Inspired by Julia Child
Years ago, my husband and I were in couples cooking book club.
What is that, you may ask? It was a fun group of married couples that would read a book, and then one couple would host a book club dinner party basing the menu either on the food in the book or the region.
After we all read “My life in France,” we used Julia Child’s cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” for our hosted dinner party. It was a long night filled with tons of butter, meat, cheese, fish, and lots and lots of wine! People stayed late, drank and ate way too much, and it was a night to remember for sure.
Well, fast forward years later, and I desired that same classic food once more but now, as a vegan.
And so dear friends, here is what I came up with!
Bon Appetit!!!!
Ingredients:
a few tablespoons of olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
24 ounces mushrooms, without stems,
4-5 cloves garlic minced
6 large carrots, big bite sizes
3 stalks of celery, diced
2-3 cups of red wine
1 1/2 cups veggie broth (more as needed while it simmers)
a handful of fresh thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper
1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
4-5 cloves garlic minced
Method:
- In a large pot, heat one tablespoon of oil over medium heat.
- Add mushrooms and saute. I cook these until they are browned and softened, about 8 minutes.
- Remove the mushrooms and add a bit more oil and the entire onion. Saute for a few minutes, and then add carrots, celery, and garlic.
- Pour in the red wine and broth, and return the mushrooms to the pan as well.
- Add the paste and all the seasonings.
- Bring to a boil and then immediately turn down to a simmer. I prefer to cook this for several hours, but you could also choose to eat this after about 30 minutes of simmer. I cook it over two hours and add additional broth as the stew cooks.
- Serve over red skin mashed potatoes.
This stew is a wonderful meal to serve for company or any special occasion.
