Now winter in Melbourne is upon us, what better meal to make than a piping hot stew? Especially with lots of chunky winter vegetables! I've been dreaming of smoked tofu for a while now (a little bit like the way I used to dream about bacon many years ago). If you've not had the pleasure of smoked tofu yet, it's a veg*n's dream - tofu with a smoked flavour and a firm, but not too hard, texture. You made need to look outside your supermarket to find it - I bought mine from Wholefoods.
I decided to have my stew with some brown rice which I got going in our rice cooker first off. I gathered together the onion, carrots, mushrooms, celery, potatoes and tofu, and diced it all into really chunky chunks. I threw them all into a soup pot, fried them for a few minutes in some oil, then added the stock, vegemite, bay leaves and some freshly ground pepper to the saucepan. It pretty much cooked itself: I just brought it to the boil then simmered on low, covered, until tender. For me this was a bit under the 45 minutes recommended. Finally I stirred in the flour/water paste to thicken, then managed to burn my tongue on it after not adequately fighting my impatience to tuck in.
Ingredients
1 brown onion
2 sticks celery
2 small carrots
250 g swiss brown mushrooms
500 g potatoes
300 g smoked tofu
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups vegetable stock
(I used Massel veg 'chicken')
2 teaspoons vegemite
2 bay leaves
Cracked pepper to taste
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons plain flour
Method
Chop the onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes and tofu into bite sized chunks. Fry the vegetables and tofu in oil for a few minutes over medium heat. Add the stock, vegemite and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes. Combine the flour with the water and make into a paste in a separate cup. Stir this into the stew to thicken. Season to taste and serve with crusty bread or rice.
