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Last week when I asked our GSO Facebook followers what recipes you all would like to see on the blog this fall, two top requests quickly emerged: vegetarian recipes and slow cooker recipes.
So your wish is my command — I made you some Slow Cooker Root Vegetable Stew!
I prepped everything this morning, and could hardly wait for the slow cooker to do its work for dinner tonight. This stew turned out to be absolutely delicious, and is a fantastic way to use up some of those seasonal root veggies. You can substitute in whatever your favorite root veggies may be, but I used some butternut squash, sweet potatoes, Yukon potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and onions from my farmers’ market. Then seasoned the stew with some bay leaf, lots of garlic and sage, and finished it off by wilting in some fresh kale. Spectacular! It was all of the goodness of sweet and savory together, and wonderfully hearty and filling without any meat or grains. And if you make it with vegetable stock, this stew is vegetarian and vegan. And the best part is thatit was totally simple to throw together. The main work is just chopping up all of your veggies, then your slow cooker will take over and do the rest of the work.
Definitely a simple, comforting and delicious stew that your friends and family will love.
optional: fried sage leaves for garnish (see note below)
Instructions
Add first eleven ingredients to a slow-cooker, and carefully stir to combine. Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours, or until the vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf, and carefully stir in the kale. Let the stew continue cooking for 10 minutes or so until the kale is wilted. Season with additional salt and pepper if need be.
Serve immediately, with the option to garnish with fried sage leaves or Parmesan cheese.
Notes
To make the fried sage leaves, heat 1/4 cup of vegetable or canola oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles on the surface. Add your sage leaves and let them cook for about 10 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt if desired.
We made this tonight, my partner had a brain fart and got leak instead of celery but we just put it in and we didn’t have the time to slow cook it in the end so we did it for 2 hours @ 140c fan assisted.
We added a little more water at the end and did some dumplings with it and boy this was the best thing I’ve eaten since I went to France 7 years ago. 10/10 it proves cooking is about simple flavours.
Can this be cooked on high heat? If so, how long would it take?
Can this be frozen
We made this tonight, my partner had a brain fart and got leak instead of celery but we just put it in and we didn’t have the time to slow cook it in the end so we did it for 2 hours @ 140c fan assisted.
We added a little more water at the end and did some dumplings with it and boy this was the best thing I’ve eaten since I went to France 7 years ago. 10/10 it proves cooking is about simple flavours.
Substitute for the kale?