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Home ยป Peruvian Pumpkin Stew with Fava Beans and Veggies {Vegan, GF}

Peruvian Pumpkin Stew with Fava Beans and Veggies {Vegan, GF}

Last Updated on April 9, 2019 By Vicky 22 Comments

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Pumpkin stew that’s made super hearty with vegetables and fava beans. Inspired by a classic Peruvian dish and makes for a perfect vegan and gluten free dinner meal. Super high in protein, fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A and iron. A healthy comfort meal at its finest.Pumpkin StewPumpkin Stew with Fava Beans is inspired by a Peruvian recipe which was personally shared with me by a Peruvian university culinary professor.ย ย D and I have been traveling in Peru for the last month and while we have mostly been renting apartments I sometimes miss our old couchsurfing days (when you stay with a local for free). So to get the most of both worlds instead of staying with couchsurfers I scheduled a meet up with one.

When I saw on Julio’s profile that he was as passionate as I am about food I knew our meet up would be great. And he did not disappoint. He quickly messaged back saying we could prepare some vegetarian Peruvian food together. Perfect. We met at the grocery store and the shopping began. ย $5 later we had all the ingredients to prepare a full pot of Locro de zapallo – a hearty Peruvain pumpkin stew popular in the Andean mountain range region. Yay! I could barely contain my excitement.

Prepping ingredients for the pumpkin stew

The important first step in the recipe is to remove the seeds from the aji verde peppers to minimize the spicyness of the dish. Then the peppers, onions, garlic and olive oil all get pureed in the blender together. This sauce smells magical and immediately gets added to the pot. This I find to be the key to this magical hearty vegetable pumpkin stew. I need to start doing this with more recipes – blending a few key ingredients first as the base of the sauce.

Chopping Pumpkin, Carrots and Fava Beans for the Pumpkin Stew

Then the diced pumpkin gets added, which is meant to be cooked until soft enough to mash into a puree. The potatoes and the fava beans in this recipe are cooked separately with the reserved cooking liquid being added to the stew for flavoring (in place of a broth) – also brilliant.

Peru has over 2000 different types of potatoes and other tubers – yep 2000 – insane right? So in the US just go with regular potatoes (though Julio used a super colorful tuber as well as a unique Peruvian potato). Julio used cumin and black pepper for seasoning, but I decided to add a bit of curry powder into the mix as well.

Once the pumpkin has been mashed and the liquid added the ears of corn, broken into pieces get added. Peru also has tons of different types of corn with the ones we used light in color with huge corn kernels. Regular US corn will work here too.

Corn for the Pumpkin Stew

At the end of the cooking process the potatoes, fava beans and greens get added to the pot.

Let those cook for a few minutes and your heart vegetable stew is ready.

I absolutely loved this Peruvian pumpkin stew. It is super creamy and rich will being packed full of hearty vegetables and complemented with fluffy quinoa.

Fava beans are a super underrated ingredient and now that I’ve been formally introduced to them through my Peruvian travels expect to seem them a lot more in my cooking. They’re packed full of protein, fiber and other vitamins and nutrients.

This pumpkin stew recipe is packed full of protein, fiber, vitamins A and C, and iron. You’re going to love it!

Pumpkin Stew Ready to Eat

If you liked this recipe you might also like my Alfalfa Salad with Kale, Quinoa and Avocado and my Mushroom Potato Rรถsti Sauce Recipe. Oh and you’ll definitely want some of this Strawberry-Ricotta Cheesecakeย for dessert!

How to makeย pumpkin stew

5 from 5 votes
pumpkin stew
Print
Pumpkin Stew with Vegetables and Fava Beans {GF, Vegan}
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 

This hearty pumpkin stew with vegetables and fava beans is inspired by a classic Peruvian dish and makes for a perfect vegan and gluten free meal. Super high in protein, fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A and iron. A healthy comfort meal at its finest.

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: gluten free, Healthy, Vegan
Servings: 4
Calories: 454 kcal
Author: Vicky Berman
Ingredients
  • 1 cup quinoa cooked according to package directions
  • 4 aji verde peppers seeds removed (or other large chili peppers), chopped
  • 1 red onion chopped
  • 7 cloves garlic chopped
  • 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 cups diced pumpkin or winter sqush, acron squash, butternut squash
  • 2 cups diced peeled potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • salt to taste
  • 2 ears corn each cut into 4 segments
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen fava beans, peeled and halved
  • 2 cups chopped collard greens or spinach
Instructions
  1. Cook quinoa according to package directions.
  2. In a blender combine aji peppers, garlic, onions and olive oil.
  3. Puree until smooth.
  4. Heat large pot over medium-high heat, and add pepper mixture. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add potatoes to a separate pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until soft when pierced with a fork, but not falling apart. Drain potatoes, reserving the water.
  6. Add diced pumpkin. Cook 10-15 minutes, until pumpkin has softened. Using a spatula, mash the pumpkin into a puree.
  7. Add 2 cups of the reserved potato water. Add corn. Add cumin, curry and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer.
  8. In a separate pot add fava beans and cover with water, bring to a boil and cook until soft. Drain, reserving the fava bean water.
  9. Add 1 cup fava bean water to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer.
  10. Add potatoes, fava beans and collard greens to the pot. Cook for a few minutes.
  11. Serve over quinoa.
Nutrition Facts
Pumpkin Stew with Vegetables and Fava Beans {GF, Vegan}
Amount Per Serving
Calories 454 Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Sodium 36mg2%
Potassium 1377mg39%
Carbohydrates 64g21%
Fiber 10g42%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 13g26%
Vitamin A 9515IU190%
Vitamin C 40mg48%
Calcium 203mg20%
Iron 9.2mg51%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Comments

