Vegetable Stew-Lenten Recipe

Ingredients

1 medium Rutabaga

2 Turnips
4 Parsnips
2 carrots
3 stalks of celery
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
salt, pepper, basil, oregano to taste
2 T tomato paste
1 cup frozen peas
1 chopped capsicum (which is bell pepper de-seeded)
1 chopped Courgette (zucchini)

Directions

Since some of these vegetables are often preserved by "waxing" them, they will need to be peeled, with a potato peeler or a paring knife (and the peels can't be saved). They are hard and need to be cubed into spoon sized pieces.

Chop and sauté the onions, celery, capsicum, courgette and garlic in a stewing pot, using enough oil for them to be moist. Add the seasonings to taste. Cover the mixture with water and then add several more cups of water. Bring to a boil and cook on low for 2 hours. Add water, and seasonings as needed. Adding the tomato paste to the stew, after an hour, adds a rich flavor and color.

If a thicker stew is desired, remove some of the broth and let it cool. Slowly add the cooled broth to a bowl with 3-4 tablespoons of flour. Whisk the flour into the liquid and add to the stew, returning the mixture to a near boil, stirring as it thickens.

(This stew does very well overnight in a crock pot.) (It also works wonderfully well as a "pot pie," if cooked for one hour in a stew pot and then poured into a pie pan, with or without a dough bottom, and covered with pie dough. Then bake one more hour in the oven.)