and carbs. Save me from my pasta and rice!
*************************
Thank you for all your work/ideas they are GREATLY appreciated!
Your blog is one of the best food blogs I've ever seen. All these great recipes and the photos make them look so tasty. If your blog puts people off then they don't like food:)
I'm all for stews and soups - I have had great success making them crockpot-friendly which means I can eat great during exam crunchtime! Plus, most of these "healthier" recipes are naturally gluten-free :)
Yum--this looks great, Susan! I like the idea of whole cloves of garlic in the soup to mellow out their flavor, too. Kind of like roasting it. I love garlic!!
Courtney
I appreciate you being respectful of the upcoming swimsuit/shorts season. I need to stick to healthy eats as well for the next few months, so I'll look forward to your upcoming recipes. And honestly, Susan, all your posts are great, the sweet and the savory.
The bean stew looks really tasty and filling. It will be a true test of how much I love garlic!
Hi Susan,
It turns out that you and another Susan have something in common--this white bean soup! Susan from Farmgirl Fare has a recent recipe much like this; perhaps hers and yours have the same root? (Pun totally intended?) ;)
I love garlic. I would add 20 cloves to any recipe and scare people away. The bean and garlic stew looks great.
I'm really happy that you are sticking to the healthy foods and helping us all get ready for summer. Lol! :) Your food is SO good that you do not need to compromise and add the fat.
I forgot to mention in your last post that I laughed at your tag line of "Shameless Self Promotion" Lol! You're too cute.
I love both garlic and white beans, this stew looks so tasty and yummy! I am going to try it soon! I also love your blog and recipes, photographs!
I have found the recipes I have tried from your blog are very tasty and delicious and I wouldn't hesitate to try any of them, anytime.
Thanks for all the goodness you share, the recipes, the ideas. It is great to be able to see people sharing healthy recipes, not relying in processed and unnatural foods. These are my thoughts exactly about food and I am just a tiny step away from turning into a vegetarian, even if my meat-eating husband disagrees...
Your blog is great Susan!
Ana
hoo maa..... god. now this looks simply superb
I hope you don't ever change! I love that your focus is fatfree vegan, and you're one of the blogs I subscribe to that I would never cancel because I love looking at both your photography and I love the recipes.
I'll add my voice to those thankful you're sticking to the whole grains, beans, fruits, and veggies for the next few months. For me, it isn't about the weight, but a new committment to eat healthy.
I listened to a recent vegan freaks podcast, the only one they've done about health, and it really made me think about my food choices. Even though my eating habits are not that awful, vegan junk food is still junk food, and "sometimes" has a tendancy to come more and more often when you're not paying attention! So I'm happy enough to be inspired and avoid temptation at the same time. Your pictures and stories always make me want to run to the grocery store and start on the recipes right away!
Just so you know: It was your blog that prompted me to experiment with more vegan recipes in my already vegetarian diet, and it was some tasty recipes from your blog that inspired my mother to become a vegetarian. I think you have more impact than you know. Keep up the good work. :)
This looks delicious. I'm going to add kale to mine.
Hi Susan,
I *finally* got around to posting photos of the vegeroni- have I thanked you for this recipe yet? I can finally say "I've made seitan from scratch." It's a great feeling.
To everyone here interested in better health and/or losing weight, the other part of the quotient is activity. Exercise. If you try to lose weight by diet alone, at some point your body decides you are starving and manages to get by on fewer calories. So weight loss stops. This is a throwback to surviving during times of scarcity and even famine.
In an interesting sidebar, people who've adopted the extreme calorie-restricted diets in their quests for longer lives take in so few calories that they literally cannot do things like swim or ride a bike. They just plain don't have the energy to do it. And they call that living?
So the key is balance: Watching what you eat and getting exercise. In the end, weight loss really comes down to burning more calories than you consume. Period.
Hi Susan,
I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful soup recipe. I was at a loss yesterday, as to what to make for dinner and when I saw this recipe I knew. I love that fact that it is an overall quick and easy to prepare dish, but it looks and smells like something that takes hours. Anyway, I made the soup and served it with some toasted potato and rosemary bread and it was fabulous!
Thanks for dinner. :)
P.S. I did make one alteration, I used veggie broth instead of water.
oh yum.
this is definitely my kind of food! I've got a big thing of homemade veggie broth to use up, so maybe I"ll make this in the next couple of days.
i think your emphasis on whole foods is wonderful - it's one of the things I really appreciate about your recipes!!
:) amey
i vote for you,i think your blog is amazing!
I love your blog, so I'm excited that you will be posting ever more "good for you" recipes, as I'vve recently become vegan-ish (still working on bread, etc.) and have quite a bit to lose. Your recipes will give me some extra help and incentive to do the right thing.
Thanks so much for the New Orleans links, Susan! It's good information to have right now. Oh, and please thank Domino personally for me for the nomination- I was truly flattered. Mmmm, now on to thinking of this beautiful, garlicky stew you have posted here...
