Frugal, filling, and fabulously delicious, my simple vegan Irish stew is really easy to make with just a handful of staple ingredients, and is just the thing to warm you up on chilly autumn evenings!
Heat the oil in a large pan (e.g. a stock pot), and gently fry the onion, leeks, celery, thyme, bay, and carrot for 10 mins.
Add the rest of the ingredients, except the parsley, stir well, cover the pan, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer for around 25 minutes, until the carrots and potatoes are tender.
Stir in the parsley, and serve immediately.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to three months.
To cook in a slow cooker: follow step 1 above, add the rest of the ingredients, as per step 2, then cook on low for 10 hours or high for 5. Follow step 3.
Notes
It's more usual to use floury potatoes for Irish stew but I prefer waxy ones as they don't break up when cooked over a long period of time, which makes them ideal in the slow cooker. By all means though, use whichever ones you prefer. I don't peel my potatoes but if you want to, go ahead!
Instead of soy chunks or curls, use 300g cooked seitan, or 4 sausages
Nutritional data assumes that dried soya chunks are being used.