Instant Pot White Bean Stew (Vegan)

Recipe from Rainbow Plant Life

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Make 4 generous servings

This stew is just delish and perfect to serve on a rainy day.  Good enough for company, in our opinion.

Stew:

12 oz. (340 g) dried white beans, such as cannellini or great northern beans, soaked overnight*

3 medium shallots, peeled and diced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 large or 2 small to medium Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and grated (I didn’t bother peeling the potatoes.)

3 cups vegetable broth

1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sweet or hot paprika

Bouquet Garni: 2 bay leaves + a few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley + a few sprigs of thyme, tied tightly together with kitchen twine

1 ½ - 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 (14.5 oz.) can crushed tomatoes

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

Gremolata Topping:

1 large handful of Italian flat-leaf parsley (leaves and stems)

1 large clove garlic, peeled and left whole

1 small lemon

Coarse or flaky sea salt

For Serving: (optional)

Lemon wedges

Extra-virgin olive oil

Crusty whole grain bread, toasted**

Pour the soaked and drained beans into the inner lining of the Instant Pot.  Add the vegetable broth, shallots, garlic, celery, grated potatoes, cumin, paprika, the bouquet garni, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.  Pour the crushed tomatoes and scoop the tomato paste on top of the other ingredients, but do not stir, allowing the tomatoes to sit on top.  (This prevents the tomatoes from the blocking the Instant Pot’s heat sensor and burning!)  Secure the lid and set the pressure release to Sealing. Select Pressure Cook setting at High pressure and set the cook time to 12 minutes.  When the time is up, press Cancel and allow a Natural Release.  While the stew is cooking, prepare the Gremolata Topping.  Roughly chop the parsley.  Using a Microplane, grate the garlic directly over the parsley and zest the lemon on top of this mixture, taking care not to zest the white pith of the lemon underneath the skin.  Mix the garlic and lemon zest into the parsley and chop until everything is finely minced.  Sprinkle with a bit of the coarse salt.  Set aside.  When the pressure has released and the pin has dropped, open the lid.  Taste for seasonings, adding more salt, if needed.  Fish out the bouquet garni and discard. Transfer the stew to bowls and top each bowl with some of the gremolata.  If desired, squeeze a little fresh lemon juice and drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil over the stew.  Serve the whole grain toast.  Store the leftovers in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.

*To soak the beans, rinse them first.  Add them to a large bowl along with 1 ½ Tablespoons salt and enough water to cover the beans above 2 inches.  Stir until the salt has dissolved. Cover the bowl and leave it on the counter overnight.  The beans will swell during this time.  Drain and rinse the beans before using.

**To make Garlic Toast, lay slices of whole-grain bread on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil.  Place the cookie sheet under the broiler.  Broil the bread until it’s toasty brown. Take the cookie sheet out of the oven and rub the raw garlic over the surface of the toast. Sprinkle with kosher salt (or sea salt) and freshly ground black pepper.  Flip the toast over to the other side and repeat the process.