Vegetarian Cacciatore

It’s interesting how life makes a full circle. Cacciatore in Italian means “Hunters style”.This Italian Renaissance dish was made with game like rabbit, guinea fowl, pheasant or whatever the hunters would find and then a stew was prepared with onions, mushrooms and other vegetables. This would have been a day to feast.

Meat was luxury back in the day, meat was hunted and the hint was shared by the family and community sometimes. And even when animals were domesticated they were treated humanely only by products like milk, eggs were eaten .

Today we don’t hunt for meat, its readily available in abundance, aisles at the grocery stores are fully dedicated to meats. To drive down the cost and keep up with the demand meat is produced in abundance, animals are bred and raised using unethical practices. I have personal opinions which is rather long a topic that needs an entire blog post I want to share later. For now this is a vegan version of the classic Italian hunters dish.

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• INGREDIENTS
• MAKES ABOUT 4 servings
• 6 oz about 1½ cup dried Greek giant beans also called corona beans, soaked overnight and cooked in an instapot or pressure cooker till soft. (use veggie broth for more flavor)
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, about 1 tablespoon
• 10 oz about 2 cups thickly sliced shiitake or cremini mushrooms or your choice of mushrooms
• 1 red and 1 yellow large bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into 1/2-inch dice.
• ½ cup dry white wine
• One 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano), with juice, crushed
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably the one on the branch, crumbled
• ½ teaspoon chilli flakes, optional
• sea salt and lots of pepper

Directions

1. In a heavy sauce pan or dutch oven heat the olive oil.
2. add the onions and cook for 8-10 minutes till soft and slightly browned. Add the garlic, peppers and mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes till the veggies are sautéed and a bit soft.
3. Pour the wine into the pan, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, rosemary, chili flakes and oregano, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Add the cooked beans and some water or veggie broth into the sauce for a stew like consistency, adjust the heat to a gentle boil, and cover the pan. Cook stirring a few times, for 20 minutes. 
5. Serve hot with some toasted bread and a green salad.