Vegan potato and vegetable stew with couscous and lots of umami

Ingredients for 5 servings:

• 500 g potatoes, mainly waxy
• 250 g carrot(s)
• 200 g bell pepper(s)
• 200 g celeriac
• 200 g peas, frozen
• 2 m.-sized onion(s)
• 5 garlic cloves
• 40 g dried tomatoes
• 150 g couscous
• 1 liter vegetable broth
• 400 ml water
• 200 ml soy cream (Soy Cream Cuisine)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp, heaped miso paste, dark
• 1 tbsp yellow curry paste
• 2 tbsp, heaped nutritional yeast
• ½ tbsp smoked paprika powder
• ½ tbsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp, leveled nutmeg, freshly grated
• ½ tsp chili flakes
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ bunch curly parsley
• e.g. salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 35 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

Peel and dice the potatoes, carrots, and celery. Wash the bell peppers, removing the stems and white inner pith, and cut the peppers into strips. Finely dice the sun-dried tomatoes. Peel and dice the onions. Peel and press or finely chop the garlic. Chop the parsley. Heat olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onions and garlic for about 2-3 minutes. Then add the potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and celery and sauté for another 4-5 minutes. Add the curry paste and tomato paste and fry briefly. Deglaze everything with the vegetable stock and water, scraping up any browned residue from the bottom of the pot. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, cumin powder, paprika powder, ground nutmeg, and chili flakes, and simmer everything covered over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Then pour in the soy cream. Add the nutritional yeast and stir in the miso paste. Add the peas and couscous and let everything simmer for another 5-6 minutes over low heat so the couscous can swell. Towards the end, add the fresh parsley and season with pepper and salt, if desired. Notes: I diluted the vegetable broth with water because the curry paste and miso paste add enough salt. The sun-dried tomatoes also contain quite a bit of salt, which they release into the liquid during the cooking process. And if you prefer it saltier, you can always add more salt at the end. Sun-dried tomatoes, miso paste, and nutritional yeast flakes deliver plenty of savory, full-bodied umami flavor, while the smoked paprika and cumin add additional roasted and smoky aromas. The couscous also creates a crumbly mouthfeel, so no one will miss the bacon or minced meat in this stew.