3 hearty vegetarian stews that don’t take hours on the stove

By Melissa Clark, The New York Times

A slowly bubbling pot of stew on a cold winter evening, steam rising and scents wafting, is the epitome of cozy contentment.

There’s a fine line between a stew, a braise and a soup, and it’s quite subjective: Sometimes only a few spoons of broth make the difference. To my mind, a stew needs to be thick enough to eat with a fork but coated with plenty of velvety sauce so there’s a puddle left at the bottom of the bowl, easily mopped up with a piece of crusty bread (or soaked up by rice, noodles or mashed potatoes).

But what’s in the pot? A popular answer would be meat, beef, lamb or pork, simmering gently in an aromatic bath. But many other ingredients benefit from long, slow cooking, and a pot of chickpeas or beets will steam up your kitchen as pleasantly and fill your belly just as heartily as chicken or beef. Since I’ve been eating less meat over the last few years, I’ve often turned to vegetable-b...