Without doubt, this was one of the most unique stews I've ever made! Modified from an original recipe of Bryant Terry from the Afro-Vegan cook book, it was hearty, felt like a healthy indulgence, and was even better on day two! My only regret, not doubling the recipe. So, if you enjoy dumplings and a rich tomato broth full of winter vegetables, this may just be the perfect recipe for you!
As mentioned previously, this recipe is sourced from Bryant Terry’s Afro-Vegan cookbook, which I cannot recommend highly enough. He even pairs songs with the recipe, so you can have a full sensory experience.
Support Bryant Terry by getting this incredible recipe book here!
The only modifications I made were due to either missing ingredients (parsnips) & substituting in my favorite dumpling recipe. All recipe changes are listed below. Happy cooking!
Ingredients
Stew
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 cup finely diced yellow onions
1 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I used powder & was pleased with the outcome!)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 cups peeled and finely diced yellow potato (I didn’t peel!)
1/2 cup peeled and finely diced carrot (didn’t peel here either!)
1/2 cup peeled and diced parsnip (couldn’t find parsnip and added more potato & carrot instead)
2 cups peeled & diced sweet potato
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste
5 cups vegetable stock
Freshly ground white pepper (which I discovered I don’t enjoy)
1/4 cup packed chopped flat-leaf parsley
Dumplings
*For this part of the recipe I veered significantly from Bryant Terry’s instructions. Years ago, I stumbled upon what I consider to be dumpling perfection, and modified that recipe to include cornmeal instead. If you would like Bryant’s version, check out p.52 of his book Afro-Vegan!
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 cup whole milk (I use extra creamy oat milk)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (Miyoko’s is particularly fantastic)
Instructions
To make the stew, warm the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, paprika, cayenne, and salt and saute until the onions are soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, potato, carrot, parsnip (if you could find one!), and sweet potato and saute until the vegetables begin to soften, 5 to 7 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium low.
Put the peanut butter, tomato paste, and 2 cups of the stock in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into the saucepan and stir in the remaining 3 cups stock. Bring to a simmer, cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the dumplings. *Again, veering into a recipe for dumplings from Smitten Kitchen and not Bryant Terry. Stir the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together. Warm the milk and butter until just warm (do not over-heat), about 1 minute. Stir the warmed milk mixture into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until incorporated and smooth.
In the last fifteen minutes the stew is cooking, drop golf ball size portions of the dumpling batter across the surface of the stew using a spoon (or two spoons to keep your hands clean!) keeping 1/4 inch between them. Check one dumpling to ensure it’s cooked all the way through before turning off the stove.
Season the stew with salt and white pepper to taste. Serve each bowl of stew with a few dumplings on top. Garnish with the parsley.