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Hidden Bell Pepper Bean Stew

A vegan meat and bean stew in a thick, flavourful sauce made from blended veggies.
Prep Time6 hours
Cook Time1 hour
Course: Dinner
Keyword: bean stew, beans, hidden veggies
Servings: 8

Equipment

  • pressure cooker like an instant pot
  • immersion/hand blender or regular blender

Ingredients

To cook dried beans

  • 1 cup dried romano beans
  • 1 tbsp table salt
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 medium onion, peeled

For the stew

  • 2 tbsp cooking oil
  • 2 large bell peppers green, orange, red, doesn't matter
  • 1 medium onion, diced red, yellow, white, doesn't matter
  • 1 can (156 mL/5.5 oz) tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp ground smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp bouillion paste concentrate
  • 1 lb vegan ground meat I used Gusta. Use a gluten-free one if GF.
  • 1/2 cup liquid from cooking beans
  • 1 cup finely chopped cilantro both leaf and stem
  • 1/2 cup cooked rice to serve with each portion of stew

Instructions

Prepare the beans

  • Soak the dried romano beans in plenty of water (I used a 1 L deli container) with 1 tbsp of table salt for at least 8 hours until completely rehydrated
    1 cup dried romano beans, 1 tbsp table salt
  • Drain the beans, and add to a pressure cooker with 4 cups (1L) water, half an onion, and bay leaves. Cook for 10 minutes (I used the Bean setting) and allow to naturally release.
    4 cups water, 2 bay leaves, 1 medium onion, peeled
  • Remove the onion from the beans and set aside to be blended into the sauce.

To make the stew

  • In a wide pot (I used a braiser), cook the bell peppers and onion in cooking oil until softened, and lightly caramelized.
    2 tbsp cooking oil, 2 large bell peppers, 1 medium onion, diced
  • Add 1 can of tomato paste and stir to cook the paste a bit, about 2-3 minutes.
    1 can (156 mL/5.5 oz) tomato paste
  • Add ground paprika, onion powder, ground cumin, and kosher salt. Stir to cook through slightly, and then mix well.
    1 tbsp ground smoked paprika, 2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp kosher salt
  • Remove everything from the pan and transfer to a blender or a container with the reserved onion (from the beans) and 1 tsp of veggie bouillion paste. Blend everything until well pureed. If you need to, add a bit of liquid from cooking the beans to loosen the sauce.
    1 tsp bouillion paste concentrate
  • In the same cooking vessel, cook the vegan ground mince until heated through. If it's sticking to the bottom, feel free to add a bit more cooking oil. I had enough residual oil from the onion and peppers that I didn't need it.
    1 lb vegan ground meat
  • Add in the cooked beans, the blended veggie mixture, and 1/2 cup of the liquid from the cooked beans to the pan and stir well to combine. Cover and let simmer to let the flavours mingle, about 10 minutes.
    1/2 cup liquid from cooking beans
  • Stir in cilantro at the end, and serve with rice! I use a mixed rice of brown rice, white rice, and quinoa.
    1 cup finely chopped cilantro, 1/2 cup cooked rice to serve with each portion of stew