Have you read our previous blog post? Read it and Jessica Kotlowitz aka The Green Dietitian will inspire you to cook up a storm as she shares some of her favourite meal prep meals. The Mediterranean Stew by The Green Dietitian with quinoa was one of them. We just had to share the recipe, for you to recreate it!
The nutritious stew packs a variety of vegetables and boasts butter beans for an essential serving of plant-based protein. It also bursts with flavour from the combination of herbs, spices and pickled capers.
What are capers?
A caper is not a vegetable or a fruit. A caper is in fact a flower bud, usually consumed pickled or salted. It is a popular garnish or seasoning in Mediterranean cuisine.
What is quinoa?
Quinoa is a gluten-free seed, commonly consumed as a whole-grain. It definitely became more popular with the rise of gluten-free and low-carb trends, but at Vegan Meal Prep Sunday, we like it as a tasty starch variant to keep things interesting.
Is this meal nutritionally well-balanced?
This meal includes an abundance veggies. It also includes beans, a nutritious plant-based source of protein. Not forgetting the carbohydrates, served predominantly in the form of quinoa, and healthy fats from the olive oil. Sounds like a pretty well-balanced meal, wouldn’t you say?
Storage recommendation
Vegan meals tend to last much better throughout the week than meals with dairy or meat, but regardless, I recommend consuming your vegan meal prep meals within four days from preparing them. This ensures that the meal is still at its most desirable quality – both nutritionally and taste-wise! If you won’t be eating your meals in the next four days, this meal is freezer friendly too!
Related post: How Long Does Vegan Meal Prep Last? + Meal Prep Storage Tips
Serving suggestions
Of course, if you don’t have quinoa in your pantry or are simply not into it, you can serve this stew with any grain of your choice. Try it with couscous or rice!
Likewise, butter beans can easily be swapped for any beans of your choice.
This recipe makes enough stew and quinoa to make three moderate meals. It makes a large amount of stew, so you have the option to separate a portion to serve with your breakfast chickpea pancakes. I highly recommend doing this, because it easily turns three meals into six.
Mediterranean Butter Bean Stew with Quinoa by The Green Dietitian
Ingredients
- 1 aubergine diced in bite-sized pieces
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 red onion finely diced
- salt iodised table
- 2 garlic cloves pressed
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- 1 red bell pepper diced in bite-sized pieces
- 250 g mushrooms sliced
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 can butter beans drained and rinsed
- 60 g pickled capers from a jar, drained
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 3/4 cup quinoa
- 3/4 cup vegetable stock or broth hot
Instructions
- Add the diced aubergine to a colander. Generously sprinkle the aubergine with salt and set it aside. Allow it to rest for 30 mins, before rinsing the salt off the aubergine.
- Heat your olive oil in a pot on medium high heat. Sauté the onion and aubergine until the onion is translucent and slightly browned, for about 8 mins. Add the garlic and saute until the raw smell of garlic has disappeared. Add the herbs and spices and stir constantly for about 1 min. Add the rest of the bell pepper and mushrooms and saute until they have slightly softened.
- Deglaze the pot with the vegetable stock and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring the stew to a boil and thereafter lower the heat and allow the stew to simmer for about 20 mins.
- In the meantime, start preparing the quinoa, by rinsing the quinoa until the water runs clear, in a colander. Add the hot vegetable broth to the quinoa and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to the lowest setting. Cover and allow the quinoa to cook until all the liquid is fully absorbed, which should take approximately 6 – 9 minutes. Remove the quinoa from the heat and allow it to cool for 20 – 30 mins with the lid on.
Nutrition
Don’t forget to share your meals with me and other fellow VMPS preppers by tagging your posts with #veganmealprepsunday. I’d love to see how your meals turned out!
