Bean and Sweet Potato Stew

Healthy vegetarian cooking can be simple and delicious. This stew, which we ate last night, has very little fat, lots of protein and fiber, and a yummy taste that had us going back for more.

It's a stew to serve over brown rice, or a very chunky soup, which is how we ate it. The sweet potatoes keep their shape, but become very soft so are easily broken up with a spoon. The chiles make it warming to the mouth, and the beans add essential protein and fiber.

I used one orange sweet potato and two purple-skinned sweet potatoes with white flesh because that's what I had in the cupboard. The white-fleshed ones are less sweet, which let the chiles shine through. However, using all orange ones would add a little extra sweetness which might be nice.

I used small heirloom pinquito beans which cook quickly and are great on a soup spoon. I've also made this stew with lima beans or black-eyed peas. Use whatever bean you feel like eating.

I used 1 1/2 cups light vegetable stock and 1 1/2 cups water. All water would be fine, just add extra salt at the end for seasoning. I picked a red serrano pepper from the garden and plucked a red anaheim pepper from the freezer to season the dish. A jalapeño and red pepper would work well too. Use what you have.

I went out to the garden to pick the couple of handfuls of collard greens I added at the end. My plants are still young so the leaves were small. If you have regular-sized greens, use about 6 leaves.

Bean and Sweet Potato Stew
1 cup pinquito beans
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (3/4 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 anaheim pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cups water or stock
1 1/4 lbs sweet potatoes
14 oz can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 serrano pepper, seeded and diced
1 tsp grated ginger root
2 handfuls of collard greens

Cook the beans in plenty of boiling water until tender, 1-2 hours.

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic and anaheim pepper and sauté, covered, until soft, about 5 minutes.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1-inch chunks.

Combine all the ingredients except the collard greens in a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker. Cook on high for 4-5 hours.

Steam the collard greens 5 minutes until tender. Chop them in bite-sized pieces and add to the slow cooker. Stir and serve.

Serves 4