Spiced Lentils with Mushrooms and Greens

I'm always on the lookout for a way to incorporate lentils into my diet as well as more greens. So this recipe for Spiced Lentils with Mushrooms and Greens from the February, 2011 issue of Food and Wine magazine is perfect, especially since I think nothing with mushrooms can ever be bad. And there is nothing I love better than when foods that seem somewhat boring on their own (i.e. dry lentils and Swiss chard) get tossed together with some spices and end up super tasty as a result! And this is exactly what I got with this one. In fact, it was so good I didn't eat it as a side-dish as suggested in the recipe, I ate it stand alone as a light meal.

Spiced Lentils with Mushrooms and Greens 4 side-dish servings 1/2 cup brown or green lentils 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced 1/4-inch thick Salt 1 garlic clove, minced 1/4 tsp ground cumin 1/4 tsp ground coriander 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/8 tsp turmeric 1/2 pound Swiss chard or other tender greens, large stems discarded and leaves coarsely chopped 1 Tbsp chopped parsley

In a small saucepan, cover the lentils with 2 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the shiitake and season with salt. Cover and cook over moderate heat, stiffing, until the mushrooms are tender and starting to brown, 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil along with the garlic, cumin, coriander, pepper and turmeric and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the greens and cook, stirring, until wilted, 2 minutes.

Add the lentils and their cooking liquid to the mushrooms and simmer for 3 minutes. Add up to 1/4 cup water if the lentils are too dry. Season with salt. Ladle the lentils into bowls, garnish with parsley and serve.

My Legume Love Affair (MLLA) was originally started by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. This month's MLLA #33 is being hosted by Ammalus Kitchen

Scarlet Barley with Mushroom & Cannellini Paprikas

I admit that the main reason I made this recipe is so that I could shred a beet. I have had a thing with beets this past fall but so far I have only tackled roasting them. I found the concept of peeling the raw beet and then shredding it and using it as an ingredient intriguing. And when I learned this month's Monthly Mingle theme is "Think Pink" I decided this recipe for Scarlet Barley from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's "Appetite for Reduction" would be a fun contribution.

The Scarlet Barley along with the Mushroom & Cannelini Paprikas came together in about an hour. Shredding the beet for the Scarlet Barley was harder than I thought. I used the shredder on my mandolin and since the beet is naturally hard it was a bit difficult to get a good position for the shredder to shred it. And of course my hands turned all red. But once that was done the rest was simple. And it wasn't too difficult that I wouldn't do it again to use for other recipes if the ingredient is called for.

I prepared this dish prior to an evening appointment and let it sit on the stove for at least two hours before I ate it. Unfortunately I think it lost some flavor. The end result was somewhat bland to me. I think if I would have tried the barley after letting the fresh lemon sit for about 10 minutes it would have been much better.

The next day I sauteed some Swiss chard with green onions and garlic (like the way it is done for the Miso Udon Stir-fry with Greens and Beans recipe) and then threw the leftovers into the pan to reheat. I mixed it all together and after it was plated I squirted on a bit of sriracha. It was a really great combo to be eaten this way!

Scarlet Barley Serves 6 1 tsp olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced Freshly ground black pepper 1 bay leaf 1 cup pearl barley, rinsed 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth 1/4 tsp salt 1 beet (about 3/4 pound), grated Juice of 1/2 lemon Fresh dill, for garnish (optional)

Preheat a 2-quart pot over medium heat. Saute the garlic in the olive oil for about 30 seconds. Add several pinches of pepper and the bay leaf. Add the barley, broth, and salt; cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling stir and lower the heat to low. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When most of the water has absorbed, mix in the grated beet. Cook for about 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat, mix in the lemon juice, and taste for salt. Cover and let sit for about 10 mire minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve topped with fresh dill.


Mushroom & Cannellini Paprikas
Serves 4

1 1/2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dry red cooking wine
1/4 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 Tbsp fresh chopped thyme
1 (16-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1 recipe Scarlet Barley

Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions in the oil until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, pepper, and salt; cook until lots of the moisture has been released, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

Add the wine, broth, smoked paprika, and thyme. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to a low boil. Boil for about 3 minutes. Lower the heat and add the beans. Cook to heat through, about 4 more minutes. Use a strong fork to lightly mash some of the beans, to thicken the sauce. Just mash a few against the side of the post and then mix 'em back in. Taste for salt and serve.

Serve over Scarlet Barley with plenty of fresh dill.

