It’s a snowy, cold week here in Denver, which means I’m craving warming comfort foods like this root vegetable stew. It’s packed with delicious, healthy veggies, but also a wonderfully hearty soup, which is what I wish for on a chilly day.
It’s no surprise that one of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to eat healthier, but whenever I hear this from people I try to convince them to change their resolution and COOK MORE. When you’re comfortable in your kitchen and simply spend more time preparing your food, it’s healthier.
This stew, for example, requires some prep work. There’s some serious peeling and chopping involved, but once you’ve nailed it, it’s an easy one-pot meal.
What is a ribollita stew?
I made this root vegetable stew in the style of a classic ribollita, an old-fashioned Italian stew that uses leftover bread to thicken the stew. You can use any leftover bread to tie up the stew, or buy a nice loaf from your local bakery. Sometimes you can even get a few days old bread for a good price, which is perfectly fine for this stew.
The vegetable preparation
As with many recipes, the hardest part of this recipe is chopping and peeling all of the veggies: onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, and beets. If you’re trying to make this stew on a weekday, I recommend making this part ahead of time. You could chop this stuff the night before and have it ready.
Just try to get everything about the same size. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
Heat a large, sturdy saucepan (like a Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. To make the last part of this recipe easier, it helps if your pot is oven (broiler) safe.
When the oil is hot, add all the chopped veggies and cook until tender (5-6 minutes). Season them with kosher salt and pepper, of course.
Next, add the tomato paste and garlic and stir into the veggies for 30 seconds. Then add the diced tomatoes and the vegetable broth.
Now two flavor additives: a bay leaf and a parmesan rind! You’ll need quite a bit of Parmesan for the cheese sandwich toppings for this stew, but if you don’t have Parmesan rind you can just leave it out. You can also omit the parmesan rind if you want to make a vegan soup out of it.
Bring this mixture to a simmer. It’ll look good!
Finishing the root vegetable stew
Now for the final pieces: kale, kidney beans, and bread. You can use any bread to thicken this stew, but a good firm bread like sourdough is best.
Stirring in these ingredients gives the stew extra texture and really makes it feel like a complete meal. It’s much more than a soup appetizer!
The cheese toasts
There is some bread in the ribollita that helps thicken it, but I like to add that to the stew for an extra touch as well.
Simply cut a few slices of savory bread and top them with a good amount of grated parmesan (maybe 2 tablespoons each).
Then preheat the grill in your oven and toss the slices of bread into the finished root vegetable stew.
Place under the grill for 1-2 minutes until bread is crispy and cheese is browned.
Then you can serve it!
If you’re unsure if your pot is grill-safe, don’t risk it. You can easily make the cheese sandwich toppers on a sheet pan and serve them with the root vegetable stew! The beauty of grilling them in the stew is 1) fewer dishes and 2) the bread soaks up some of the stew but ends up crispy on top!
If you’re looking for a great way to start a healthy year, try cooking more and start with this great Root Vegetable Stew!
My One Pot Root Vegetable Stew Recipe
Root Vegetable Stew
This hearty winter stew is packed with root vegetables like parsnips and golden beets, and is thickened with whatever bread you have on hand.
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion rolled
- 2 medium carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 celery sticks chopped
- 2 medium golden turnips peeled and chopped
- 1 medium parsnips peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 28 ounces. can diced tomatoes
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 2 cups chopped kale
- 1 15 oz. Can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups stale bread
- parmesan rind opt.
- 1 Bay leaf
- salt and pepper
Bread topper with cheese:
- 4 slices strong bread
- ½ Cup grated parmesan cheese
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Cut all the vegetables (onions, carrots, celery, beetroot and parsnips) so that they are about the same size. You don’t have to be perfect.
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In a large ovenproof saucepan, such as a Dutch oven, add olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables and cook until tender, 5-6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
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Add the garlic and tomato paste to the vegetables and cook for 30 seconds while stirring the paste into the vegetables. Then add the diced tomatoes and vegetable broth. Bring the stew to a simmer and turn the heat to low.
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Add chopped kale, bread, drained beans, Parmesan rind, and bay leaf. Stir everything together, turn the heat down to low, cover the stew and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
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Remove the bay leaf and rind and season the stew with salt and pepper to taste.
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For bread topper:
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Preheat the grill in the oven. Cut bread into 1/4 inch slices. Sprinkle each piece with a layer of grated parmesan. Place the cheese bread pieces in the stew and place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, until the bread is crispy and the cheese is melted.
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Serve the stew in large bowls with a cheese sandwich topper in each bowl.
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(NOTE: If your sturdy pot isn’t grill-safe, you can make cheese toppers on a baking sheet and then just serve them in the stew.)
Portion: 1 bowlCalories: 431kcalCarbohydrates: 62GProtein: fifteenGFat: 14GSaturated Fatty Acids: 3GPolyunsaturated fat: 3GMonounsaturated fatty acids: 6GTrans fats: 0.03GCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 1312mgPotassium: 543mgFiber: 8thGSugar: 12GVitamin A: 6095ieVitamin C: 30mgCalcium: 281mgIron: 5mg
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