Vegetarian Cassoulet

This spring has been a little more fickle than others in my recent memory. We've had some sparkling blue sky days with temps in the low 80's and we've had plenty of cold, grey, rainy days like today. Tonight I wanted to have a nice big bowl of comfort food for dinner, but my fridge is packed with spring delights - so I went the route of a hearty stew made with light springy flavors and textures.
Springtime Vegetarian Cassoulet
Yield: 6 entree servings
Prep Time: 2 hours plus 3+ hours for bean soaking if you are using dried beans.
75 minutes with canned beans
Ingredients:
1.5 c. dried chick peas, rinsed, picked over and soaked for 3 or 1 14 oz can, drained and rinsed
4 T. olive oil
1 yellow onion, on the smaller side, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped (same size as onion)
1 rib celery, chopped (same size as onion)
4 c. low sodium veggie stock, chicken stock or water
1 t. fresh thyme, minced or 1/2 t. dried
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 medium sized red potatoes, washed and diced to the size of a chick pea
1 large leek (white and light green parts only), rinsed, and chopped
8 large white mushrooms or 2-3 portobellos, rinsed and chopped into 2 inch chunks (they will shrink a lot in the oven)
1 c dry white wine or dry vermouth
2 c fresh asparagus, cut into one inch pieces
10 - 15 leaves of fresh basil, shredded
1/2 pt or so of grape or heirloom tomatoes, halved
S&P

Method:

1. Heat 2 T olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery, cooking until they have a little color - about 8-10 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
2. Add stock, chick peas, thyme, and bay, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are tender - 60-90 minutes. (10-20 min is fine if you are using canned beans)
3. In the mean time, heat oven to 400*. Toss potato and onion in remaining olive oil, spread in a single layer in a roasting pan or skillet, season with a small amount of salt & pepper and roast in the oven until lightly browned. Maybe 40 minutes. Add mushrooms, leeks and whole garlic cloves and roast another 10-20 minutes until garlic is golden and soft. (if you are using canned beans, start with this step, then go back to step 1)
4. Remove potato mixture from the oven. Using a spatula, transfer all to a plate. Place roasting pan on stove top (make sure its stove top safe!!) and deglaze the pan with the white wine. Reduce wine and bits until only a couple of tablespoons remain.
5. Add beans mixture and potato mixture to the roasting pan and bring to a simmer. The stew should not have a whole bunch of extra liquid like a soup, this is much closer to a loose casserole than a soup. Simmer on stove top until flavors come together and all veggies are tender - about 5-15 minutes.
6. Add the asparagus and tomatoes and simmer 2-5 minutes until just tender crisp. Stir in the basil and serve in warmed shallow bowls.

A nice grating of cheese over the top is a lovely way to finish off this dish. Serve with some fantastic bread or just some crispy lavosh.

Light & Unexpected Spring Time!

Hey gang - its been a MONTH since my last post, so tonight I give you three light, easy, springy treats to try out. I hope you enjoy - and please check back soon for my "spring cassoulet" that's in development right now!

I got the plan for this dish from a seasonal cookbook, did some tweaking and loved the result. Fresh crisp asparagus, nutty wholesome whole wheat pasta, lemon, eggs, herbs....how can you go wrong? Best of all it was super easy and ready in about 20 minutes. My first pass looked a little funky but tasted heavenly, so check back later, I may revise this one a bit.

Lemony Asparagus with Creamy Pasta
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb pasta, whole wheat spaghetti works great, but its really up to you
1 bunch fresh asparagus, rinsed and bottoms trimmed, cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces
1/2 lemon, juiced and peeled, peel reserved
1 clove garlic, minced
3 scallions, rinsed and sliced on the bias
2 T. butter
3/4 c. milk
2 large eggs, whisked into the milk
1 t. tarragon, dried or 1 T. fresh, rinsed and minced.
S&P
Nutmeg, ground to taste

Method:

• Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt
• Add pasta and cook until about 2 minutes from al dente, add asparagus and cook until tender crisp. Drain.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat
• Add scallions and lemon peel, saute until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute.
• Add lemon juice and tarragon, cook until almost evaporated, remove from heat.
• Once pasta and asparagus are cooked and drained, return butter mixture to medium heat
• Add pasta, asparagus and egg mixture to the pan, season lightly with S&P
  
• Gently stir until egg is cooked and liquid is mostly evaporated. Do not allow to boil.
• Plate pasta and top with a small amount of freshly grated nutmeg.
  

