Vegan Brunswick Stew

As a good southern girl, I made this vegan Brunswick stew. It was always a winter comfort food for me growing up in the mountains. Packed with pulled pork, veggies, and a delicious tomato broth, I ate this by the fire while watching Christmas movies. As soon as the cold weather hit, I got the hankering for it and set out to make my own. I found that several vegan cooks use hearts of palm as a pulled pork substitute. I was definitely reluctant at first, most of my experiences with hearts of palm have consisted of bad salads, but as they cooked down they did take on a stringy meaty texture. The liquid smoke allows you to fake it til you make it when paired with barbecue sauce. Delicious leftovers as well.

Vegan Brunswick Stew (serves 6)
1 14 oz. Can Hearts of Palm
1 t Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Clove Garlic, diced
1/2 Cup Yellow Onion, diced
2 T Barbecue Sauce
2 T Soy Sauce
1 14 oz. Can Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 8 oz. Can Tomato Sauce
1 bag frozen vegetable medley, thawed*
1 1/2 Cups Water
1 t Molasses
1/4 t Liquid Smoke
Salt and Pepper to taste
* I used 365 Vegetable Medley from Whole Foods. It has corn, Lima beans, carrots, green beans, and peas.

To prepare the hearts of palm for cooking, slice in half length wise and then thinly slice into half moons. These will become stringier during the cooking process. In a large sauce pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion and vegetables until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the prepared palm hearts to the pan along with the soy sauce and barbecue sauce and saute an additional 3 to 4 minutes, mashing the hearts to separate the fibers. Add canned tomatoes, sauce, water, molasses, liquid smoke, salt and pepper and cook on medium heat uncovered for about 30 minutes.