Your pictures are all so pretty! Unfortunately my grifriend HATES garlic, i know i know!
Reading all the kudos, I must add mine. I discovered your blog about 3-4 months ago and have enjoyed it immensely for its wit, writing style, photography and content. I have been a vegetarian for years, but never thought a vegan diet was really plausible. Well you have proved that wrong.
Several days ago, I thought I'd start reading your blog from its earliest days. I saw so much growth. Though your photos in the early days were fine, they are now supremely artistic and enticing. The light banter of your writing is much appreciated too. thank you for my favorite blog.
This is perfect timing! I just had a hankering for some cannelli beans. I think I'll add some kale too to give my veggie deficient family a boost.
Your blog is great. I'm committed to trying more of your recipes as I want to show my diabetic dad how healthy a lowfat vegan diet can be (with the hope of helping him restore his health).
Thanks again.
The dish is very similar to a Turkish dish called 'piyaz' ... it's an absolutely delicious staple & served both hot and cold!
I adore a simple bean soup like this one. Anything goes: celery, zucchini, pepper. But my favorite veggie in a white bean soup is kale. Thanks for posting this!
Great recipe. It turned out really well and was super fast. Yummy for the tummy.
Man, it doesn't get much better than cooked garlic cloves, does it?
This soup was really easy and really delicious. We added a few handfuls of kale and a little extra veggie broth (instead of water).
Thanks, Susan. Will be making it again soon!
Susan - far from limiting, I find the amount and quality of recipes that fit your critera astonishing and inspirational! and from these comments it looks like I'm not the only one.
When I started on Weight Watchers last month I was elated to come across your blog in my search for healthier vegan recipes. I tend to be a "carbitarian" so including more vegetables in my diet is a high priority. Your recipes have really helped me do that. The food is delicious and attractive enough that my non-veg boyfriend enjoys them and I don't feel the least bit deprived.
Thank you!
I made this for the first time this evening. Very, very pleased with how it turned out. I'm usually not a fan of homemade soups, but this is delicious! Thank you!
i'm from biloxi originally and my family is still there (actually, my sis is in the jackson area). anyway, my husband and i are trying the veg lifestyle and when i ran across this i immediately thought of my daddy's lima beans and rice!! the only difference is no ham or sausage. it is already rainy and cold here in the northwest, so i decided to give it a go today for lunch and it was absolutely FANTASTIC!!! the only thing i did differently was add a bit more veg. stock to the pot (i only use organic veg. stock anymore in soups and rice/grain dishes). it used up the rest of the container and made it a bit more soupy. and the best part was, i was right. it reminded me of daddy's limas. so, even though it made me a tad homesick, thanks so much!!
wow! i misspelled my own screen name!! hahaha....that should be CHEEKDOG :)
What a great recipe!! I made this the other night but did change it a bit to suite that nights craving. I loved using all those garlic cloves you suggested - so yummy and they literally melted into the stew! Delicious. I used chickpeas because I had just soak a huge batch. I also added some cinnamon sticks, turmeric and red pepper flakes because I was in that kind of mood. I let it simmer to a thick consistency (more like beans & veggies & tomato, instead of soup ) and served it over bulgur. Next time (soon) I'll probably make it more like soup, without the cinnamon & tumeric. Sooooooooo yummmmmy!!
This recipe was wonderful. I just made a double batch and it satisfied everyone in our eclectic household. I substituted a cup of frozen peas for half the carrots, and used two little multiplier onions (I'm not big on onions). I also added a couple handfuls of chopped spinach and some dried rosemary. All these changes come highly recommended! Yummy.
MMM I ran across your blog through Mcdougall newsletter and boy, am I glad I did!!! I've been reading and drooling...LOL
I made this tonight and it is..oh, so wonderful. I left out the tomatoes, since I'm allergic to them and increased the water to make up for it. I also added some kale. I guess i cooked it too long (or long enough!) as the garlic melted and there were no cloves in the stew. I love garlic but there was no strong garlic taste. Thanks!!
This recipe was so easy, fast and delicious. Even my 11 yr old dasughter liked it and said it tasted sweet and mild.
Mmmmm... made this again tonight! I stuck to your recipe this time but added extra veggies that I happen to have on hand (bok choy and chopped kale). Love the mild sweetness all the garlic gives it. LOVE this recipe. Sorry, had to gush!
I made this the other day and used 15 garlic cloves instead of the 20. I will use 20 next time. They were sweet and mild and did not lend an overpowering garlicky taste. The recipe was delicious and I will make it over and again. Don't ever quit photographing the recipes. That is the main reason I am trying them plus your reputation for being a fabulous vegan cook of course. Thanks and keep them coming.
This is the ultimate sick day food. I am trying to recover from this horrible virus and haven't had anything unclog my head like this fabulous soup. Thank you so much, I feel like its going to heal me.
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