Calories: Not specified
Time for preparing: Not specified
Lean vegetable stew is a simple recipe in which vegetables are stewed without the addition of animal fat (lard or butter), meat or fish products. The dish is economical, healthy, tasty. And it's quick and easy to prepare. A lean stew can contain a variety of vegetables, and this makes it possible to cook the same dish in different versions. For example, this is an autumn version, with beans or potatoes - winter, and in summer the stew is prepared light, without potatoes - with zucchini, eggplant, green beans, sweet peppers. In any case, it turns out tasty, healthy and very economical. As a rule, for vegetable stew, the proportions of the products are taken randomly, based on what is available, so it is not necessary to strictly follow the recipe and measure everything to the gram. But it is recommended to follow the order of laying vegetables, especially if there are potatoes and tomatoes or tomato sauce in the stew. The fact is that the acid contained in tomatoes prevents potatoes from boiling, and if tomatoes are added earlier than potatoes, then it will not boil and may remain hard. Therefore, tomato or tomatoes are added to the stew after the potatoes become soft, crumbly.
Ingredients:
- Potatoes - 4-5 pieces;
- zucchini or zucchini - 1 pc;
- carrots - 1 pc;
- sweet pepper - 2-3 pcs. different colors;
- bow - 1 pc;
- green beans - 150 gr;
- vegetable oil - 3-4 tbsp. l;
- thyme, basil - half a teaspoon each;
- black and red pepper - 2-3 pinches each;
- salt - to taste;
- water - 1-1.5 cups.
How to cook with a photo step by step
To make the stew not only tasty, but also look appetizing on a plate, you should not grind too much when cutting vegetables. Cut the onion into half rings, but not very thinly. Carrots can be cut into large strips or segments, as in the photo. Potatoes for stew are cut into large cubes or slices. 
In winter, frozen vegetables can be used for stews. It is not necessary to defrost them, it is enough to dip them in cold water for 5 minutes and then pour them over with clean cool water. If the vegetables are fresh, then cut the zucchini lengthwise into 4 parts (it is better to cut the skin) and then chop into slices 1-1.5 cm thick. Cut the sweet pepper into cubes or cubes. Cut off the tips and tails of the green beans, cut the pods into 3-4 cm pieces. 
Almost any stew, which contains onions and carrots, begins to be cooked by frying these vegetables. In a deep frying pan or saucepan, heat the vegetable oil, fry the onion until transparent and add the carrots. After 3-4 minutes, when the carrots become softer, put the potatoes. Stir, wait 5-7 minutes until the potatoes are saturated with oil, and pour in a glass of water. Salt to taste. Cover and simmer vegetables for 15 minutes until potatoes are tender. 
Add zucchini and green beans to the cooked potatoes. Stir, simmer covered for 5 minutes. During this time, the vegetables will be almost ready. 
Add bell peppers and all spices to vegetables. Stir again. If you want the stew to be gravy, add another half cup of water. Cover with a lid, make a quiet fire and simmer the stew for another 4-5 minutes. Turn off the heat, let the stew taste. 
If vegetable stew is prepared precisely as a lean dish, then it should be served with a salad of fresh vegetables or with greens, canned vegetables. If the task is not to observe fasting, then you can add a spoonful of sour cream to the plate or boil sausages, serve stew as a side dish for fish, meatballs,
