Kale & White Bean Stew

Packed with nutrition from Kale and protein packed cannelloni beans. I often add in roasted tempeh or for meat eaters, lamb sausage.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Olive oil
3 carrots, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
5 celery stalks, chopped
2 shallots or 2 cloves garlic, chopped

4, 15oz cans vegetable broth ( about 8 cups)
1 cup water
2 , 15 oz can cannelloni beans
dried parsley, thyme  & oregano ro rosemary (optional)
sestet & pepper
2 bunches kale, stems out and chopped large

12 one sausage or roasted/bbq tempeh (optional)

Step 1
Heat oil in a large pot. Add tempeh or sausage if using. Fry up and remove.

Step 2
Add carrots, onions, shallots, celery.
Saute 3 min.
Add garlic if using- 1 min

Stir in veg or chicken broth, water, herbs & season with seawall t& pepper.
Bring to a simmer for 15 min. Add back in sausage or tempeh if using.
Add cannelloni beans. Stir. add more broth if it is too thick for you.
Add in chopped kale. Cover Let simmer until kale is texture you like, I like it chewy).
Serve as is.

Roasted Carrot and Red Lentil Ragout

Ingredients:

6 large carrots, peeled & cut lengthwise
10 Tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional0
1 cup red lentils
5 cups chicken stock

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

1. Lay carrots in a roasting pan and toss with 5 Tablespoons olive oil. 

Season with 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 20 minutes. Turn the carrots, add the onion & drizzle rest of Olive oil on them. 

Roast 15 minutes, until the carrots are brown and tender. 

When the carrots are cool enough cut them in to 1/4 inch dice. Dice onion as well.

2. Warm a sauce pan. 

Add the carrot and onion mixture, and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the lentils. Add the chicken stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, until lentil are falling apart. Season to taste.

3. Serve with rice, or as a thick soup.

If I want to pump up the veggie content, I add in some sweet potato. parsnip, celery....

Creamy Golden Chick Pea & Kale Stew

Spiced chick peas are crisped in olive oil, the simmered in coconut milk for a crazy creamy stew often found in South India & parts of the Caribbean.  The chick peas alone would be a great side dish, but then you'll add in stock, bolstered with dark, leafy greens of you choosing, and finish with a handful of fresh mint.  Be sure to avid low fat coconut milk or the meant fo drinking: all are very different and would not be suitable here.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for serving
4 garlic cloves or 2 shallots, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 stick celery sliced thin
3 carrots cut in chunks
1, 2inch , peeve of ginger, grated
sea salt
pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
2, 15 oz, cans of chick peas, drained and rinsed
2, 15 oz cans of full fat coconut milk
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 inch swiss hard or kale or collard gens. stems removed, torn or cut into small pieces

Garnish:
1 cup mint, chopped
Yogurt

Step 1
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add garlic/shallots (if using), onion, celery & ginger. Season with sea salt & pepper. Put on low and let simmer for 5 min until onions are translucent.

Step 2
Add in turmeric, cumin, red pepper flakes, if using, and check peas.  Let fry in spices for 8-10min. Stirring frequently.  With a master, mask the chick peas to release the starch to thicken the stew.

Step 3
Add in the carrots, stock, coconut milk. Season with seas and pepper again.
Let simmer, stirring occasionally,  until carrots cooked as you like and stew has thickened. 30-35 minutes.

Step 4.
Add in greens. Stir. Cover and let sit on low for 5 min or until greens are the texture you like. I like them super crunchy almost raw.  Check salt and pepper seasoning.

To serve top with olive oil, mint and a dollop of yogurt...

Baked Cabbage Steaks

OMGosh. These are Ah-mazing.  I was skeptical, but I do love roasted broccoli & cauliflower.  Gave these a try ash Whoa.. the wheel family loved them... roast on!

Pre-heat oven to 400F/200c

Wash & remove outer leaves of the round cabbage. Trim stem.
Cut into 1 - 1 1/2 inch (2-3cm) slices
Brush both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic, seasalt & pepper.
Bake 30 -4 0 minutes.  

I like mine with the edges a bit crunchy so I go for 40 minutes.
Enjoy!  You won't need much more on your plate!

Coconut Rice with Bok Choy and Lime!

All I can say is... I love food like this!

