Vegan Mushroom Stew is a hearty stew that will warm you through, especially on an unexpectedly chilly day! Bonus: it's full of veggies, and you won't miss the meat.
In a 5 quart heavy pot or Dutch oven, add the olive oil and heat over medium for 1 minute. Add carrot, celery, and onion, and a dash of salt. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add garlic, Brussels sprouts, and mushrooms, and saute another 5 minutes. Add bouillon and tomato paste, and stir. Add wine, and stir, scraping bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add mushroom broth and thyme sprigs, cover, and simmer over medium for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove lid, and add 2 cups water and potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are cooked through, covered, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the woody stems of the thyme sprigs.
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and whisk to combine into a slurry. Pour into the stew and stir well to combine. Cook over medium for another 1-2 minutes until the stew thickens. Add frozen peas, and stir. Add salt to taste, and serve.
This stew will surely taste great if you change the proportions of the vegetables. Like carrots? Add more! Want more mushrooms? That's fine, too! You can even play around with a variety of mushrooms, maybe using button, shiitake, and portobellos. You can omit Brussels sprouts if you don't have them, or could replace them with something else (butternut squash? sweet potatoes? really, anything goes).
If you like a thicker stew, you can add more cornstarch/water slurry; just mix it up in a 1:1 ratio, and slowly add it in, stirring and cooking through, to reach your desired consistency.
Note: calorie information is approximate