Name: Warm Mixed Vegetable Stew with Baked Goat Cheese
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon mixed fresh herbs (thyme, marjoram, tarragon, parsley), finely chopped; 1 sprig fresh thyme; 1 8-ounce fresh, rindless, white goat cheese round; 8 large green asparagus spears, bottom ½ inch of stem cut off, peeled, cut in half across, halved lengthwise; 4 small yellow zucchini, halved lengthwise; salt; 1 sprig fresh tarragon; 1 yellow bell pepper, cut lengthwise into thin strips; 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 12 baby red carrots, trimmed, peeled; ½ cup fresh white bread crumbs; 24 fresh squash blossoms (optional); 2 pounds fava bean pods, beans removed and peeled; 16 small pearl onions, peeled; 1 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into thin strips; 12 tablespoons butter (1 ½ sticks)—4 tablespoons melted, 8 tablespoons cold, cut into pieces; 12 green French beans; freshly ground pepper

Preparation info

Serves
6 to 8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

America's Best Chefs Cook with Jeremiah Tower

By Jeremiah Tower

Published 2003

About

The combination here is only one of many, though I never use more than seven to nine vegetables, and I never use tomatoes unless they are cherry tomatoes, because they water down the sauce and dominate the flavors. The addition of chopped garlic and herbs just before you bring the stew to the table causes a burst of rich fragrance that perfects the dish.

I prefer water to chicken stock for a cooking liquid—the resulting sauce has a much fresher and purer vegetable taste—and I use ei