2 tsp coconut oil

½ head of bok choy, stalks  (the white part) sliced 2 cm thick and greens chopped

2 shallots, minced

1 1/2cups basmati rice, rinsed

1 ½ cups water

¾ can coconut milk, unsweetened

1 lemon grass stalk, trimmed to 10 cm and smashed

sea salt and pepper

2 TBL minced fresh coriander

 1 tsp grated lime zest

 2 tsp lime juice

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering.

Add bok choy stalks and shallot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes.

Stir in rice, water, coconut milk, lemongrass and 2 tsp sea salt. Bring to a boil.

Cover. Reduce heat to lowest possible, and put on smallest burner.  Let simmer 18 minutes.

Fold in fresh coriander, lime zest and juice, and bok choy greens. Discard lemon grass stalk.  MMMMMmmmmm

Spiced Red Lentils (Masoor Dal)

When I need a meal in a quick minute, I almost always turn to lentils. Lentils are 25% protein, are High in fiber, Vitamin B and Iron.  Authentic Dal should have a porridge-like consistency, without the need for a blender.  You cannot substitute different lentils for red lentils in this dish; they have a very different texture. Plus, the red ones cook in 20 minutes! Just enough time to make the Coconut rice…

1 TBL coconut oil, melted

½ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground turmeric (I grate fresh turmeric into the pan about a half a thumb sized piece)

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic or 4 large shallots, minced

2 tsp grated fresh ginger (about a large thumb-sized piece)

4 cups water

 8 ½ oz / 1 ¼ cups red lentils, rinsed

1 lb / 500gr plum tomatoes, chopped (I often use tomatoes I have frozen in the summer, I put them as is in the pan until the defrost enough to “cut up” with scissors!)

½ cup fresh coriander, minced

2 TBL ghee or unsalted butter or olive oil

sea salt & pepper

Lemon wedges

Heat up a large saucepan over medium heat, until oil is shimmering.

Add powdered spices and stir until fragrant. Stir in onions and shallots (if using). Cook until softened, about 5 min. Stir in garlic (if using) and ginger and fresh turmeric (if using), about 30 sec.

Stir in water and red lentils. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to lowest or smallest burner and let simmer, uncovered, until lentils are tender and resemble a coarse puree, 20-25 min.

Stir in tomatoes, fresh coriander, and buuter/oliveoil/ghee. Season with sea salt and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges. Coconut Rice  and Palak Paneer make great sides! (See recipes)

Chick Pea “Burgers”

Like black beans, chickpeas make great veggie burgers. Unlike black beans they need some help to break down so the burgers hold their shape.  But, if broken down too much, you get hummus (which we made last month).  You can soak and cook your own chickpeas as we did today, or you can use ORGANIC jarred chickpeas as in the recipe.  

2 jars chickpeas, organic, rinsed WELL

2 large eggs

 6 TBL olive oil

1 tsp garam masala

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp sea salt

1 cup panko bread crumbs (I often crush buckwheat crackers for this)

½ cup plain Greek yogurt (I use sheep)

2 scallions, sliced thin

3 TBL minced fresh coriander

1 shallot, minced

1 recipe Cucumber- Yogurt Sauce

Pulse chickpeas in robot/Thermomix until coarsely ground.  About 8 times for Thermomix. Or use an immersion blender, or mash potato press!

Whisk eggs, 2 TBL olive oil, garam masala, cayenne pepper, and sea salt in a medium bowl. Gently stir in processed chickpeas, panko, yogurt, scallions, fresh coriander and shallot until just combined. Do not over mix or the cakes will have a mealy texture. 

Divide into 6 equal portions and make into 10inch / 3 cm thick patties.

Heat 2 TBL olive oil or coconut oil in a non-stick fry pan, over medium hat, until shimmering. Carefully lay 3 patties in pan and cook until well browned and firm on both sides. 4-5 minutes per side. 

Transfer cakes to plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining 3 cakes.  Serve with Cucumber yogurt Sauce!

Life Changing Bread

I have long looked for a non-bread bread (does that make sense!) that I love.  Not to say that bread is bad. However when you live in the land of the perfect baguette, and it tempts you at every turn,  it might be nice to free up some space in a meal for more veggies and good grains. 

In addition, many breads contain some really kooky stuff. There are so many I cannot even count, but if your bread isn’t made of flour (preferably organic), water, salt (and maybe yeast) trust that it is NOT a healthy addition to your meal.

