A Winelover's Wanderings

It's Week #2 of our Sunday Slow Suppers, and Shannon of GrapeHops Tours has chosen the stew category. Here is what she said about her recipe choice:

I got this recipe from the San Francisco Chronicle around 1993. It's adapted from a recipe in "The Savory Way" by Deborah Madison. The original recipe calls for hominy instead of corn, but I'm not a hominy lover; if you like it, use a 29oz. can of hominy in place of the corn. You can also put black beans in this stew.

This is my go-to stew when I want something comforting but also, healthy; it makes me feel healthy just eating it, and it is delicious too. Serve with corn tortillas and a green salad with avocado if you'd like.

Squash, Pepper, Chard, and Corn Stew

1 medium onion, diced
3 – 5 garlic cloves, chopped
¾ pound banana squash, peeled and cut into pieces about ½ inch wide
2 – 3 T olive oil
1 t. Greek oregano
1 green pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 T. flour
2 T. chile powder
½ t. cumin
1 c. dry white wine
2 c. broth of choice
3 – 4 c. tomatoes, diced
½ bunch chard, blanched and cut into ribbons with the tougher stems cut away
1 ½ c. frozen corn
¾ c. sour cream or yogurt to taste
Chopped cilantro and green onions for garnish

Very lightly sauté the onion, garlic and squash in oil in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot, then add oregano, red and green peppers, flour, chile powder and cumin. Stir together and cook for a minute or two longer.

Add wine, broth, and tomatoes, then cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Add chard and corn, then cook for a further 15-20 minutes.

Taste for seasoning. If stew is too liquid, pour off liquid into a small saucepan and boil down until reduced and richly flavored.

Just before serving, stir in sour cream or yogurt. Serve sprinkled with cilantro and green onions.

I made a few little "adjustments" as I went along. I liked the looks of the orange and gold bell peppers - a cosmetic change, I know. I have come to love butternut squash, so that is what I used. I used beef broth, canned diced tomatoes (winter tomatoes are so tasteless), and TJ's frozen roasted corn and TJ's frozen "Soycutash" which includes edamames.