It’s all about those antioxidant-rich spices and herbs, and this Lebanese Soy Curls and Pea Stew is an explosion of warming aromatic flavors. A nod to Lebanese pea stew, bazilla, this hearty dish is bursting with wholesome ingredients like: protein-packed soy curls, sweet peas, tasty carrots, and rich tomatoes. Served this tastiness over fluffy rice or quinoa for a satisfying meal that is sure to please!

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi there, Ameera here!

This recipe is inspired by my husband’s Lebanese family. It is a nod to the Lebanese cuisine with a twist. Bazilla is traditionally meat and peas in a tomato stew with lots of oil. Converting to a Whole Food Plant Based version required a few adjustments including ramping up the spices to compensate for the lack of oil. So this dish is brimming with warming aromatic spices – total yum!

Also, using soy curls was an obvious choice for us, but if you don’t want to use soy curls you can just add a couple cans of your favorite beans (like chickpeas).  We loved this recipe; it is so flavorful and delicious!

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.

Miracle Curls

I know I must sound like a broken record because I keep saying this, but I just gotta say it again… have you tried soy curls yet? If you haven’t, then I’m sorry, but you are totally missing out.  Seriously! They are soooo good!  Think of them as a blank slate.  They take on whatever deliciousness you cook them in. They are somewhat “meaty,” think “chicken tenders,” with a kind of chewy, but not as firm texture.  They are super yum in my humble opinion.

Butler Soy Curls

I have never been able to find them in a grocery store or health food store, or any store for that matter, so we order them off of Amazon.  They look similar to a crusty onion ring in the package, very odd looking indeed, but they are absolutely perfect in for variety of dishes.

Soy

There is no doubt about it, our readers are not convinced. Our other soy curl recipes are not received with open arms like most of our other recipes, but we do have some readers that are hard-core soy curl fans like us, so we will still create soy curl recipes.

The beef and dairy industry should take a bow for pushing their propaganda on giving soy a bad rap because most Americans still believe that soy is bad for us.  *heavy sigh*

What’s even worse is our doctors still give out the same bad information on soy.  How do I know this?  Because people still tell others (in Facebook group pages) that their doctors tell them not to consume soy products. *head smack*

Unless you are allergic or have a soy intolerance, you don’t need to avoid soy. If you have thyroid issues, I highly recommend this read by NutritionFacts.org: Can soy suppress thyroid function?

Evidence Based Scientific Research

Dr. Greger has published quite a bit about how soy got a bad rap.  Industry simply capitalized on the bad naming convention of “phytoestrogens.”  Soy contains phytoestrogen, which the meat and dairy industry seized upon the “estrogen” portion of the name and therefore convinced the world that soy contains estrogen hormones and therefore causes cancer.  A study in 1996 found the opposite to be true, that soy actually reduced the risk of cancers.

Check out here: NutritionFacts.org – soy link to see Dr. Greger’s information about soy, which is based on actual scientific research!

Additionally, there is tons of great information about the powerhouse soy on T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies here: NutritionStudies.org – soy

I’ll let Mom tell you more.

Hi! Robin here!

Monkey made me a soy curl fan!  I really enjoy them and they are super tasty in this dish. I’ve had traditional bazilla in my past life (before WFPB) and this dish is a beautiful nod to that recipe.

I actually enjoy the Whole Food Plant Based dish even more than traditional bazilla. The real test was TP109, who absolutely loved traditional Lebanese bazilla. He scarfed this dish down in 2 seconds flat and gave it high scores all the way around. I must say that Michael wouldn’t even try it because he knew it wasn’t authentic bazilla.  *sigh* Some day we will get him to eat healthy.  Anyone out there that lives with both meat eaters and WFPBers in the family knows the struggle is real!

We would love for you to give this recipe a try!

If you try this recipe, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

Products Used:

• Ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven, nonstick deep skillet, or similar large stock pot with a tight-fitting lid

Lebanese Soy Curls and Pea Stew (Bazilla)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 10 Mintues
• Cook Time: 40 Minutes
• Total Time: 50 Minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Stew
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Lebanese

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

It’s all about those antioxidant-rich spices and herbs, and this Lebanese Soy Curls and Pea Stew is an explosion of warming aromatic flavors. A nod to Lebanese pea stew, bazilla, this hearty dish is bursting with wholesome ingredients like: protein-packed soy curls, sweet peas, tasty carrots, and rich tomatoes. Served this tastiness over fluffy rice or quinoa for a satisfying meal that is sure to please!

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 medium onion, fine dice
• ¾ cup grated carrots
• 2 Tablespoons garlic, finely minced
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 – 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 ½ cups water (or broth)
• 1 cup vegetable broth *(See notes for ratio)
• 1 ½ cups soy curls *
• 13 oz. package frozen peas

Seasonings/Spices Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 Tablespoon dried minced onion flakes
• ¾ teaspoon cumin
• ½ + 1/8 teaspoon coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 ¼ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)

Other Optional Ingredients:

• Steamed Rice (or other grain: quinoa, millet, etc)
• Chopped Parsley

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, measure out all the Seasoning/Spices Ingredients, mix well, set aside.
2. In a large ceramic/enamel-lined Dutch oven, skillet or similar stock pot, add the chopped onion and carrot; sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add a tablespoon or so of water if they start to stick and/or to prevent burning.
3. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, add the tomato paste and Seasoning/Spices mix, sauté to release their fragrance, about 30 seconds to one minute.
4. Then add the petite diced tomatoes, veggie broth, and water, bring to boil, then immediately lower to a simmer.
5. Add the soy curls. Stir well to incorporate all the ingredients, pushing the soy curls down into the mixture to ensure they are covered by liquid, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 25 minutes. Note: The soy curls do not need to presoak in this recipe as there is enough liquid to rehydrate them.  It allows the soy curls to soak up the broth flavors.
6. After 25 minutes, test the flavors, add the peas stir to incorporate, also add more spices, if necessary, to achieve the level of flavor you desire. Cook for another 5 minutes, then discard the bay leaf.
7. Serve immediately with steamed rice or quinoa with freshly chopped parsley.

---

Notes

*Vegetable Stock:   We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.  If using a brand other than Pacific that has a mild/mellow flavor, you may wish to use 2 cups broth and ½ cup water.

*Soy Curls:  We found it challenging to find soy curls at our local grocery stores. We ended up buying them from Amazon. We purchased Butler Soy Curls 100% natural, no additives or preservatives, non-GMO, grown without chemical pesticides.  However, if you want to make this dish without soy curls, you can add 1 or 2 cans of your favorite beans.  Want to learn more about Soy Curls?  Here’s a link to our post about “What are Soy Curls?”  

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Makes:  4 servings

*Storage:  Refrigerate, use within 7 days.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.