This dish is light, creamy, satisfying and really rather good for you. Tasty adds would be sun-dried tomatoes, goat or parm cheese, ham or proscuitto, grilled shrimp or chicken, artichoke hearts or toasted pine nuts, dark greens or shredded radiccio for color and contrast.

Bird's Nest

As with any salad, the variations on this one are endless. Any way you make it, its a fantastic brunch or lunch and can make a super fast dinner if you double up the eggs and add a hunk of some fantastic bread. This is a favorite in our house on warm spring nights when we're in a rush. Because the yolks are runny, there's no need for a dressing at all, but a drizzle your favorite light and sweet vinaigrette would be great.

Spring Salad with Poached Egg
Yield: 4 lunch servings
Prep Time: 30-40 minutes (depending on your egg poaching ability)

Ingredients:
8 c. salad greens, spring mix, green/red leaf, boston bib, arugula, watercress etc
2 scallions, sliced on the bias
1 c. grape tomatoes, halved
1 c. steamed & shocked green veggie, asparagus tips, sugar snaps, sweet peas, edamame etc, cut in 1 inch pieces
3/4 c. crumbled goat or blue cheese
4 eggs, cracked into cups, yolks unbroken
2 T. lemon juice or vinegar for 'free form poaching' or use your preferred method
S&P

Equipment:
Medium sauce pan
Slotted spoon
Small bowl for holding cooked eggs
Dish towel

Method:

• Bring a medium sized sauce pan of water to a boil, leave enough room to swirl the water and create a "whirl pool"
• Wash greens, prep veggies, build and plate salads
• Crack 1 egg into a small bowl or coffee cup to ensure that you have an egg with a whole unbroken yolk.
• Add lemon or vinegar to the water to 'acidulate' the water. The acid in the water will prevent the egg white from spreading out too much when you pour it into the water.
• Stir the water in the pot to form a whirl pool...gently pour egg into the center of the vortex and then don't touch anything. Let the egg do its thing. Reduce the water to a light simmer and allow the egg to cook. Swish the water occasionally to make sure that its not sticking to the bottom. After 3-4 minutes, scoop the egg out with a slotted spoon and place in a clean bowl to wait for the other eggs. The egg should be a little under cooked at this point, you'll add everyone back to the pot at the end to warm through.
• Repeat with the remaining eggs.
  
• On the last egg, add the 3 preceding eggs back to the simmering water (once the last egg is almost done) for 1 minute to warm through. Gently scoop each one out, drain a little with the dish towel while the egg is still in the spoon.
• Top each salad with one lovely egg. Sprinkle with S&P, spritz with a little lemon or drizzle with dressing. Serve immediately and enjoy the simplicity of it!
  

This salad can be beefed up with some prosciutto, grilled shrimp, toasted pine nuts, buttery croutons or anything else that you like to eat with egg.

Simple Spring Veggies

This one might be a "no-brainer" for all of you, but this method just dawned on me on Easter Sunday. Divine intervention? I'm guessing no, but it is easy and delicious.

Steamed Spring Veggies with Lemon and Herbs
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 bunch asparagus, rinsed and bottoms trimmed
1 c. broccoli florets, rinsed
1 c. sugar snap peas, rinsed and trimmed
1/4 lemon, juiced and zested a bit
1/2 t. dried (or 1.5 t fresh, rinsed and minced) herbs that you like 1 t. olive oil S&P

Method:

• Throw all ingredients into a microwave safe dish (preferably pyrex or glass) and cover tightly
• Microwave on high for 90 seconds, re-arrange veggies to get even cooking. Nuke in 45 second increments until tender crisp. Serve immediately or chill and add to green or pasta salads.

You can also do this in a traditional stove top steamer, just throw everything but the veggies in a pot and bring to a simmer. Add steamer basket and veggies, cover tightly and steam until tender crisp.

Mexican Night

Tonight's dinner is the very reason I created this blog. I had a dish in mind, I made it up as I went along, it turned out better than expected and I need to get this recipe written down before I forget. I used to just write it out while B did the dishes. Now I draft an entry, let it simmer a day or two, make adjustments and then post. So there you have it - the creative process exposed...muy caliente!

This post is a whole meal, so I'll start with all the dishes then list out their ingredients and methods one at a time. Hope you don't lose interest...but please let me know if you do.

