Tofu and Root Vegetable Stew

Protein packed and rich with root veggies to make us feel big and strong, this is a main course made for power.

Makes 4-5 Servings

Ingredient List:

• 1 pound tofu, cut into large cubes, wrapped in kitchen towel to dry
• 2 yellow onions, thick wedges
• 2 carrots, large irregular chunks
• 2 parsnips, large irregular chunks
• 2 cups 1-inch cubes winter squash
• Sea salt
• 1/4 cup mirin or white wine
• spring or filtered water
• 2 small handfuls green beans, tips trimmed, left whole
• Shoyu
• 1-2 tablespoons kuzu or arrowroot
• small handful fresh parsley, finely minced, for garnish

Step By Step Instructions:

In a heavy pot, layer the onion, carrot and parsnips. Add a generous pinch of salt and about a cup of water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and cook until the parsnips are just tender, not soft. Add squash, mirin, more water, if needed and another generous pinch of salt.

Cover and cook until squash is tender. Add the tofu cubes, but do not stir. Add green beans, season to taste with shoyu, cover and cook until the green beans are bright green and tender. Dissolve kuzu in a small amount of cold water, stir in and continue to stir gently until the kuzu thickens and clears, forming a shiny glaze over the stew. (The amount of kuzu needed will depend on the amount of liquid left in the stew–more liquid, more kuzu; less liquid, less kuzu.)

If cooking in a clay pot, the stew can go from stove top to table. Simply stir in some parsley. If cooked in a heavy pot, transfer stew to a serving bowl and garnish with parsley. Makes 5-6 servings.

COOK’S TIP: You may pan fry the tofu before adding it to the dish, but look at the rest of your menu to be sure you don’t have too much oil and too many heavy dishes. You may also sauté the onions before layering in the rest of the veggies to get some richness in the dish.