This hearty, vegetarian White Bean Stew combines hearty comfort food with bright spring flavors.
Thank you to Aneto Natural Broths for sponsoring this post and providing the broth used in this recipe.
Spring Vegetable and White Bean Stew
March is such a weird month from a culinary perspective. As the sun starts to shine and the weather slowly, slowly creeps toward spring, I start to crave lighter, brighter fare. But then we’re suddenly hit with a freak snowstorm or days of dreary drizzle and I find myself back to craving heavier dishes. This Spring Vegetable and White Bean Stew combines the best of both worlds and it is my most favorite thing to eat right now.
Dried white beans form the foundation for this stew. And yes, you do have to soak them overnight, but I promise you its worth that little bit of pre-planning. Once you’re ready to cook, you dump your beans into a pot, cover them with Aneto vegetable broth plus dried mushrooms and lots of aromatics and herbs, bring the whole thing to a boil then stick the pot in the oven for an hour.
The result is a big ole pot, of creamy, dreamy flavorful beans swimming in the most delicious, thick, incredible broth ever. From there, you add asparagus and peas and return the pot to the stovetop for a quick simmer. Finally, you serve the whole thing topped with dollops of a fresh herb pesto that transforms this stew from hearty winter fare to an explosion of springtime goodness.
How to Cook Dry Beans
As I said before, this recipe calls for dry beans and you really, really can’t swap in canned beans and expect the same results. Luckily, other than dumping your bag of dried beans into a bowl and pouring water over them, you really don’t have to do much more work here. Outside of the bean soaking time this recipe can still be ready in shortly over an hours time and boy is it worth it.
Flavor Factor
When I started developing this recipe, I was intentionally looking to make it vegetarian, but that posed a bit of a problem because bacon and ham are my typical go-to ingredients for building big flavor with dried beans. I did quite a bit of research looking for alternatives — including this vegan version from Bon Appetit, which became my main source of inspiration. Eventually, I settled on a few key techniques to build flavor without meat. Starting with Aneto Natural Vegetable Broth was a natural way to infuse flavor from the get-go. Next, I added aromatics like onion, celery and a whole head of garlic. Dried shiitake mushrooms and a parmesan cheese rind added tons of rich umami flavor. Braising the mixture in the oven allowed them to slowly and completely absorb all of those flavors while achieving a creamy texture and creating a rich, unctuous broth.
Fresh and Bright
When they come out of the oven, the beans are rich and comforting and already good enough to eat straight away as a cozy, hearty winter meal. But this is a Spring Vegetable and White Bean Stew. A few additions are needed to build out the bright, fresh flavors we all crave this time of year. Tossing spring peas and asparagus rounds in for a quick simmer checks all the traditional spring boxes. And then there’s that pesto: a yummy blend of fresh parsley, basil, dill, lemon zest, garlic and olive oil. One dollop of this adds a pop of color and an explosion of flavor that is unmistakably springy. We garnished ours with sliced radishes and served it with hearty sourdough toast for dunking.
Even the kiddos like this — I scoop theirs out right after adding the peas but before adding the asparagus (and avoid most of the bigger mushroom pieces), but with those couple of tweaks they really like this one. It is bowl-licking good — so much so I’ve made two gigantic batches in two weeks.
Other great spring soups:
- Super Green Spinach Broccoli Soup
- Guinness Beef Stew
- Spring Pea and Basil Soup
- Slow Cooker Carrot Ginger Soup
If you’re a soup and stew lover like I am, head over to my Instagram page. I’m hosting a Soup Essentials Giveaway — one lucky winner will receive three cases of Aneto Natural Broth PLUS a gorgeous Enameled Cast Iron Casserole and four stoneware bowls from Denby Pottery.
Print
Spring Vegetable and White Bean Stew
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
- Category: Soups and stews
- Method: Braising
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Description
This hearty, vegetarian White Bean Stew combines hearty comfort food with bright spring flavors.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dried white beans (such as navy beans), soaked overnight, drained
- 4 cups best quality vegetable broth such as Aneto Natural Vegetable Broth
- 1 onion, trimmed, peeled, halved through core
- 3 ribs celery, trimmed, halved
- 1 oz. dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 head of garlic, halved
- 1 bay leaf
- 2” piece of parmesan cheese rind
- 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more
- ¾ cup parsley leaves with tender stems
- ¾ cup basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill leaves
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- bunch medium-size asparagus, woody stems removed and discarded, tips trimmed and reserved and tender stems sliced into 1/4 inch thick coins
- 1 10-oz. bag frozen peas, thawed
- Freshly ground pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste
- Garnishes: thinly sliced radishes, lemon wedges, grated parmesan cheese, toasted sourdough bread
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place white beans in a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottom pot with a lid. Add vegetable broth, 4 cups of water, onion, celery, mushrooms, garlic head, bay leaf and parmesan cheese rind. Add one tablespoon of salt. Place pot on stovetop over high heat and bring to a simmer. Cover pot with lid and transfer to oven.
- Bake beans in the oven until they are creamy and tender but still in tact, about 1 hour. Remove pot from the oven and use tongs to discard the onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf and parmesan rind. Leave pot on stovetop until shortly before serving time.
- Meanwhile, make the pesto: combine parsley leaves, basil, dill, lemon zest, garlic clove and 1 teaspoon of salt in a food processor. Turn on food processor and slowly drizzle olive oil into the mixture in a stream. Pulse until herbs are evenly chopped and combined.
- Just before serving, return beans to a simmer on the stovetop over medium heat. Add peas and asparagus and cook until they are bright green and just barely tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste generously with salt, freshly ground pepper and red pepper flakes (if desired).
- Serve stew garnished with a dollop of pesto, radish slices, lemon juice, parmesan cheese and toasted sourdough bread, as desired.
Keywords: Spring, Stew, Soup, White Beans, Vegetarian
