Mexican Stew

Mexican Stew Recipes

A Mexican stew is a nice choice if you want to make a vegan entree and the following recipe combines different kinds of legumes and pulses with savory spices, tomatoes, onions, and garlic. This is a very healthy recipe and using beans makes it just as satisfying and filling as a meat, poultry or fish based entree.

Serving only side dishes to a vegetarian or vegan is not exciting for them, but making something delicious like a stew will prove that your cooking abilities are excellent, even when cooking for somebody who does not eat fish or animal by-products. A good cook is able to cook for anyone.

This dish is suitable for meat-eaters too and you can serve it as a side dish alongside meat, poultry or fish or even as a stew in its own right, perhaps with some homemade cornbread for soaking up the wonderful sauce. You can serve stew at any time of the year, although it is especially warming and tasty in the fall and winter months.

You can use canned pulses if you do not have time to soak dried ones. Also, feel free to switch the pinto beans, chickpeas, or turtle beans for red kidney or butter beans or any other kind. Diced bell pepper and zucchini are also nice in this dish and you can saute these vegetables at the same time as the garlic and onion if you want to use them. This Mexican food recipe will serve six people.

What You Need:

• 7 oz dried black turtle beans
• 7 oz dried chickpeas
• 7 oz dried pinto beans
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried cumin
• 1 diced onion
• 4 crushed cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 small can corn kernels
• 1 lb passata (sieved tomatoes)
• Cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt, to taste

How To Make It:

Rinse the beans and pick out any imperfect ones. Cover them with water and let them soak overnight. Drain them and put them in a pot. Cover them with water and simmer them for an hour or until they are tender. You might need more water during this time.

Heat the oil in a skillet over a moderately high heat and saute the garlic and onion until the onion is transparent. Season the mixture with cumin and add it to the bean mixture.

Stir in the passata and simmer for twenty minutes. Stir in the corn kernels and cinnamon and cook for fifteen minutes. Season to taste with cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt and serve hot.