Stews

This sweet and savory comfort food fiesta always hits the spot; is packed with fiber, potassium and disease-fighting antioxidants; and requires zero tortilla stuffing or rolling. I beg you to try this vegetarian wonder as is, but if you or a loved one is prone to “where’s the meat?!” meltdowns, go ahead and add some shredded chicken or browned chicken sausage to your pot. — Serena Wolf

Spiced chickpeas are crisped in olive oil, then simmered in a garlicky coconut milk for an insanely creamy, basically-good-for-you stew. While the chickpeas would be good as a side dish, they are further simmered with stock, bolstered with dark, leafy greens of your choosing and finished with a handful of fresh mint. When shopping, be sure to avoid low-fat coconut milk, coconut milk meant for drinking or cream of coconut: All are very different and would not be suitable here.

This is a typical fisherman’s stew. No need to make a fish stock; water, aromatics and anchovies will suffice. Use anchovies even if you don’t like them, as they add great depth of flavor, not to mention omega-3 fats. And don’t worry: the dish won’t taste like anchovies.

Italy’s ciambotta is a ratatouille-like stew chock-full of veggies that makes for a hearty one-bowl meal with nary a trace of meat. We wanted to avoid the ill fate of most recipes, which end in mushy vegetables drowning in a weak broth. In order to optimize the texture of the zucchini and peppers, we employed the dry heat of a skillet. To address the broth, we embraced eggplant’s natural tendency to fall apart and cooked it until it completely assimilated into a thickened tomato-enriched sauce.

In Normandy, this richly flavored stew would be served with a composed salad of watercress, shallots, and roasted beets. What to drink: Muscadet, Chablis, or unoaked Chardonnay.

On a blustery evening, a pot full of well-seasoned vegetables is a satisfying meal. This saucy curry includes chunks of potato, squash, cauliflower, carrots, and green beans, with a handful of chickpeas. What makes the dish delectable are the aromatics — onion, garlic, ginger, chile pepper, and plenty of warm spices. Yes, you can easily reach for a jar of curry powder, but the stew will taste fresher and brighter if you mix coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon to create a blend of your own. Heat the spices in oil so the flavors toast and mellow.

Parmigiano-Reggiano adds salty, nutty richness to this ratatouille, which rivals the best oven versions. To speed preparation, feel free to skip the first step of salting and rinsing the eggplant and zucchini (this process draws off any bitter juices). Instead, just remove any particularly seedy and brown parts of the eggplant, or use smaller Japanese eggplants (which also do not need to be peeled). For pizzazz, add chickpeas and pitted, chopped oil-cured black olives.

Home turf: California

Local flavor: In health-conscious California, chili is as likely to be made without meat as it is with it. No self-respecting Texan would sign off on chili with beans, squash, and bulgur—but this lean, mean dish is as delicious as it is healthful.

Make it a meal: continue the Cali fantasy with whole grain bread, an arugula salad with mushrooms and garlicky vinaigrette, and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (California, $8 per six-pack).

Use shrimp shells from the Shrimp fra diavolo recipe, Old Bay, tomato paste, and leek to make stock. After 15 minutes, you have a rich base for shrimp stew. Add leftover shrimp in sauce to sweet red pepper, black beans, and cilantro. Serve the stew with crusty bread and a salad. The second-day dish isn’t as spicy as the first. It’s up to your valentine to add the fire.