Vegan Waterzooi, a warming Belgian stew made with tofu and celeriac in a creamy sauce. Delicious on its own or served with some fresh crusty bread.
This Belgian dish sits somewhere between a stew and a soup. Waterzooi is traditionally made with fish or chicken, we used firm tofu for protein and it tastes amazing. Vegan cooking creams are perfect for this dish and give the stew a wonderful creamy taste and texture.
We add white wine to this vegan waterzooi recipe to give the dish a richer more complex flavour. However, if you don’t want to add alcohol then it can just be left out of the recipe. The stew will still taste amazing.
Vegan Waterzooi
A warming Belgian stew made with tofu and celeriac in a creamy sauce. Delicious on its own or served with some fresh crusty bread.
Ingredients
- 300 g firm tofu
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large leek sliced
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 200 ml white wine* optional
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 clove
- Pinch nutmeg
- 500 ml vegan chicken stock
- 1 celeriac
- 1 large potato
- 250 ml vegan cream
- 1 tablespoon chopped curly leaf parsley
- 2 teaspoons cornflour optional
Instructions
- Drain the tofu of any excess water and cut it into 2cm cubes. Coat the tofu with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large, heavy-based pot over medium heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and fry the tofu cubes on all sides until lightly golden all over. Remove from the pan and set aside until later.
- Peel and cut the celeriac and potatoes into small bite-sized pieces. Set aside for later.
- Add the sliced leek with the diced onion and carrot to the same pan. Add a pinch of salt then gently sauté until the leeks and onions are soft, around 6 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and continue to sauté gently for a further 2 minutes. You don’t want too much colour on the onions or garlic just for them to be soft.
- Now add the white wine, bay leaf, clove and pinch of nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until most of the wine has cooked off. This will take around 10 minutes.
- Add the vegan chicken stock and the celeriac and potatoes. The stock should cover the celeriac and potatoes. If it doesn’t, top up with water until they are fully submerged.
- Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the celeriac and potatoes are fork tender, around 15 minutes.
- Add the vegan cooking cream and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning. The amount of salt needed will depend on the amount of salt in the stock. We added ½ teaspoon of salt and a good pinch of freshly cracked black pepper.
- Optionally you can make a cornflour slurry to slightly thicken the stew. Add 2 teaspooons of cornflour and 2 tablespoons cold water to a small bowl and mix together before pouring into the pot. Bring the stew to a boil for 1 minute to thicken.
Notes
If you don’t want to use the wine just skip adding it and add 100ml more stock.
Tried this recipe?Mention @mikeronm or tag #theveganplanetkitchen!