Stews With Veggie Boost

Chilly days call for stews. Yet many would forgo this perfect dish despite the fact that it is both warming and nutritious.Why? Because it's usually weighed down by over cooked ,well stewed meat .There is a solution.Let the veggies used shine.It creates a better and healthier version. Mark Bittman of The New York Times Dining section wrote about this in his Flexitarian column yesterday. Although not quite a vegetarian dish , the amount of meat used is greatly reduced. It makes for a better dinner with a fresher , less fattier flavor.Another plus is that semi meatless stews are also less expensive to make.You can also match the amount of meat with beans which are another good source of protein.Also to make up for the flavor think about adding more herbs and spices too.They'll add zing to another usually bland or sometimes tasteless stew.If you still want either a chicken or beefy flavor, then create the base with bouillon cubes and water. Mr. Bittman offers up three good and completely different recipes. There's a gingery chicken stew where the star is - is, what else, Ginger.He uses one chicken thigh per person, really enough for a dinner along with radishes, and golden winter squash for color.There is also lime and soy added,creating enough of a flavor burst that eclipses the lack of any more chicken.Ribollita is another vegetable heavy melange.Traditional ones require prosciutto and you can add it if you want, however try it with cannelloni beans along with kale for both vitamins and proteins.Mr.Bittman throws in a fish stew , but it's not a seafood heavy bouillabaisse.His requires only equal amounts of squid and shrimp with a few anchovy filets thrown in for brine.Yet these aren't the stars though.It's the chickpeas ,spinach and tomato that are the heavy hitters.Olives are also added for more body and flavor. Make a meat light stew for a new take on an old classic.It's a great way of livening up a usually blaNd dish.Let the veggies shine here , and so will the meal.