  1. Laura | Wandercooks says

    April 8, 2016 at 12:21 am

    5 stars
    How good is couchsurfing?? We love it! There’s seriously no better way to learn a country’s authentic cuisine than cooking it the local way. Pretty sure that’s how we also learned about fava beans, which were served up just as a lightly salted snack. Delish! This recipe sounds amazing, it must have been so much fun to cook together. Thanks for sharing! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      April 10, 2016 at 9:10 am

      So happy to find a fellow couchsurfing food blogger – might be the first one! YES love fava beans as well. It was definitely a blast to learn how to make the vegetarian Peruvian stew – gotta love couchsurfing!

      Reply
  2. Valentina says

    April 8, 2016 at 12:35 am

    5 stars
    Your travels sound fun and this looks amazing! LOVE the sweetness of the corn with the spices.

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      April 10, 2016 at 9:13 am

      Thanks!

      Reply
  3. Mica @ Let's Taco Bout It Blog says

    April 8, 2016 at 1:21 am

    5 stars
    What a great looking recipe! It’s so hard to find a delicious GL and DF recipe. This would be perfect for a Sunday afternoon. Love it!

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      April 10, 2016 at 9:13 am

      Thanks! You’ll find plenty of GF + DF recipes on here if you’re looking for more cooking ideas!

      Reply
  4. Bri says

    April 8, 2016 at 2:47 am

    5 stars
    Yum this looks so bright and beautiful! I haven’t cooked with whole pumpkin much before, but this recipe sounds delicious. Thanks so much for sharing – I love recipes like these.

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      April 10, 2016 at 9:13 am

      Thanks! The pumpkin is perfct here but you could also use any type of squash instead if you prefer that or can’t currently find pumpkin!

      Reply
  5. Elizabeth says

    April 8, 2016 at 3:12 am

    What a heavenly sounding recipe! I need this in my life!

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      April 10, 2016 at 9:14 am

      Thanks!

      Reply
  6. Kelly M says

    April 8, 2016 at 1:48 pm

    Just clarifying~ the pumpkin goes into the chili mixture in the main pot. Then gets mashed with the chili to make the sauce/gravy.

    Sounds good!

    Interesting that they have such a variety of tubers and corn.

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      April 10, 2016 at 9:16 am

      Yes – exactly. First the blended mixture gets cooked for a few minutes and then the chopped pumpkin gets added and when soft, mashed into the blended mix. Yes I also find it fascinating that they have thousands of different types of potatoes.

      Reply
  7. fabiola@notjustbaked says

    April 15, 2016 at 12:44 pm

    Wow this is gorgeous and my kind of meal. Those potatoes are so cool looking!!! I’ve never seen anything like them, so cool.

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      April 17, 2016 at 8:17 am

      Thanks! Yes Peru is insane with their 2000+ different types of potatoes. So crazy!

      Reply
  8. christina conte says

    April 16, 2016 at 10:52 am

    I dont’ think there’s a Peruvian recipe that doesn’t have potatoes in it! ๐Ÿ™‚ This looks great, what a great combination of veggies!

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      April 17, 2016 at 8:18 am

      Haha they do love potatoes around here! They even always serve ceviche with sweet potatoes as a side/garnish : )

      Reply
  9. Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

    April 17, 2016 at 4:05 pm

    Gorgeous! I love all the vibrant ingredients and flavors, this sounds so delicious!

    Reply
  10. Annie @ Annie's Noms says

    April 18, 2016 at 3:41 am

    How have I still not used pumpkin in a savourry dish?!?! This looks divine!! I love pumpkin so much in sweet stuff, I just know I’d love it in this too!

    Reply
  11. Mimi says

    May 21, 2016 at 11:03 pm

    I love this recipe and have cooked in several times now. I use roasted pumpkin as I find it adds a richer flavour and I often roast extra pumpkin for soups etc when I cook it – I am Australian we eat savoury pumpkin rather than sweet pumpkin dishes. I make this in big batches and on the day I make it usually serve it with cauliflower and broccoli โ€˜riceโ€™ to increase the veggie count. I also serve it as a sauce over fish or chicken with brown rice, it has become a firm favourite in our house in all itโ€™s forms.

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      May 29, 2016 at 8:08 am

      Love the idea of using roasted pumpkin – even more flavorful! And brilliant to also serve this over rice or fish. So glad you have enjoyed this recipe and thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know : ))

      Reply
  12. Eliana says

    August 26, 2016 at 3:35 pm

    You need a little pinch of finely chopped Huacatay leaves…Delicious!… Regards from Lima ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      September 6, 2016 at 8:12 pm

      I most certainly do! But where to find them?! : /

      Reply

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