This month's Monthly Mingle theme is Think Pink and is being hosted by Sarah at Maison Cupcake.

Miso Udon Stir-fry with Greens & Beans

Wow! This dish tastes about 10 times better than it looks. With a little Sriracha and salt on top, it's creamy and salty and spicy... perfect!

I bought a few kinds of different kinds of beans the other week just to have on hand. One of those was a bean I hadn't heard of before: azuki beans. So when I was flipping through my new cookbook, Appetite for Reduction, I flagged this recipe as the first one to make because of it's use of this fun new ingredient.

I couldn't find brown rice udon noodles as suggested in the recipe so I bought some brown rice spaghetti. But I had some regular pre-cooked udon packages in my refrigerator so when it came time to put this together I decided to use those.

I realize now that I forgot to add the sesame seeds. Oh well, I do bet they would have been great on this but it was really tasty all the same.

Miso Udon Stir-fry with Greens and Beans Serves 4 1 pound broccoli, stems sliced thinly, tops cut into florets 8 ounces brown rice udon noodles 1 teaspoon olive oil 6 cloves of garlic, minced 1 bunch Swiss chard (about ½ pound), coarse stems removed, chopped roughly 1 cup thinly sliced green onions, plus extra for garnish 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 (16-ounce) can azuki beans, drained and rinsed 1/3 cup miso 1/2 cup hot water 4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds Sriracha hot sauce, to serve

Prepare a pot of salted water for cooking the noodles.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. First saute the broccoli with a bit of nonstick cooking spray and a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes. Cover the pan and flip once or twice. The broccoli should be browned in some spots. Add a splash of water at the end, then cover for another minute. The pan should be steaming. Remove broccoli from the pan and set aside.

At this point, the water should be boiling. Use a mug to remove ½ cup of water; you can use that to mix into your miso in a few steps. Then cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain when ready.

Now we'll put everything together. Preheat the large pan again, over medium heat. Saute the garlic in the oil for about a minute, until fragrant. Add the chard, green onion, and salt, and saute for about 5 minutes, until wilted. Add the beans and let heat through.

In the meantime, in a mug or measuring cup, mix together the miso and warm pasta water until relatively smooth.

Add the drained noodles to the pan, along with the miso mixture and broccoli. Saute for about 2 minutes, using a pasta spoon, making sure everythin is nice and coated. Taste for salt. To serve, to with sesame seeds and green onions and keep the Sriracha close at hand.

No Croutons Required March bogging event theme is "aduki beans or mung beans" and it is being hosted by Lisa's Kitchen. View the roundup here.

Hearty Irish Lager Stew

You probably don't think "vegetarian" when you think of Irish food, but this dish is not only vegetarian, it's vegan. This recipe for Hearty Irish Lager Stew from the March, 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine is made with no animal products at all so it's super healthy. That might not have you smackin' your lips, but this stew is very tasty and since it's made of mostly veggies, you can eat a huge amount and it won't go to your hips. And, it's made with beer! So that's kinda fun.

Make sure you cut your veggies on the small side. Ours were a bit large and with the cooking times listed in the recipe we found that the potatoes were still hard. We cooked it an extra 15-20 minutes and some of it was still al dente. It was good anyways; I don't mind chewing my vegetables. I'd rather that than have them be too mushy. And we munched on some Salt and Vinegar Potato Bites while we were waiting for the stew to finish so we had no complaints.

Hearty Irish Lager Stew Serves 8 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 8 oz. button or shittake mushrooms, halved 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.) 1 medium leek, white part only, diced (1 cup) 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced (2 cups) 2 small parsnips, peeled and sliced (1½ cups) 1½ tsp. tomato paste 1 15-oz. can crushed tomatoes 1½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth 2 sprigs fresh thyme, tied in bundle, plus 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme, divided ½ lager beer 1½ Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca 1 cup shredded cabbage 1 Tbsp. white miso 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

Heat ½ Tbsp. oil in large pot over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic; saute 8 minutes, or until mushrooms are browned. Remove from pan. Add remaining ½ Tbsp. oil to pot. Add leek, and cook 5 minutes. Add potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and tomato paste. Cook 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, and thyme sprigs; bring to a boil. Reduct heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add lager, tapioca, and mushrooms. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, or until thickened, stirring often. Remove thyme sprigs, stir in cabbage and miso, and simmer 4 to 5 minutes, or until cabbage softens. Stir in chopped thyme and parsley, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Nutritional Information as provided in magazine:
Per 1-cup serving: 118 CAL; 4 G PROT; 2 G TOTAL FAT (<1 G SAT FAT); 23 G CARB; 0 MG CHOL; 204 MG SOD; 5 G FIBER; 5 G SUGARS

Salt and Vinegar Potato Bites

We love these potatoes! Way better then french fries, roasted potatoes are much healthier. Found in the March, 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine I made these tonight as a snack.

