Dad’s Favorite Vegetarian Italian Stew

Our Dad’s Favorite Vegetarian Italian Stew is loaded with Swiss Chard, fresh chopped tomatoes, and yellow potatoes, then it’s gently simmered in a delicious broth made with fresh herbs and vegetable stock.  A simple stew, down to earth recipe which showcases good quality ingredients. Swiss Chard is so sweet and tasty in this stew, you’ll want to eat it for days!  So, you may want to make extra!

Vegetarian Italian Stew

We grew up eating Swiss chard our entire lives.  This vegetable is no stranger to us and is still today the mostly popular among the Mediterranean countries, and surprisingly, not too many people are familiar with this healthy “green.”

Swiss chard is definitely among the power-food vegetables, ranking high on the top of the scale, containing polyphenol antioxidants as much as broccoli, spinach, and kale.

Our mom often made our Dad’s Favorite Vegetarian Stew especially during cool evenings and when they wanted a meatless meal. And, it consists of 3 main vegetables: Swiss chard, potatoes, and tomato.

The vegetarian Italian stew takes about 30 minutes to make and ready to serve.  It’s pure comfort food for dad, and for us as well.  

And, this is a wonderful recipe for you to try!

What is Swiss Chard?

Swiss chard is a tall leafy green vegetable with long and thick stalks that comes in white or red and has wide fan-like green leaves.  The white stems are crunchy and sweet after you cook them for a few minutes, but the red stalks tend to be tough and need more cooking time.

We prefer to use only the white stems in the stew and discard the red ones.

 

Swiss chard is rich in vitamins K, A and C and low in calories, and with its good supply of calcium and magnesium, along with vitamin K, it provides excellent bone support and health.  Need I say more?  Swiss chard has so many benefits, we should all be eating more of this healthy “green.”

How to Make our Vegetarian Italian Stew?

If you have never made a stew before- you’re in for a real treat! This is so easy, you’ll want to make this Vegetarian Italian Stew over and over again. But first, let’s go over our easy to follow steps, so you’ll understand before you start.

1. First, grab a 2 to the 3-Quart saucepot, and heat olive oil, on moderate heat. Add the garlic and onions and sauté for about 5 minutes.  

2. Add chopped potatoes, tomato, salt, dried oregano, fresh basil, and crushed red pepper.  Lower the heat and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, occasionally stirring.

3. Add broth, and cover with a lid.  Simmer the stew for an additional 10 minutes, until potatoes are done, al-dente, or when a fork can easily slide into the potatoes.

4. In the meantime, take the Swiss chard, remove and chop only white stalks from the bottom about 1/2 -inch thick.  Discard red stalks.  Chop the greens, starting at the top, then across, cutting about 2-inch apart sections.  Slice away and discard any large stems/stalks in the center of the leaves as well, to shorten the cooking time (you mostly want the greens for this stew).

5. Submerge the chopped chard into a bowl of cold water and rinse the chard 2 to 3 times, depending on how much soil you may find.

6. Place the chard into a colander to drain slightly.  No need spin to remove water entirely.

7. Add wet Swiss chard to the stew simmering on the stove top and cover. Continue to simmer until chard has wilted, about  5 minutes.  Stir once or twice to blend.  Remove from heat and let it rest for a few minutes to cool down a bit.

8. Uncover, and taste.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle stew into individual bowls.  Serve with grated Parmesan cheese at the table.

Yields: 2 to 4 servings

 

If you make our dad’s favorite vegetarian Italian stew, let us know and leave a comment with a star rating!  We’d love to hear from you.  Sharing your insights and experiences helps everyone who reads them, and helps us too!   

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Happy Cooking  🙂