Greek Style Tomato & Bean Stew

Everyone has their own successful weight loss formula. For me it’s taking soups for dinner, sandwich and milk for lunch combined with regular exercise. When I switched to carb meals for dinner it started showing up in the scale. So with much determination I’m trying to take more soups / stews for dinner.

Idea for this soup is adapted from one of my favorite Spanish Vegetarian food blog. But I’ve added / subtracted some ingredients and modified the method to suite our taste preferences. Spanish food blogger Natalie also shares lovely pictures of country side surrounding she lives in. I’m so much in love with that type of country side living.

This stew is packed with legumes that are rich in nutrition, including protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals. Legumes are being used to lower cholesterol levels, improve blood glucose control in diabetics, and reduce the risk of many cancers. Legumes contain many important nutrients and phytochemicals, and when combined with grains, they form a complete protein.

Print recipe here
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

50g Thai red rice (You may replace with small pasta or quinoa)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium red onion diced

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 large tomato diced

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 vegetable soup cube

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp chili flakes

200g cabbage, shredded

800ml water
100g boiled kidney beans

100g boiled black beans or preferred legume

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

6 cubes of frozen spinach or handful of fresh spinach , chopped

For Garnishing

Coriander leaves, diced

Feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

Pitted black olives (optional)

Method

Wash rice and add to the rice cooker with 3 times water i.e. for 1 cup of rice add 3 cups of water. It takes around 30-40 minutes to cook this rice. Once the rice is cooked add 1/2 cup of water to the rice cooker, switch off, and leave it to cool down with the lid. Adding water after rice is cooked helps rice not to stick to the rice cooker; else it’s a common problem wherein a layer of cooked rice sticks to the rice cooker. After around 15 minutes, stir the rice using a wooden spoon. Leave it aside.

Heat oil in a large pan, sauté onion for few minutes till it’s translucent. Add garlic sauté till it becomes aromatic, and add chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and soup cube. After few minutes add dried spices such as fennel seeds, coriander powder and chili flakes. Stir well for few minutes.

Add cabbage and stir for around 5 minutes till cabbage is cooked. Add water, mix well, close the lid let it cook for 5 more minutes.

When soup starts to simmer, add boiled kidney beans and black beans and stir well. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add frozen spinach and cooked rice to the soup and mix well.

Ladle stew into soup bowls, sprinkle chopped coriander leaves.