Stewp is what happens when it’s half-way between a stew and a soup.  It’s a one-pot meal of comfort with whole grain something, bean-based something and tons of vegetable somethings in a savory and flavourful broth of some kind.  There are tons of variations on the theme and this one is the latest to have graced the supper table.  All members of the supper table wanted it again in future so this post is to document it for posterity lest I forget by the next time I be making it!

To give credit where it’s due: I actually started with the recipe for Aash Reshteh from the Persian Mama blog here, and then proceeded to veganize and sort-of-macro the ingredient list to produce something that’s pretty much nothing like the original, but nonethless incredibly tasty.  If you’ve never been to her blog, it’s got some pretty amazing recipes (although if you’re vegan like me, you will have to do some veganizing in order to appreciate them!)

Yield: 4-6 servings

What you need:

• 1 teaspoon virgin sesame oil (NOT toasted), or olive oil (optional)
• 3 small onions, diced small
• 1/2 a rutabaga, diced small, 1-1/2 cups
• 2 cups cauliflower florets, small florets that fit in a teaspoon
• 3 large scallions, finely sliced, 3 ounces
• a large handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely sliced
• the leaves from a sprig of fresh mint, finely sliced
• the leaves from a sprig of fresh lemon thyme (or regular thyme)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves, crushed
• 1 clove garlic cut into 4 pieces
• 1/2 cup bulgur (or rice to make gluten-free)
• 6 cups unsalted vegetable stock or water, or a combination of the two
• 2 cups cooked black or white chickpeas
• sea salt
• 3 ounces whole spelt or whole wheat linguini, broken into 2” or 3” lengths (or gluten-free pasta if desired or required)
• freshly ground black pepper (optional)
• chopped fresh parsley to garnish (optional)

What you do:

1. Heat a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.  When hot, add the oil (if using) and the onions.  Sauté or dry-sauté the onions until translucent, lowering the heat if necessary to avoid browning.
2. Add the diced rutabaga to the pot.  Keep sautéing until the rutabaga has brightened in colour, 6-8 minutes.
3. Add the cauliflower to the pot.  Keep sautéing until the cauliflower looses its raw look and starts to appear cooked.  Feel free to brown the veggies a bit at this point, splashing with stock or water as needed to avoid sticking and to bring up the caramelization from the bottom of the pot.  In total, you should be at about 20-30 minutes of cooking time at this point.
4. Add the scallions, parsley, garlic, tarragon, mint and thyme to the pot.  Stir to mix well and keep sautéing until the scallions go soft.                                                         
5. Add the bulgur and toss to mix it well throughout the vegetables and fresh herbs.
6. Add the broth or water and chickpeas to the pot along with salt to desired level.
7. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, covered, until the bulgur is cooked and the flavours have married, about 15-20 minutes.
8. Uncover, taste, adjust the spices and salt as desired.  Add the pasta pieces and cover, continuing to simmer until the pasta is tender.
9. Serve, with freshly ground black pepper and chopped parsley if desired.