Porotos Granados: Bean & Squash Stew

chilean stew7

I have really been trying to make a concerted effort to prepare at least 2 meatless meals per week. It took 20 years, but my husband is finally on board with it.

It is hard for the body to digest animal protein on a daily basis (sometimes I eat meat or chicken twice a day....lunch and dinner), so I just feel better about my body when I prepare a vegetarian meal.

I promise you, you won't miss the meat in this dish.

This is a traditional Chilean bean stew, known as Porotos Granados, usually made with fresh pumpkin and cranberry beans.

This recipe uses butternut squash and kidney beans instead.
It was excellent, especially with the smokey Spanish paprika oil drizzled in at the end.
Great for a chilly night.



Bean, Corn & Squash Stew: (adapted from Food & Wine)

1 quart water
1 1/2 lb. butternut squash, cut into 1" cubes
4 cups corn kernels (I used a 16oz. bag of frozen corn)
one 19 oz. can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

chili oil:

1/4 cup of good mild olive oil
1 tsp of good Spanish SMOKED paprika (hot or sweet)

1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 green pepper, roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

To make the chili oil, add 1/4 cup olive oil in a small saucepan and add 1 tsp of smoked paprika. Heat on low until fragrant and set aside.



In a heavy large pot, bring the quart of water to a boil and add the corn and cut up squash. Simmer over low heat about 15 minutes until squash is tender. Add the kidney beans at the last minute just to heat.

Transfer 2 cups of the squash corn mixture along w/ some liquid to a blender and puree with the chopped basil.


(Instead of dirtying my blender, I use a hand immersion blender in a large plastic measuring cup).

Add the puree back into the soup pot along with the solids.



In a separate small skillet, saute the onions and peppers in some olive oil about 6 minutes until cooked, add the cumin and oregano in at the last minute of stirring.

Add the peppers and onions to the soup/stew.

To serve, ladle the stew into bowls and add the smoked paprika oil, salt and pepper to taste.



Garnish with fresh basil leaves, if desired!

Enjoy!








Comments

Ciao Chow Linda said…
I need to do more meatless meals too Stacey. This recipe looks really flavorful and hearty.
I love how colorful this soup is! Looks good!
Meseidy said…
This looks great! I have yet to convince my husband that a meatless meal can be just as good as on with meat but we are only on our 2nd year of marriage, so I have 18 years to go I guess. :D But he is usually more open if it is in soup form. There maybe hope yet. Thanks for the recipe.
noble pig said…
This is beauitful and meatless is a benefit. Very nice.
The JR said…
I could go for that, but convincing Hubby would be very hard. He's a meat-a-tarian as I've stated before and just won't eat a lot of variety.
kat said…
Oh, Matt would love this, bookmarking it!
Foodiewife said…
I hear you. I go meatless at least once a week. LOVE immersion blenders! I've never heard of this. It sounds so different, and very flavorful.
PS: After a week of meatless, I had a big fat steak last night. I guess I can't stop the carnivore in me!
Looks and sounds delicious. I never miss meat anyway and am becoming more and more vegan quite by accident. More meatless recipes please. Rosemary
Bob said…
Sounds wicked good. Immersion blenders are the bomb!
BCM said…
This looks great! I need an immersion blender badly now
JLT1055 said…
This Soup Looks Wonderful.I just found your blog a few weeks ago and I really enjoy seeing what you do. You are very creative and talented. I cook for a living and really enjoy seeing people having a passion for cooking at home.Thanks Stacie!
This looks really good Stace, a different combination of flavors I haven't tried together. I love the chili oil drizzle at the end. We eat 2, if not 3 veggie meals a week, we don't miss the meat, and we feel better too.
Dewi said…
That is wonderful soup Stacey. Very comforting.
We try to do the same thing with the meatless meals a few times a week. I think it's a good thing. I'll have to add this to my meatless meals recipes.
The Food Hunter said…
If I could only get my husband to agree to meatless meals.
Dana said…
That is my kind of dinner! Nice and hearty and tons of flavor. See? I will convert you yet! :)
Midge said…
This recipe looked so good, that I made it yesterday - and it was FANTASTIC and so colorful. It was so delicious that I will be making it often this winter. I made it exactly as posted, except I used a quart of chicken broth in place of the water.THANK YOU for this amazing stew!
Lori Lynn said…
Oh, this is a good one too! I'm eating more vegetarian meals now too, you probably can't tell from what I blog about though...
LL