PORTUGUESE PEA STEW

A typical portuguese dish meets its fragrant plant-based version. A mighty delicious meal to get all our tummies nice and warm in the colder evenings.

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Bowl of Portuguese-style vegan pea stew with potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and rice, garnished with fresh coriander.

A typical portuguese dish meets its fragrant plant-based version. A mighty delicious meal to get all our tummies nice and warm in the colder evenings.

Hello folks! This is Rita here. We couldn't leave you all hanging with a vegetable stock recipe without jumping to some ideas on how to put it to use. And what's a better way of starting than with a delicious, portuguese recipe? This is one of the many home-cooked meals my grandma made for the family since before I was even born. Actually, this a typical dish from our home region of the Algarve. Originally, it is called Ervilhas com Ovos, which literally translates to "Peas with Eggs". We've obviously adapted it and created our own vegan version of this lusitanian classic: a bit of spices, a buttload of potatoes and a healthy dose of kale come in the place of the poached eggs and the chorizo. No animals are harmed here and no tummies are left upset!

This is a very special recipe for me (because, grandma <3) and a very memorable one for André, since it's the very recipe which turned him into a pea-enthusiast. Believe me guys, he was that person who picks the peas out of his plate whenever they are in sight. I had already gotten him into a pea-studded basmati rice but he was still resistant to higher doses of peas, up until I made this stew for the first time. It's the perfect recipe for these brisk Autumn days, it's comforting and warming, delightfully fragrant thanks to the combo of coriander seeds, bay leaves and chopped cilantro and most importantly, it is super filling. It holds perfectly well in the freezer, so you can cook yourselves a nice big batch of this and freeze a couple of portions. We've already added this to our regular rotation and we hope you will too! Stay close, everyone. xo

Close-up of vibrant vegan pea stew in a black pot with potatoes, cherry tomatoes and bay leaf.

Overhead shot of a bowl filled with pea stew and a pot with rice and stew, on a striped tablecloth.

Hands spooning vegan pea stew from a black pot into a white bowl of rice.

White bowl filled with rice and pea stew, garnished with fresh coriander leaves.

Rustic-style shallow pot with rice and pea stew, placed on a dark textured surface.

Portuguese Pea Stew

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Serves 6

30 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, center germ removed and finely sliced
2 bay leaves
50 g kale, chopped
200 g cherry tomatoes, chopped into quarters
1 tbsp organic tomato paste
300 g baby new potatoes, washed and roughly sliced
500 g frozen peas
430 ml vegetable stock
a large handful of cilantro, chopped
sea salt & black pepper to taste

Instructions

Start by gathering, preparing and measuring all of the ingredients. This will improve your dynamic in the kitchen.

Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.
Add the coriander seeds and allow to fry until they start sizzling.
Add the onion, garlic and bay leaves and cook slowly until translucent.
Add the kale, cherry tomatoes and tomato paste and stir.
Add the potatoes, frozen peas and vegetable stock and stir.
As soon as the stock starts boiling, reduce heat to a low simmer and partially cover the pot.
Allow to cook for 15–20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.
Add the chopped cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over brown rice and enjoy.

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7 Comments

CQsays:

October 22nd, 2018

I made this recently and it was superb! Very tasty, and homey. I'm not vegan, so I did add a poached egg. I also added a crushed dried hot red pepper for some zing, and did not serve with rice. I can't wait to try some other recipes. And yes, your photos are gorgeous, mine do not make the food look good!

Lea Helenesays:

July 1st, 2018

Haha, I meant to write family instead of danilo. Classic autocorrect!

Lea Helenesays:

July 1st, 2018

Hi, I cooked this stew for my non-vegan danilo tonight, and they loved it (I did, too)! It reminded us of an old family recipe (which is totally not vegan), so I'm glad to have a vegan version of it now. I love stews with many vegetables. Just pure, steamed vegetables taste lovely in a vegetable broth. Your photographs are gorgeous. Thank you for the recipe and inspiration!

Rita Parentereplied:

July 23rd, 2018

Yay, thank you so much for the precious feedback Lea! I'm so glad you and your family (danilo hah!) enjoyed this recipe. It's so comforting. Stay close sweetie! :) xo

Carolynsays:

August 9th, 2017

Hello, Rita & André. I posted the question below 3 months ago. Please send me an answer. Thanks1

Carolynsays:

May 3rd, 2017

Do you know the nutritional values for this stew?

Rita Parentereplied:

August 9th, 2017

Hi Carolyn, thank you so much for dropping by our blog! We're terribly sorry for not getting back to you sooner, I totally missed your comment during my 'sweeps' 😨 We don't usually calculate the nutritional values for any of our recipes, so I cannot tell you exactly what they are. There's a website and app called Cronometer where you can easily insert the ingredients and their respective quantities and it'll tell you all there is to know in regards to nutrition! We keep all of our readers' questions and suggestions in mind, and we'll definitely think about adding this information to each of our recipes 😊 Thanks again! 💖

Rubysays:

February 7th, 2017

YES vegan Portuguese recipes! My grandma was born and raised in Portugal (Acores, Fayal actually) and none of her recipes are vegan so I'd love to cook her a Portuguese vegan meal! Thank you <3

Rita Parentereplied:

February 8th, 2017

We're so happy to hear this Ruby! & Your message inspired me to create more veganized Portuguese recipes. :) This particular dish is typical from the southern region of mainland Portugal, and I'm hoping your grandma loves it! Obrigada :) xo

Myrtosays:

December 5th, 2016

Hello! I made the Pea stew for supper tonight and it was a hit. My sweetie liked it too and I can't wait to make it again, it is so easy to do. I love Portuguese cuisine: I make vegan Caldo verde all the time, it keeps us warm during the long Canadian winters. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. Claudine

Rita Parentereplied:

December 7th, 2016

Hi Myrto! It's so great to hear you're a fan of Portuguese cuisine! We hope to start sharing more of these veganized versions of our traditional dishes soon. Thank you so much for stopping by and for the positive feedback, you made my day. :) xo