Stew Doesn’t Stand Alone

Photo provided by Larry Farago

I’ve had this stewing in my head since dinner—the dinner in question being the dinner I had the same night I wrote the work of art that is the “Soup is a Beverage” article. If you haven’t read that article, I highly recommend taking a peek at that one before you continue on here for both some very helpful context and for the absolute wild ride that it is. Perhaps it will brace you for what lies ahead.

So, I was sitting with several of my friends at dinner—being hilarious, as I always am—and something sparked in my mind. A strong opinion that I do take very personally, because it does directly affect my life.

Here’s the deal—you can disagree with me about the whole soup thing; it’s whatever, but I did write an article about it so clearly, I’m more committed than most, but I digress. This, however, is the hill that I will die on.

Stew is not a beverage; of this, there is no doubt. Stew is not soup. Stew is so absolutely not soup that I find myself deeply disturbed that some people treat them the same way. Stew isn’t a standalone food.

I love a good stew y’all; I come from a stew-loving culture. Half the traditional recipes I know are stews, but here’s the thing—stew is not, under any circumstances, a standalone food. Stew is a great primary. Stew is your main dish, but it really is just weird to eat without anything else. What I mean by this is that stew needs a base; it needs legs to stand on. I was talking about this with a friend who agreed that it should be served with pasta of some kind, but I would say we don’t even need to limit it that severely. I think that we can open it up to just having a starch of some kind—examples being pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, etc. Something with a non-offensive flavor that can support the stew from behind the scenes.

Stews are very heavy, flavorful dishes that are built with the intention of having something supporting them, so they aren’t too rich and become inedible. Any traditional stew recipe has a ton of seasonings and spices—so many in fact that eating these stews alone can be a nauseating experience. The starch is a natural complement that comes with very little flavor of its own, which helps create balance making stew the delicious dish that we all know and love.

Now, no one that I’ve spoken to has disagreed with me on this. We’ve all agreed that stew isn’t a standalone food. So, why am I talking about it? Why am I so passionate about something that really isn’t controversial?

I’m a college student. I am at the mercy of my school’s dining hall and whatever it is that they decide to feed me. Sometimes the food isn’t stellar, but honestly, it’s usually pretty good; good enough at least that I can find something I enjoy or at least think is palatable. I also want to acknowledge the fact that I know it’s difficult to feed so many people and keep dietary restrictions in mind all the while providing a generally healthy balance of foods—not to mention that college kids can be picky.

Here’s the thing though: stew is not a standalone food, but that’s how they serve it in the dining hall. It is honestly confusing. I’m not sure what exactly the thought process is, but one time I even asked if there was something to eat the stew with—rice, pasta, anything—and I was told that you just eat it by itself. I just really didn’t like that as stew isn’t a standalone food.

Do you know what my stew-loving cultural-background-having father said when I mentioned stew? His exact words were “Ah, melted meat cake. My favorite.” 

I think that that’s a pretty apt description of most stews and “melted meat cake” just doesn’t sound like something that exists in a vacuum. 

Stew isn’t defined by its relationship with other foods, but those connections are certainly important. I guess what I’m saying is that stew is like a person. It has its own character, its own personality—but it’s very important to consider how it does, and should, interact with things outside of its own system. 

Stew is nuanced and should be treated with some base-level of respect and acknowledgment that it doesn’t exist alone. Isolation isn’t good for the stew. It makes the stew go crazy. It should be illegal to isolate the stew completely because of how inhumane (or instewmane if you will) it is.

Stew gets along well with a host of support style foods. I already mentioned a few. Pasta is a great choice for adding substance and unique texture to the dish. Rice is great for absorbing, blending, and mellowing the dish, as well as adding balance. Potatoes can be a great choice if that’s the texture and flavor profile that you’re going for. Even bread is a great option; add stew to a slice and it soaks up the juices so you can really appreciate all the flavors of the stew; and leftovers can be made into little stew sandwiches with lettuce or cheese or whatever you’d like.

Stew is amazing. I love stew, but stew needs support to really be at its best. So, let’s give stew that support. Let’s really honor this delightful, diverse, and delectable dish the best that we can. Let’s just please put some rice on the table because stew is not a standalone food.