Welcome the taste of summer with this delightful Young Vegetable Stew! There's a special kind of magic in cooking with the first harvest of the season—the vegetables are tender, sweet, and bursting with flavor. This recipe is a celebration of that freshness, a simple one-pot meal that is both nourishing and incredibly comforting. A staple in many Eastern European homes, this stew, or 'ragu,' is the perfect way to turn a handful of simple, seasonal ingredients into a hearty and wholesome meal for the whole family.
Stew with young vegetables
Ingredients for Summer Stew with Young Vegetables
- 5 medium potatoes
- 1-2 carrots
- 1-2 young zucchini
- 0.5 head of cabbage (or less, if large)
- 500g meat (beef or pork)
- Fresh green peas
- Young onion
- Green onion scallions, dill, parsley
- Vegetable oil
- A little water
- Salt
How to Make Summer Stew with Young Vegetables
I cook the meat separately and then add it to the almost-ready stew. You can do it differently: first, stew the meat until almost tender, and then add the vegetables one by one, starting with those that take longer to cook, followed by the quicker-cooking ones.
So, dice the meat, place it in cold water, bring to a boil, and cook for a couple of minutes. Then, drain the first water, add fresh water to cover the meat, and cook over low-medium heat for 40-50 minutes, until tender. Salt to taste at the end of cooking.
Thoroughly wash the vegetables. Peel and rinse the potatoes, zucchini, and carrots. Remove the outer leaves from the cabbage. Wash and shell the peas from their pods.
Peeling and chopping the vegetables
Dice the potatoes into small cubes and slice the carrots thinly. Add them to the pot first, cover with a lid, and cook at a gentle simmer, with just enough water to slightly cover the vegetables.
Place the potatoes and carrots in a pot and start stewing
Meanwhile, shred the cabbage. After 7-10 minutes, when the potatoes and carrots are halfway cooked, add the cabbage and stir.
Adding the cabbage
Dice the zucchini and add it to the pot – young cabbage cooks quickly, and the time it takes you to chop the zucchini is enough for it to become tender. Zucchini also cooks very fast, so you need to be quick to prevent the delicate early vegetables from turning into mush.
Placing the zucchini in the pot
Therefore, after adding the zucchini, immediately chop the onion – with its green tops and small bulbs – and add it to the pot along with the peas. Stir again. At this stage, you can also add the cooked meat to the summer stew if you cooked it separately.
Add the chopped onion and green peas to the pot
After another minute or two, add the chopped fresh herbs, salt to taste, and pour in a little sunflower oil – for flavor and aroma. The vegetable stew doesn’t require other spices: it’s delicious without pepper, bay leaves, or other seasonings. Salt, oil, and herbs create a pleasant, harmonious taste.
Add herbs, vegetable oil, and salt
Stir the stew, let it simmer for another couple of minutes, and then turn off the heat.
The summer stew with young vegetables is ready
And there you have it—a bowl full of summer goodness! This Young Vegetable Stew is wonderfully versatile. Serve it hot, garnished with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt and a side of crusty bread to soak up the delicious broth. Feel free to experiment by adding other seasonal vegetables like bell peppers or fresh tomatoes. We hope this simple, heartwarming dish brings the bright and cheerful flavors of the season right to your table. Enjoy every spoonful!
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