Mexican Style Supper:
Fresh Guacamole & Chips
Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Re-fried Black Beans

Guacamole:
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 6 minutes
vegetarian, vegan, gluten free

Ingredients:
2 large ripe haas avocados, you can tell they're ripe when they have a darker (almost black) skin and they give a little with a light squeeze but there's no sensation of slimy under the skin. A harder avocado (like a tennis ball) will take 2-3 days to ripen.
1 large clove garlic, minced
.5 lime, juiced
1 T green onion or chive, minced
.5 t red pepper flakes
1 T fresh tomato, minced (skip if you're not already using tomato soon)
S&P

Method:

1. Scoop out the avocado into a bowl. Add all other ingredients and smush till desired texture is achieved.
2. Serve with chips. Yum
   

Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 60 minutes
gluten free, easily vegetarian

Ingredients:
4 large poblano peppers - to me, large is about the width of a tennis ball at the "shoulders" of the pepper
1 T vegetable oil
.5 - .75 lbs ground beef, bison, turkey, chicken, shrimp or 4 cups of beans and rice (combined)
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 T peppers in adobo, minced (find them in a small can or jar in the Mexican foods section of the market)
.5 c sweet corn
1 t dried oregano or 3 t fresh, chopped
1 t cumin
.5 c water
.5 c smashed corn chips
1 c shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, pepper jack, whatever makes you happy)
S&P

Method:

1. Heat oil over medium in pan, brown meat with onion until cooked through. Season very lightly with S&P
2. Add garlic, peppers, corn, oregano, cumin and water. Stir well, cover tightly and reduce heat to low. Keep an eye on it, you don't want it to get dried out completely, but you don't want it watery either.
   
3. On a grill, over the flames on a gas range or under the broiler in your oven, char the whole peppers all the way around. The name of the game here is HIGH HEAT, you want to char the skin off without over cooking the pepper itself. I've had best results with broiler and range. Once the peppers are charred all the way around, pop in a paper bag or a bowl with foil and allow to steam for a couple of minutes. Carefully peel the thin thin skin off the peppers. It can be a giant pain sometimes, but its worth the end result. If you end up ripping the pepper, don't sweat it - it'll get covered with cheese later.
4. Lay the peppers in a broiler friendly pan and carefully cut each open from tip to toe. Remove as many seeds a possible. If you're like me, the peppers are already somewhat eviscerated from the skinning episode, so just take advantage of a tear you already made.
5. Spoon the meat or bean filling into the peppers, you'll be serving one per person, so make em full. No need to bring the 2 edges of the cut back together - we'll make a band aid in the next step.
6. Sprinkle the smashed chips over the exposed filling - this will help soak up some of the liquid. Top the chips and peppers with the shredded cheese.
7. Run the peppers under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and brown.
8. You'll need a spatula and 2 or 3 spoons to hoist each pepper out of the pan and onto the plate....so grab some help and serve em up.

Re-fried Black Beans
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
gluten free, vegetarian, vegan

Ingredients:
1 can black beans rinsed, or 2 cups cooked dried beans
1 T vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced or small dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 t oregano
2 t cumin
2 t chili powder
2 t smoked paprika
1 minced jalapeno, chipotle or pepper of your preference
.5 c water
1 small tomato chopped (optional...helps cool everything off if it turns out too hot)
S&P

Method:

1. Heat oil over medium in a medium pan. Saute onion until browning, about 10 min.
2. Add everything but the tomato, toast over medium head 1 or 2 minutes stirring constantly. It will stick on the bottom - don't worry about it. It will make you sneeze, so be prepared.
3. Add water and stir wildly to scrape up any stuck bits on the bottom.
4. Toss everything with beans in a food processor and process till you its as smooth or chunky as you like.
5. Season with S&P and decide if you need to add the tomatoes. The mixture should be a little more watery than you like because you will 're fry' it before serving.
6. Just before serving, return the beans to their original pan and cook over medium until warmed through and at the your preferred thickness.

This turns out to be a good deal of food. If you want to add a veg, succotash or some grilled summer squash with oregano would be perfect.

Bison Go Bragh!

I'd love to write a great story to go with this one, but I have another dish I want to post so I have to save my brain cells. This is a super tasty version of Sheppard's Pie. You can sub beef, turkey, lamb, seitan or quinoa & mushroom for the bison and end up with a great dish. Enjoy.

