In an uncharacteristic moment today, James said he fancied veggie dogs for dinner this evening, and as I was picking up some Lightlife vegan hotdogs at Safeway, I noticed the brand also makes Italian sausage, so I grabbed a package of that as well!
I decided to make a soup with the sausages and came across a rather sumptuous soup recipe from Salt & Lavender and decided to veganize it. The result is surprisingly delicious, especially considering I replaced the two cups of cream with a combination of silken tofu and soy milk! And it’s really more of a stew than a soup.
In addition to the vegan sausages, tofu, and soymilk, I also subbed vegan margarine for butter, Magi sauce for worcestershire sauce, and vegan chick’n soup powder for chicken broth. I reduced the amount of vegan butter and the amount of flour as well. Finally, I increased the onions and celery and added a half cup of white wine.
The resulting plant-based substitutions drastically reduced the caloric value as well! A serving of the original non-vegan recipe clocks in at 556 calories, 19 grams of protein, and a whopping 42 grams of fat.
My version is 298 calories per serving, 21 grams of protein, and a mere 8 grams of fat.
I often substitute silken tofu for cream in soups, and (don’t roll your eyes!) it is a surprisingly effective replacement. You likely won’t notice much of a difference if you decide to make this tasty stew!
Creamy Vegan Italian Sausage Stew
This recipe makes five servings of about one-and-a-half cups each.
In a large pot on medium high heat melt…
- 2 tsp vegan butter
Add the following and saute for several minutes until the vegetables are transparent and the sausage is browning…
- 1 340 gram package Lightlife Vegan Italian Sausages (or other vegan sausage), chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Add and stir well…
- 4 tablespoons flour
Next, deglaze the pan with…
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
Add and stir well…
- 3 TBS vegan chicken bouillon powder dissolved in 4 cups boiling water
Blend together and add…
- 1 cup soymilk (or other plant milk)
- 1 cup silken tofu
- 1 TBS Magi sauce
Add and simmer for about fifteen minutes until the potatoes are soft…
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 lb. potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
Now serve it up!
Serve with a freshly baked baguette or focaccia! I think this stew would also be very tasty poured over biscuits.
And here’s the nutritional information. It kind of astonishes me that the original, which included a pound of meat and two cups of dairy contains less protein per serving than this vegan version!
And the song of the day is The Paper Kite’s “Too Late” because they’re coming to Vancouver in May:
Sideways Cottage... 