The onslaught of snow that bombarded us the last week in October stirred the need for warm, hearty comfort foods. As a native midwesterner, that generally calls for slow-roasted pot roast, creamy casseroles, and hearty stews.

I was reminded of feeling cold and tired and longing comfort during my trek to Everest Base Camp in Nepal last spring. The Moonlight Lodge in Namche was my favorite along the trek. The rooms were quite comfortable, they offered hot showers (for 500 rupees), free device charging, and their food was the best I had during the whole trip. Luckily I had the pleasure of staying there for a total of 3 nights; 2 nights on the way to base camp since we had an acclimatization day in Namche and 1 night on the way back down.

The thing about trekking in Nepal is that you get comfortable being uncomfortable. Coming off a season filled with lots of backcountry skiing, I already had a decent tolerance to being chilled and achy. I wouldn’t say the trek was easy for me by any means but I was surprised at how well my body and mind handled it. Quite tired of dal baht, I ordered the Sherpa Stew at the Moonlight Lodge one night and found it healing in more ways than one.

And so, as the snow relentlessly reminded us that winter is near, I decided to try to recreate the stew that made me so happy on the other side of the world. I even made my own egg noodles to fit the bill.

---

Sherpa Stew

Ingredients

For the Stew

• 6 potatoes, peeled and sliced into discs
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced Into discs
• Greens of 3 stalks bok choy, chopped roughly into large pieces
• 4 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Egg Noodles

• 1 egg
• 1/2 C flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp water

Directions

1. Add the sliced potatoes and carrots to a pot with about cups of cold, well-salted water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the egg noodles. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, flour and salt with a fork. Once it is sticky, add the water and and stir until well incorporated. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out until very thin. Use a pizza cutter to cut out noodles about finger length. Set aside.
3. Once carrots and potatoes are tender, strain. Add about 1/3 of the potatoes back to the pot (no carrots) and mash them well until even in consistency. Whisk in the broth and return to heat. Bring to a boil.
4. Sprinkle in the egg noodles a few at a time so they don’t stick together. Let them cook for 2 – 4 minutes.
5. Remove from heat. Add the remaining cooked potatoes and carrots and the bok choy greens.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.