I found this (and these great photos!) on a blog called MyNewRoots.org.  It is a meal in one.  Just add olive oil, some spreads or an avocado & tomato and a salad.  And, yes, my whole family loves this lunch.

Ingredients

135 gr/1 cup sunflower seeds

90 gr/ ½ cup flax seeds

65 gr / ½ cup hazelnuts or almonds (leave out for nut allergy)

145 gr / 1 ½ cups rolled oats (get certified gluten free for gluten allergy)

2 soupspoons/ 2 Tbsp chia seeds

4 soupspoons/  4 Tbsp psyllium husks ( 3Tbl if using powdered)

1 coffeespoon/1 tsp fine seasalt

1 soupspoon / 1 Tbsp maple syrup (or a pinch of stevia for sugar free diets)

2 soupspoons / 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil or clarified butter

350ml / 1 ½ cups water

1.    In a flexible loaf pan, mix all DRY ingredients.  Or use a standard loaf pan lined with parchment paper or silicon paper.  Stir well.

2.    Whisk all Wet ingredients together. I use an immersion blender in a tall cup to emulsify them.

3.    Add wet to dry and stir very well until everything is completely soaked through and Dough becomes very thick.  If it is too thick to stir, add a few more spoons of water until it is manageable.  Smooth top with back of spoon.

4.    Let it sit on the counter for 2-12 hours. (I leave it overnight.)  To ensure the dough is ready, it should keep it’s shape even when you pull it away from the sides of the pan.

5.    Preheat oven to 175C/350F.

Now bake it!

6.    Place on middle rack and bake for 20 min.

7.    Remove from loaf pan. Remove parchment paper if used. Place UPSIDE DOWN directly on oven rack and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes.  Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped.

8.    Let COOL COMPLETELY before slicing (this can be difficult, but is very important)

9.    Store in an airtight container fro up to 5 days, Freezes well to, but slice first for a quick & easy toast. 

By the way, this makes incredible toast!

Also, so much of this recipe is substitutable.  No maple syrup? Use honey or agave or pureed dates that have been soaked in a few spoonfuls of hot water. Not enough sunflower seeds? Then mix it up with pumpkin seeds. No chia? Leave it out or use hemp  or sesame.  YOU choose. The only thing you cannot change is the psyllium husk. This is what holds the bread together. In addition it is great for our intestines, full of soluble and insoluble fibers, assisting in a slower release of sugars into our blood stream.

Petits Farcis Niçois

Ingredients of the  (for 8 people)

by Gael Verger

• 8 onions white or red 
• 6 zucchinis (cut in 3 parts) 
• 4 eggplants
• 8 potatoes 
• 350 g ground beef (or 600 gr beef and no sausage meat)
• 250 g ground sausage meat 
• 150 g uncooked long grain rice (I use whole or semi)
• 1 tablespoonesfresh thyme
• 2 twigs of fresh rosemary 
• 1  bunch of  fresh flat-leaved parsley 
• salt
• pepper

Prep the vegetables

Peel onions and put them in the boiling water with salt 5 min. A process is called "blancher" or blanching.  Drain them.  Wash and wipe all the vegetables, eggplants, zucchinis, and potatoes.

Cut the top of each of these vegetables and reserve their tops to place it as a hat. We are going to fill them.

Using a spoon,, small melon baller or scoop, delicately scoop out the flesh of all the vegetables (leave 1 mm from the skin to the flesh), without damaging the skin and Reserve it in a bowl.

In boiling water with salt put the swiss chard 5 min same process has for the onions (blanching).

Drain them and place between two sheets of paper towels to remove the water. 

Preheat the oven at 180°C/350F.

Prepare the rice

Cook your rice half the time recommended. The rice will continue to cook with the petit farcis in the oven.  It will absorb the extra juice of the vegetables

Prepare the stuffing

Use the vegetables that you reserved in a bowl.

Chop 2 tablespoonful of onions and all the flesh of the other vegetables that you had saved in a bowl.

Saute the onions with olive oil until translucent brownish in a large skillet. Add the chopped vegetables.  Add the sausage meat and then ground beef, when the pink of the meat is just starting to fade away remove from the fire. Add the chopped swiss chard, rice, fresh persil, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme. Mix.

