pages

Oct 10, 2020

vegan beef and barley stew

Overview

Time: 6 to 8 hours slow cooker or 30 minutes high pressure cooker
Dishes: Instant Pot or slow cooker and medium pot 


Hello, hello Dear Readers!

Whenever I see a photo of a beef stew, the beef gets lost in my mind, but the stew itself looks really great, and I always wind up wanting to make it vegan. This is an easy meatless, vegetarian and vegan version for the slow cooker, but my mini Instant Pot does not seem to be getting hot enough during slow cooking, which is odd, but if you find the barley not cooked by hour 6 or so, pressure cook it for 15 minutes and it'll be just fine. I suspect the regular Instant Pot (and, of course a typical slow cooker) would work just fine. 

I used hull-less barley in this dish, but since pearled barley is faster to cook and more popular, I recommend that. I used Beef Not! by Dixie Foods (a textured soy protein which I like a lot) but you can use Gardein or even substitute green beans or kidney beans. The flavor is in the broth so you can get away with using a different protein. 

Surprisingly, my son-in-law loved this dish! He, and even my son, went back for seconds. They are a bit on the choosier side and it was nice to see them both really digging this meal. 

I would classify this as an Easy dish, but there are a few more ingredients being used that kick it to Moderate. I tried trimming the ingredients list but the broth really needs the flavors and it is worth it to see your boys devouring barley!

Enjoy!





Speedy Cooking Tips:

  • Heat the pot. Add the vegetables as they are chopped. 
  • Follow recipe otherwise. It is straightforward.
 



Vegan Beef and Barley Stew

Makes 4 servings 

easy/moderate (ingredients list kicks it to moderate)


Slow Cooker Recipe. Pressure cook option possible; high pressure, 30 minutes.  

1. Sautee: Heat a pot or Instant pot over medium heat (Sauté function if using Instant Pot). Add the oil, onion, carrot, garlic and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes. Transfer to a slow cooker, if not using Instant Pot.

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 small onions, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, sliced

5 garlic cloves, sliced

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2. Add the tomato paste, vegan beef option and barley. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes.  

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 1/3 cup Beef Not strips or 1-pound vegan beef (like Gardein or seitan)

1/3 cup pearled barley

3. Add the broth bullion, water, tomato, tamari and wine. Cover and cook on high until the barley is tender 6 to 8 hours.

1 tablespoon Better Than Bullion or equivalent

3 cups hot water

1 (15 ounce) can fire roasted crushed tomato

2 tablespoons tamari

2 tablespoons red wine (optional)

4.Serve: Season with salt and black pepper and sprinkle with parsley.

1/4 cup minced parsley

 




© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.



Pin it!





2 comments:

  1. This looks so lovely, even though is is basically summer here now (though technically not even halfway through spring, Brisbane doesn't really believe in seasons). I often soak my barley before using it because I do sometimes find it takes a bit longer to cook, even with pearled. The Beef Not look a lot like the TVP strips I get from the Asian grocery (or vegan shop, though cheaper at the Asian grocery!), I must say that sort of TVP based beef is my favourite sort. I will often use the TVP chunks rehydrated in some 'beef' stock in stead of seitan in recipes. I love the idea of adding them dry to this stew, and having them rehydrate and soak up all the flavours in the slow cooking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the age of the barley impacts the length of the cook - I've found that to be true with beans, too. I think they dry out even more as they sit around. Good idea to soak it. The TVP chunks do work very well in here. Even browning them seperately wouldn't have given them more flavor, so just chuking them in made more sense. I am so glad you can get these. I always wonder what is available where.

      Delete

Thanks for your comment! I'll check if it's spam and post if it is not. I appreciate your time and effort for commenting! ~ Zsu