White Bean & Tempeh Pot Pie Stew

1 yellow onion, finely diced (6 oz.)

5 crimini mushrooms, diced (4 oz.)

2 carrots, finely diced (4 oz.)

3 celery stalks, finely diced (4 oz.)

3 large garlic cloves, minced

3 cups low-sodium vegetable OR vegan chicken broth, divided

1 cup unsweetened, non-dairy milk OR water

1½ cups cooked white beans (15oz. can, drained), divided

½ cup cashews (2 oz.)

1½ tablespoons stoneground mustard, no salt added

1½ tablespoons poultry seasoning (optional)

½ tablespoon dried thyme (OR 1½ tablespoons minced fresh thyme)

1 teaspoon white/yellow miso (optional)

¾ teaspoon finely ground black pepper

large pinch of turmeric

8 oz. tempeh, thinly sliced

1 cup frozen peas, thawed (5 oz.)

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Add the onion, mushrooms, carrots, and celery to a medium pot over medium heat. Cover and dry-sauté for a couple minutes and then add the minced garlic. Sauté for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

2. Add the tempeh and 2 cups broth to the pot. Cover and bring to a simmer.

3. As the tempeh cooks, fill the blender with the non-dairy milk, just ½ cup of the white beans, cashews, mustard, poultry seasoning, thyme, miso, fine black pepper, and turmeric. Blend until creamy and stir it into the soup pot. Add the remaining broth to the blender. Quickly blend to work in the cream left on the sides of the blender and stir it into the soup pot.

4. Turn the heat to low and continue cooking for 10 minutes to allow the stew to thicken and the flavors to blend.

5. Add the remaining white beans and green peas to the pot. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve promptly, topping with parsley and freshly ground black pepper.

Serves: 2–4

Chef’s Notes: If you’d like to make this a very low-fat recipe, you can leave out the cashews or substitute them with additional white beans. You can also use water in place of the non-dairy milk to reduce the calorie density. If using a vegan chicken broth, reduce the poultry seasoning by half or just leave it out. You can also leave out the miso, which was added to give more depth and umami when the base is made with vegetable broth.