Summer Vegetable Stew ♥ Recipe (2024)

Hello, summer! Hello, vegetable lovers! Here's a soupy stew packed with a rainbow of fresh vegetables and full of different flavors and colors and textures. This is a great master recipe for a vegan vegetable stew, packed with easy-to-find and inexpensive fresh vegetables. It's one of A Veggie Venture's top summer recipes – and one of mine too, for almost two decades!

Fresh Vegetables, Healthy & Seasonal. A Summer Classic Since 2005. Supper Substantial. Budget Friendly. Great for Meal Prep. Low Cal. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly. Rave Reviews. One of My Very Favorite Late-Summer Recipes. Happiness Quotient 100.

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Almost Twenty Years of Lessons-Learned for Summer Vegetable Stew

Lesson #1 It pays to make something called Summer Vegetable Stew at the height of summer (duh!) when gardens and farmers markets and even grocery-store produce bins are overflowing with a cornucopia of fresh, seasonal vegetables.

Lesson #2 While I've streamlined this "soupy stew" recipe to put it on the table in 40 minutes – I've also learned that the stew's flavors really meld overnight so now I make it one day to serve the next.

Lesson #3 Make it your own! This is a master recipe for a summery vegetable stew, one that moves and adjusts based on what's available or tastes good, lima beans, fresh okra and tiny new potatoes would be great additions. In a recent pot, I threw in some cabbage but oops, forgot the eggplant, still so-so good.

RECIPE for SUMMER VEGETABLE STEW

Active time: 35 minutes
Time to table: 40 minutes
Makes a bunch, 9 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
2 bell peppers, green, red or yellow or a mixture, diced in large chunks
1 pound eggplant, skin on, trimmed and cut into 1" cubes
1 yellow squash or zucchini, trimmed & diced
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed & snapped in bite-size lengths
A scant 2 pounds (about 3 medium) perfectly ripe tomatoes, cut in pieces
2 ears corn, kernels removed and "milked"
1 teaspoon dried oregano, ground between fingers before adding
Salt & pepper
1 tablespoon good vinegar (don't skip)
Tabasco (just a few drops)

Heat a Dutch oven or large kettle over MEDIUM HIGH. Add the olive oil and heat until shimmery. Add the onion (and a good sprinkle of salt!), stirring to coat with fat, then sauté for about 5 minutes until just soft. Add the garlic and peppers (and a good sprinkle of salt!), sauté for about another 5 minutes. Add the eggplant (and a good sprinkle of salt!), cook about another 5 minutes. Add the squash, beans, and any other vegetables (and a good sprinkle of salt!) and let cook for about 5 minutes. Finally, add the tomato, corn, oregano (and a good sprinkle of salt!) and season to taste.

Reduce heat to MEDIUM, cover and let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are done but still crisp-tender. Stir in the vinegar and Tabasco, then adjust seasoning to taste but don't be shy with salt.

TO SERVE Serve immediately or better yet, refrigerate for 24 hours. I love this served cold, with a spoonful of yogurt or a splash of cream!

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
TIMING I just add vegetables as they're prepped, no mise en place. But if you're a slow chopper, you might want to cut up the vegetables through the eggplant before beginning to cook. Either way, manage the stove temperature, you don't want any of the vegetables to brown or burn or turn mushy.
OIL On occasion, I've made this with no added oil, it works and still tastes great, just start with a splash of water or vegetable stock, then add more if the vegetables start to stick as they cook. That said, I really learned the value of oil for flavor with this master soup recipe, Master Recipe: How to Make Homemade Vegetable Soup.
MILD FLAVOR The flavor is mild, the texture soft. For a bit of heat, add Tabasco or red pepper flakes after cooking. For a bit of crunch, add at least some of the bell pepper after cooking.
HERBS Crumbled dried herbs between your fingers before adding. Your fingers will smell good and the herb's essence will be more pronounced.
WEIGHT WATCHERS This recipe gets deserved attention from Weight Watchers fans!
EGGPLANT If you worry about bitterness in eggplant, this technique from the inspiring recipe can be used before starting the cooking. "Cut the eggplant in cubes, leaving the skin on. Transfer to colander in several batches, sprinkling each batch liberally with salt. Let drain one hour. (Don't rinse away the salt.)" That said, I find this technique unnecessary and never ever use it.
CORN Much of the flavor from fresh corn is in its "milk". Remove the husk and silk, then, holding the ear upright inside a bowl, slice off the kernels with a knife. Then run the side of the knife along the cob top to bottom, "milking" the corn juice into the bowl. Here are step-by-step photos, How to Cut Corn Off the Cob, Keeping All Ten Fingers, Capturing Every Delicious Kernel and Every Drop of Sweet Corn "Milk".

SERVING SUGGESTIONS
First Night, serve hot or room temperature – straight from the pot, with a splash of vinegar if at room temperature.
Second Night, on a pizza – Roll out refrigerated pizza dough, top with Summer Vegetable Stew, add other toppings as culinary creativity inspires!
Other – Along with cottage cheese, other vegetables, serve on lettuce or spinach for lunch or light supper.

FOR MORE INFO If you "skipped straight to the recipe," please scroll back to the top of this page for ingredient information, ingredient substitutions, tips and more. If you print this recipe, you'll want to check the recipe online for even more tips and extra information about ingredient substitutions, best results and more. See https://www.aveggieventure.com/2005/05/day-35-summer-vegetable-stew.html .

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Cup: 100 Calories; 2g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 33mg Sodium; 20g Carb; 6g Fiber; 7g Sugar; 4g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 1 & PointsPlus 3 & SmartPoints 4 & Freestyle 0 & myWW green 1 & blue 0 & purple 0 & future WW points CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 1 cup (4g protein).

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION My Kitchen in Spain: 225 Authentic Regional Recipes by Janet Mendel

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Seasonal Eating During the Height of Summer Across the Years

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Looking for healthy new ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of super-organized quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Asparagus-to-Zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables. Join "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg to explore the exciting world of common and not-so-common vegetables where recipes range from seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.