Rustic Vegan Irish Stew with Orange Gremolata

This post was sponsored by S&W Beans as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. Vegan Irish Stew is hearty, healthy, and delicious. It’s layered with complex flavors, from caramelized shallot to nutty chickpeas to earthy root vegetables. 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, all!

As someone who is part Irish, this is one of my favorite holidays.

We always went big for this holiday growing up. My grandmother would host every St. Patty’s Day. There was mustard-glazed corned beef, Irish Soda Bread, copious amounts of cabbage and potatoes, and Bailey’s on demand.

There was also sometimes the heartiest and most savory Irish Beef Stew imaginable.

Irish Stew is something special. I especially love it during this month, when spring is coming but not quite here yet and the nights are brisk. It’s the perfect time to take a big bowl of piping hot stew to the porch and cozy up with it as the sun sets.

I’m trying to be extra mindful lately as I prepare for my Maui trip, and trying to eat as healthy as possible. With that being said, I’m still going to splurge for St. Patty’s Day, and I’m not giving up my green beer…

However, I like to keep the celebration rolling throughout the week. And what better way to do that than with a healthy, vegan Irish Stew?

When I asked my mom if she wanted to try my Vegan Irish Stew, she lovingly said no.

When she gave in and tried it, her reaction was as follows, word for word: “I’m actually really surprised at how delicious this is.”

Uh, thanks Ma.

She’s not the biggest fan of veganizing things, especially her favorites. But I am. (Vegan Italian Peppers? Vegan Lentil Stew? Sign me up.)

One of my favorite chefs is someone who I think cooks from the heart, just like my grandmother did. Yotam Ottolenghi is an Israeli-British chef who has written some of my favorite cookbooks (like Plenty and Jerusalem). He’s cooked at Michelin-starred London restaurants and has a Pastry Chef background, like me. He currently owns and operates several restaurants in London that focus on bold, Mediterranean-inspired flavors.

One of my favorite recipes of Yotam’s is his “Irish” Stew. It’s a hearty stew that’s filled with lamb, wheat, shallots, turnips, celeriac, and white wine. His recipe inspired this Vegan Irish Stew. I love his idea of topping a hearty stew with a bright, fresh orange and parsley gremolata.

I also love that Yotam caramelizes the shallots, something I love to do as well when it comes to creating savory vegetarian soups.

But while a good meaty Irish stew is delicious, it’s also quite heavy. I took inspiration from Yotam’s recipe but decided to create a lighter, healthier vegan version.

For this Vegan Irish Stew, I first replace the lamb with nutty chickpeas.

I love using S&W Beans, which not only give great texture to the stew but also makes it incredibly easy and convenient. S&W Beans has proven their consistent, premium quality for over 120 years and offer different varieties to suit your needs (Less Sodium, Organic). I love using S&W chickpeas to lighten up meals or to create a unique protein alternative.

This Vegan Irish Stew is all about building flavors. Leeks and shallot are caramelized to deepen flavor. White wine adds welcomed acidity. Garlic, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary serve as aromatics. Tomato paste adds body. And plenty of root vegetables (parsnips, turnips, rutabaga) provide an earthy note that’s familiar to a rustic Irish stew. A fresh, bright parsley and orange-laced gremolata bring this dish together by supplying a refreshingly clever garnish.

This Vegan Irish Stew might just replace my typical St. Patrick’s Day fare.

And, bonus: it’s healthier, too.

One serving of this Vegan Irish Stew has half of your daily fiber, 15 grams of protein, and is loaded with iron, potassium, and calcium.

What are your favorite St. Patrick’s Day recipes? Let us know in the comments below. Check out S&W’s website for even more healthy recipes using convenient beans, and grab a $1 off coupon!

And here’s a few things you may need for this recipe:

S&W Organic Garbanzo Beans  //  Tramontina Enameled Cast Iron Round Dutch Oven  //  Pacific Foods Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Broth  //  Premium Microplane Grater

This post contains affiliate links and are always products I love, highly recommend, & use in my own kitchen.

Rustic Vegan Irish Stew with Orange Gremolata

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Tiffany
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 60 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Description

This Vegan Irish Stew is hearty, healthy, and delicious. It’s layered with complex flavors, from caramelized shallot to dry white wine to earthy root vegetables.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the Stew:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 leeks, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and roughly diced
• 1 large turnip, peeled and roughly diced
• 1 large rutabaga, peeled and roughly diced
• 2 large parsnips, peeled and roughly diced
• 4 celery hearts, roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds mini red potatoes, quartered (skin on)
• 3 ounces tomato paste
• 6 cups high-quality vegetable broth
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon ground marjoram
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• Sea salt and pepper, to taste

For the Gremolata:

• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• Finely grated zest of one medium orange
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Pinch of sea salt

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Instructions

1. Make the Gremolata. Combine the parsley, garlic, orange zest, olive oil, and sea salt. Cover and set aside.
2. Caramelize the Shallots and Leeks. Heat the olive oil in a deep pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sliced shallots and leeks and stir to coat in the oil. Cook 5 minutes, until starting to soften, and sprinkle with the sugar and a pinch of sea salt. Continue to cook until golden and caramelized, about 25 minutes. The longer you let the onions slowly caramelize, the deeper the flavors will be.
3. Prep Your Veggies. While the onions are caramelizing, prepare all of your vegetables. (The washing, peeling, and chopping of all the veggies take time, so get your onions going beforehand.)
4. Make the Stew. When the onions are nice and caramelized, deglaze the pot with the white wine, scraping off any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Let the wine simmer about 3 or so minutes until it’s reduced by more than half.
5. Add in the garlic, carrots, turnip, rutabaga, parsnips, celery, and potatoes. Toss to coat with the onions and wine. Season generously with sea salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables a few minutes, adding more olive oil if needed. Add in the tomato paste, tossing the vegetables to coat. Add the broth, chickpeas, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary. Bring the stew to a simmer. Cover the stew with a lid and let simmer for 25 minutes.
6. At about 25 minutes, remove the lid. Taste and adjust the stew for salt. Let the stew cook another 10-15 minutes more, until all of the root vegetables and potatoes are fork-tender. The stew will also thicken at this point as it slightly reduces.
7. Serve the stew topped with a tablespoon of the orange gremolata.

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Notes

In a hurry? It’s okay to skip the caramelizing step, just cook the onions until softened and continue from there. But taking the time to properly caramelize the shallot and leeks will provide a world of difference.

I don’t feel that this stew needs any thickening agents, as all of the starchy root vegetables and potatoes help it in that department. If you’d like an extra-thick stew, you can add a tablespoon or two of flour to the onions before adding the vegetables. Just cook the flour for 3 minutes. To keep the stew gluten free, you can thicken it with corn starch. Towards the end of cooking, mix 1 tablespoon of corn starch with 1/2 cup of the hot broth until completely dissolved. Add the mixture back to the pot, stir, and it will thicken immediately as it simmers.

This stew becomes very thick as leftovers. I like to keep a little extra vegetable broth on hand to thin it out, if needed.

Keep this stew chunky and rustic. Cut the parsnips, carrots, celery, turnip, and rutabaga in medium-large pieces, but never any larger than the quartered potato. See photos for scale.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 serving
• Calories: 450
• Fat: 10g
• Saturated Fat: 1.5g
• Carbohydrates: 70g
• Fiber: 14g
• Protein: 15g
• Cholesterol: 0mg

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