Taste the stuffing before seasoning with salt & pepper

Start stuffing your vegetables. Place the saved hats on the vegetables. Put the dish in the oven for 1 hour then reduce the temperature 150 °C/300F and let it cook about 30 min more.

GNOCCHIS

By Gael Verger

Ingredients for 8 people

2 kg of potatoes 

500gr of spelt flour (flour)

2 eggs

2 tablespoons of olive oil

salt

Preparation

Clean and peel the potatoes.  Cook the potatoes in a steamer preferably (or in water).

Crush them with potato masher to obtain a purée.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

2 egg yokes .

Add 400gr of the spelt flour to start.

Mix well.. The dough is rather sticky but that is completely normal. 

The more we add of flour, the more firm the dough will be. 

Flour the work top, take a quarter of the dough and coat it well with flour

(Use the remaining 100gr of the flour when the dough starts to get sticky again-the flour absorbs the water and gets sticky).

Roll the dough in form of a sausage 2 centimeters in diameter.

Chop pieces with a knife 2 centimeters.

Press the dough with the back of a fork to make an mark on the gnocchis

Put the gnoccis (20 at a time) to cook in a big pan of salty boiling water. As soon as the gnocchis come up to the surface, take them out with a skimmer and continue the same process with the remaining uncooked gnocchis.

Cooking tips : I cook my gnocchis in advance by small quantities and as soon as they surface, I put them in some cold water for 1min to stop the cooking. Take them out with a strainer type of spoon/ladle to get rid of the remaining water. Transfer in a dish put some olive oil (½ tbspoon) to prevent them to stick. Then I prepare the sauce (tomato sauce or parsley sauce). I add them at the last minute to reheat the gnoccis.

So I can enjoy dinner with guests!

Pasta Risotto?

Yes, its true. Making pasta as if you were making risotto, but in 20 minutes, and without the cream. Although, it is pretty creamy. This is one of those magical recipes that tasted even better than it sounds. Where the sum of the ingredients is so much more than they are separate. It is , of course, from my favorite scientific cooking mag- Cook's Illustrated. Read on for the perfect spring feast.

3 medium leeks, white and light green parts halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2 inch (5 cm), slices (about 5 cups); 3 cups dark green arts roughly chopped and put aside

1 pound (450gr) asparagus, tough ends snapped off, chopped coarsely and reserved; spears cut on an angle into 1/2 inch (5 cm) thick pieces

2 cups baby frozen peas, thawed
2 large clove garlic (or more if you love it!), minced
5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
2 TBL (soupspoons) chopped fresh mint
2 TBL (soupspoons) chopped fresh chives
1/2 tsp (coffeespoon) lemon zest PLUS 2 TBL juice from 1 lemon
6 TBL olive oil
seasalt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (opt)
1 pound pasta - with a shape- spirals, bows, squiggles, etc. the recipe calls for campanelle
1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese, about 1/2 cup


Place dark green parts of leeks, asparagus tough ends, 1 cup baby peas, 1 minced garlic clove, and water into pot with vegetable broth, bring to a boil on high heat, then turn down and let simmer. Mince herbs and zest lemon into a bowl, mix.
Place sieve over a large bowl/cup and let drain while you prep the veg.
Make sure you have 5 cups, add enough water to get to 5 cups.

Heat 2 TBL olive oil in a dutch oven or large frying pan. Add sliced leeks and a pinch of seasalt. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown. Add asparagus tip until crisp, 4-6 minutes, then rest of garlic. Then last cup of peas. Warm through. Place veg mix on a plate.

Wipe out pan. Add 4 TBL olive oil, heat until shimmering. Add in all the pasta, and cook stirring often until all pasta is covered with olive oil and begins to brown. About 5 minutes. Add first cup of broth and stir until absorbed. Add rest of hot broth. Cook, stirring often until liquid is mostly absorbed. About 8 minutes, more if you are using whole wheat or whole spelt pasta.

When pasta is al dente, or cooked as you like it, take it off the heat. Stir in lemon juice, half of herb mixture, Parmesan cheese and veg mixture. Salt & pepper to taste. Serve right away, passing the Parmesan cheese and remaining herb mixture.

MMMMM... it's like eating a creamy veg pasta primavera without the cream, but with the creamy sauce sensation...