Slow cooker winter vegetable & farro stew
4
Points®
Total Time
4 hr 30 min
Prep
30 min
Cook
4 hr
Serves
6
Difficulty
Easy
This vegetarian stew cooks relatively quickly in the slow cooker and yields six large and hearty bowls full of delicious tender winter vegetables and filling grains. The initial saute of the mushrooms and fennel bring out a roasted mushroom flavor and allow the fennel to develop a wonderful sweetness that mellows its natural licorice flavor. The parsley mixture that tops each serving adds a fresh bite. The raw garlic is a source of spicy heat that adds a zing to each spoonful. Using shaved Parmesan cheese makes the presentation very pretty but shredded or grated Parmesan will work equally as well. Feel free to mix up the vegetables here, using any kind of winter squash and mushrooms you like.
Ingredients
Garlic
6 clove(s), chopped, divided
Fresh parsley
½ cup(s), flat leaf variety, coarsely chopped
Table salt
½ tsp, or to taste, divided
Black pepper
¼ tsp, or to taste, divided
Olive oil
2 Tbsp
Fennel seeds
2 tsp
Uncooked fennel bulb
1 item(s), chopped
Uncooked onion
1 medium, yellow, chopped
Cremini mushroom
10 oz, button or shiitake, cut into bite-size pieces
Uncooked kabocha squash
2 pound(s), or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-in pieces (4 c)
Canned tomatoes
28 oz, whole San Marzano variety, crushed
Low sodium vegetable broth
4 cup(s)
Uncooked farro
¾ cup(s), rinsed
Dry lentils
¾ cup(s), black, green or brown variety, rinsed
Parmesan cheese
1 oz, shaved