Shepard's Pie (Bison Style)
Yield: 4 servings
Time: 90 min

Ingredients;
1 T vegetable oil
2 medium onions, rough chop
2 medium carrots, peeled, rough chop
1 large celery rib, rough chop
1 lb ground bison
2 cloves garlic, minced / pressed
1 t rosemary, dried
1 t thyme, dried
1 bay leaf, dried
.5 c fresh or frozen sweet peas
.5 c fresh or frozen sweet corn
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8's
2 T butter
.5 c half n half
1 bottle porter or ale
1-2 pints water
2 T Worcestershire
1 T butter
1 T or less flour
s&p

Method

1. Put pot of water (not pints of water) on to boil for potatoes.
2. Heat oil over medium high until just shimmering and add bison., Stab with wooden implement until the meat is in large crumbles and about half browned. Add onion, stir and cook a couple more minutes. Add a little salt and pepper, stir and add herbs, carrots & celery. Continue cooking and stirring until meat is cooked through and veggies are tender. You are not looking to brown the veggies here.
3. Add garlic and cook for a minute or 2.
4. Add beer, Worcestershire and 1 pint of water, bring to a boil, cover, reduce to a simmer and cook.
   
5. Salt potato water with about .5 T salt once boiling. Boil potatoes till fork tender. Quickly drain (retain a little water) and return to pot. Mash with butter, half and half, a little garlic, s&p to taste. Mash only until potatoes are just broken down...pea sized lumps are ok. Over mashing / mixing will make taters gluey and gross. Once you get mashed, carefully fold / stir to incorporate ingredients...this will help keep them from getting gross. Set aside once they are done and taste good.
6. Check on stew parts, should be tender and lovely. Add peas and corn. Cover and continue cooking. You're going to need 2 or 3 ladles of liquid from that pot in a minute, so make sure that's in the pot. If its not, add beer and water till you get that much liquid.
7. Get a small whisk and a ladle take cover off your stew pot....then melt butter in small sauce pan over low, sprinkle in flour and stir like a freak until incorporated. Cook - stirring constantly - till light brown and reduce heat. Slowly whisk in one ladle of hot stock until thick, add more until you have a thick gravy. Return this thick gravy to the stew pot, stirring and increase heat a bit. Stew should thicken nicely.
8. Ladle thick thick stew into a casserole or individual oven safe bowls. Top with taters...they may sink, but they'll pop up again in the oven. You're looking to make a top crust with the taters..but don't worry about it if you just have some lumps - it will work out.
9. Place vessels on a baking sheet and broil until potatoes are browned.
10. Remove, let stand 3 -5 minutes. Serve.
    

One Last Hearty Winter Dish

This recipe is is not mine, it was passed to me by one of my favorite foodies, who also happens to be a woman who played a huge role in shaping my understanding of, respect for, and interested in both food and people. The dish sounds pretty good on paper, but turns out SO much better than that! If you try and enjoy, please thank Nonna-Marie and her big food brain.


Kale Pesto Pasta with Beets

Yield: 2 entree servings, 4 sides
Prep time: depends on the beets, 45 to 90 min
vegetarian as written


Ingredients:

2 bunches kale or any dark green of your choosing, rinsed, tough stems removed, and roughly chopped. cooking times will vary based on your green!
1 clove garlic
1/2 + c. olive oil
1/2 - 1 c. parm, romano or locatelli
1/2 c. lightly toasted walnuts or pine nuts
1/2 lemon
1/2 lb beets, scrubbed, root and stem removed
1 t rosemary
1/2 lb whole wheat rigatoni or other pasta
s&p

Method:

1. Set oven to 475*
2. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
3. Place beets in a small roasting pan with 1 inch of water. Sprinkle with rosemary and S&P. Cover tightly with foil and pop in the oven. No need for the oven to preheat. Roast beets until tender to a fork. This could take 20 to 90 min depending on the beet. 20 for golf ball sized, 90 for soft ball sized. Allow beets to cool slightly and rub skin off with paper towels or kitchen dish gloves. Slice or dice.
4. While beets are cooking....blanch kale until bright green and just tender. Reserve blanching water for cooking the pasta.
5. Bring water back to a boil and cook pasta to package instructions. Drain.
   
6. Add cheese, garlic, nuts and a handful of the greens to a food processor and turn it on. Add greens and slowly drizzle in olive oil. Reserve a handful of the greens for serving. Once all greens and oil are in, open the processor, taste, add salt and pepper. If too thick, add more oil or a little bit of water till you reach the desired texture.
7. Add a little oil to the pasta pot, saute reserved greens until cooked through - maybe throw in some pepper flakes?
   
8. Add pasta back to the pot, toss with a generous scoop or 2 of pesto. Squeeze a bit of lemon in there too.
   
9. Spoon pasta into warmed bowls and top with beets.

Other serving ideas - top with pancetta or bacon....add some warm smoked ham to the bottom of your pasta dish....julienne some herb roasted chicken over the top....use grape tomatoes, sugar snap peas, baby peas, or roasted portebello instead of beets.