Monday, June 2, 2014

QUICK, LIGHT AND LEMONY GREEK-STYLE ARTICHOKE HEART AND BEAN STEW

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I bought a couple of jars of Kirkland artichoke hearts in water at Costco last week. (We regularly buy their marinated artichoke hearts-- so good! They aren't as acidic as other brands I've purchased.) I had in mind some sort of Greek vegetable stew. At first I was thinking of Veganized Italian Sausages, Potatoes & Artichoke Hearts in Tomato Broth (recipe here), but I felt like something lemony.

This recipe is a new, easy, lighter take on a classic Greek dish. The traditional version would contain about 1 cup (!) of extra-virgin olive oil.  We just can’t consume that much fat in one meal, so I used just a little oil for flavour, and simmered the stew in a rich vegan broth (like Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan Soup Base) instead. This stew is full of nutrition and flavour and takes only about 30 minutes to make.  It's very satisfying, too.

NOTE: Green fava or broad beans are traditional in this stew, but, if you don’t have access to them, I find that green garbanzo beans (see this post) or green soybeans (edamame) make good substitutes in many recipes. (I used green garbanzo beans this time.)



BRYANNA’S QUICK, LIGHT AND LEMONY GREEK-STYLE ARTICHOKE HEART AND BEAN STEW
Serves 4 as a main dish

2 tablespoons olive oil
16 artichoke hearts (bottoms) in water from a jar or can (or frozen, thawed), drained and cut in half
4 medium carrots, scrubbed and sliced into 1/4-inch “coins”
2 bunches of green onions (about 12-14), trimmed and thinly sliced
3 cups frozen shelled broad (fava) beans OR green garbanzo beans (see this post) OR edamame (green soybeans), thawed and drained (Or use any of these beans in their fresh form, but blanch them in boiling water for a minute or two and drain.)
1/2 a bunch of fresh dill, stripped off stems and finely-chopped OR 1 tablespoon dried dill weed
2 cups really good vegan “chicken” broth (like Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan Soup Base)
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon flour
Salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
Garnish: Lemon slices, sprigs of dill

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan or deep skillet.  Add the artichoke heart halves and the carrots and sauté over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the green onions and the beans of your choice. Sauté the mixture for about 2 minutes. Add the dill and broth.  Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the carrots are just tender enough.  


Whisk together the lemon juice and flour and stir into the pan.  Stir until the broth thickens a bit.  Taste for salt and add pepper as desired.

Serve with crusty bread or flatbread to mop up the lovely juices!


Nutrition (per serving): 302.6 calories; 22% calories from fat; 7.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 485.0mg sodium; 1064.3mg potassium; 49.7g carbohydrates; 15.0g fiber; 7.7g sugar; 34.7g net carbs; 15.2g protein.

Enjoy!


3 comments:

Nonna said...

I'm wondering if this could be served cold or at room temperature. Looks like it would make a good Shabbat lunch, but cooking overnight in a crock pot or even leaving overnight on a glass warmer, I think would spoil it.

Bryanna Clark Grogan said...

I think it would be good a room temperature-- it would be overcooked in a crockpot or warmer, I'm sure.

Corrin Radd said...

Made this for dinner tonight. It's great!