I made this for our first day of spring blizzard. Because in New England, we have a first day of spring blizzard, right? Basically, it’s a bunch of what I’d consider staple ingredients that I nearly always have in the house, spiced up with a small amount of spicy sausage I had leftover and froze.
So it’s a veg-forward, but not vegetarian, dish. If you wanted to make it vegan, leave out the sausage, make sure you use vegetable broth, and up the spices by a good bit (add some hot sauce, if that’s your thing).
This was a great soup/stew for that week where it was a little cold in the mornings and merely chilly at noon. It’s warm and warming, but it is also rather light. Serve with or without rice.
- 1.5-2 cups onion, chopped (2 smaller onions)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1+ teaspoon olive oil
- 2 cups sweet potatoes, cubed (one large)
- 2 teaspoons garlic, chopped
- 2 cups celery, chopped
- 8 ounces (1 pkg) mushrooms, broken into pieces
- 3.5-4 cups soup stock vegetable or chicken, your preference
- 1 1/4 teaspoons seafood seasoning I used Penzey's Chesapeake Bay
- 15 ounces navy beans, cooked (drained and rinsed if canned)
- 1/2+ cup andouille sausage, chopped (make sure this is safe for you), also, optional if you want to make it vegan
- In a large stock pot over medium heat, add the onion, olive oil, and salt, stirring well. You may need more olive oil if you are using a larger pot than I did, or one with a "stickier" surface.
- When the onion begins to brown, add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed. Between each addition, pause to stir well. When adding the garlic, give it an extra minute -- add more when you can smell the garlic cooking.
- When all of your ingredients have been added, cover the pot and let it come to a boil. Texture-wise, letting it come to a boil from medium heat seems to turn out a less mushy stew than turning the heat up to high.
- Once you've reached boiling, turn the heat down to low (but still simmering) and remove the lid. Cook 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato is soft.
- This is really good served over rice, which will stretch the number of servings, but is also great alone.
If you plan to leave out the sausage for a vegan version, add more of the seafood seasoning and a pinch of cayenne or a few dashes of hot sauce to get the warming heat of the spicy sausage. It's there for flavor, not protein.