Seitan & Root Vegetable Stew

This is a filling, warming, nurturing kind of winter stew. The kind that makes you go "mmmm."

Feel free to use whatever veggies you have hanging around. The combination I used worked well, but it would have been equally good with sweet potatoes, celeriac, a different kind of winter squash, rutabagas, and/or parsnips. Don't be afraid of root vegetables! They are your friends! By the way, if you use regular red beets in this recipe, you will end up with pinkish stew. So go with golden if you can find them, and save the red beets for something else.

Ingredients

a little oil for sauteeing
1 onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups water
1 T Better than Bouillion vegetable broth concentrate
2 turnips, diced
1 large potato, diced
3 golden beets, diced
2 large carrots, diced
1/2 a butternut squash, peeled, seeded, diced
1 rib celery, diced
4-6 slices/hunks chicken-style seitan or veggie sausage
A splash of apple cider vinegar
3-4 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp smoked paprika
Chopped fresh or frozen sage, tarragon, thyme, etc. to taste
1 bay leaf

Directions
Warm the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the diced onions and garlic and cook a couple minutes. Add the broth, increase heat, add the rest of the ingredients. Once soup reaches a low boil, reduce heat to simmer until veggies reach desired tenderness (this was about half an hour for me, but it depends on how small your veggies are diced and how tender you want them.) Serve with croutons, crusty bread, or just a smidgen of freshly ground black pepper.

Number of Servings: 8
Approximate nutritional info per serving: 200 cal, 2g fat, 380mg sodium, 25g carbs, 5g fiber, 23g protein