Stew with Biscuits

Vegetable Stew with Snowflake Biscuits

Last night (sans camera) I made two beautiful dishes at a client's house: chicken stew with biscuits baked on top and a butternut saffron risotto.  Not only were they beautiful but they were delicious.  Tonight, in celebration of my boyfriend's trial ending (he's the attorney, not the criminal) and the return of his normalish hours I'm making a riff on the traditional chicken stew (peas, carrots, cubed chicken) and making a vegetarian version (mushrooms, collards, seitan, onion)

The recipe is delicious and actually quite easy.

Stew without Biscuits

Veggie Stew with Biscuits, serves 4 (with leftovers)
1.5 cups chopped collards (I used flash frozen chopped collards because the Park Slope Coop didn't have any fresh collards this morning)
1 large onion, medium dice
3.5 cups of vegetable stock, preferably home made
1 tsp. of vegetable bouillon (MSG free)
7 shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thinly
4 small portobello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thinly
1/2 cup of seitan, finely chopped (optional)

Biscuits:
1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 stick of cold unsalted butter, diced
1/3 cup of half and half
1/4 cup chopped rosemary or parsley
1 egg mixed with 1/2 Tablespoon of water, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
For the Stew
(1) Put your stock and bouillon into a small pot and simmer (I didn't have bouillon, so I added a little nama shoyu for the added flavor)
(2) In a Dutch Oven or large pot add: 2 Tablespoons of EVOO, sauté onion and mushrooms until tender (about 10 minutes) over medium heat; after 5 minutes add your seitan
(3) Add 1/3 cup of unbleached all purpose flour and mix well, cook another 1 minute
(4) Add the hot stock to the pot and cook for another 2 minutes, at this point you can add the collards.
(5) Add 1/4 cup of cream to the Pot and mix - your stew should be thick.

Snowflake Press

For the Biscuits:

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of an electic mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas.  Add the half and half and combine on low speed.  Mix in the rosemary or parsley.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and, with a rolling pin, roll out t 3/8 inch thick.  Cut out 6 cicles with 1 2 1/2 inch round cutter

Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling.  Brush them with egg wash and return the dish to the oven.  Bake for another 20-30 minutes, until the biscuits are golden and the stew is bubly.  ENJOY!