Vegan Pantry Friendly Black Olive and Corn Stew

I really liked the dish I posted recently, Mediterranean Chickpea Ragu which I shared with a friend of mine and the rest I ate by myself for breakfast, lunch and dinner and in between meals too.  It was that good. My friend Kathy's husband Joe gave a glowing review in his thank you email. The combination of the different ingredients made it pretty haunting and made me craved it.  However I did not have time to chop fresh vegetables so I decided to use canned foods in my pantry for a variation of the recipe.  

Differences can be gleaned from the recipes of the two versions as well as similarities but this pantry friendly one is just as good. I added corn and substituted black olives for the green ones since I found the latter too salty for my taste.  

My picky taster, my husband Bob, gave this latest version two thumbs up. By the way he never got to eat the original version since I ate what was left at home. I did use fresh green pepper in this pantry friendly version, which you have to cut into cubes, but roasted red pepper from a bottle will work well too. Other than that you just need to open cans of food in your pantry and you are good to go.

Vegan Pantry Friendly Black Olive and Corn Stew

(inspired by this past post)

• 1-15 oz can chickpeas or any beans, drained and rinsed
• 1-15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1-15 oz can corn, drained
• 1- 6 oz can black olives, drained
• 1 green pepper, cubed or 2 pieces roasted pepper from a jar
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp dry onion flakes
• 1 tbsp dry garlic flakes
• 2 tbsp soy sauce 
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp dry oregano (optional)

Combine all ingredients in the saute pan and cook till most of the liquid evaporates and the sauce thickens.  If you want it to have a thinner sauce just heat the mixture through till the flavors blend and skip evaporating the liquid off.  I like mine to have a thick consistency.  Serve over rice or quinoa or bread or tortilla.  Endless possibilities.