The recipe says you can drizzle the sauce over the potatoes, but I think that would have made them soggy. We liked dipping them and that way we could each control the amount of vinegar that absorbed into to potato.

Salt and Vinegar Potato Bites Serves 8 6 medium red or yello potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes (3 cups) 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 cup malt vinegar 3 Tbsp. sugar Soak potatoes in large bowl of cold water 30 minutes. Drain, and pat dry. Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss potatoes with oil on baking sheet, and spread in single layer. Roast 45 minutes, or until golden and crisp, turning 2 or 3 times. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Meanwhile, bring vinegar and sugar to a simmer in saucepan over medium heat. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Serve malt sauce on side for dipping, or drizzle over potatoes.

Nutritional Information as provided in magazine:
Per ½-cup serving: 89 CAL; 1 G PROT; 4 G TOTAL FAT (<1 G SAT FAT); 14 G CARB; 0 MG CHOL; 3 MG SOD; <1 G FIBER; 5 G SUGARS

Japchae (with soba noodles)

"Got Kimchi?" was the headline a this article on Korean cooking in the September, 2010 issue of Women's Health magazine. And pictured on the first page was Japchae. Described as a word that means "mixture of vegetables", my mouth watered with all the yummy veggies and noodles piled together.

Always looking to cook new kinds of foods using new ingredients, I couldn't wait to give this one a try. I had to visit the Asian market to get the hot pepper paste and enoki mushrooms, but I was able to find all the other ingredients at my local grocery store. In fact, you don't really need the enoki mushrooms, but they are fun. I'm not sure they add much flavor, but they do make this dish look super fancy.

Go ahead and make this one evening and save leftovers for lunch the next day. The flavors combine more and it even tastes great cold!

I did a little research and discovered that this dish is usually made with cellophane noodles but I like that this version is made with soba noodles because they are healthy for you and one of my favorite noodles.

Japache Serves 4 2 Tbsp sesame seeds 3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp sugar 2 tsp hot pepper paste (kochujang) 1 Tbsp sesame oil ½ lb soba noodles 2 tsp vegetable oil ½ medium yellow onion, thinly sliced 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 green onions, thinly sliced 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 5 oz baby spinach 3 oz enoki mushrooms, ends trimmed

In a dry skillet, toast sesame seeds over medium heat until golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove from skillet and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, hot pepper paste, and sesame oil; set aside. Prepare noodles according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet. Add yellow onion and carrot; cook for 4 minutes. Add garlic, green onion, red pepper, spinach, 1 teaspoon sugar, and salt and pepper to taste; cook for 3 minutes. Stir in noodles and sauce; heat for 2 minutes. Serve topped with enoki mushrooms and toasted sesame seeds.

Nutritional information per serving as provided in magazine:
332 cal, 9 g fat (1g sat), 57 g carbs, 889 mg sodium, 4 g fiber, 12 g protein

Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Stoup

I recently decided to give Rachael Ray's new show Rachael Ray's Week in a Day a try. And I confess, I love it! I do like to spend an afternoon cooking and end up with a bunch of stuff I can pick on during the week. But for me it's more about lunches and breakfasts than having dinner prepared in advance. Regardless, I was excited about a bunch of recipes she features.

I have made "stoup" before and love the concept. It's Rachael Ray's cute way of naming a chunky soup - like a cross between a soup and a stew. And I loving making things like this on the weekend, when the house can smell all good while it's cooking, and then taking it for lunch. In addition, this uses broccoli raab which is something I've been trying to eat more of (dark green leafy veggies).

All the flavors come together great in this dish. And in fact, it's a bit spicy! If you are sensitive to heat you may want to cut down on the chili pepper. But for me, it made it even better.

Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Stoup
4 servings

Salt
1 large bundle broccoli rabe, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds bulk Italian sweet or hot sausage
1 onion, chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or very thinly sliced
1 red chile pepper, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon lemon zest
A few grates nutmeg
6 cups chicken stock-in-a-box
2 cups water
About 3/4 cup orecchietti pasta
Grated pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano, for topping
Crusty bread, such as ciabatta

In a medium pot, bring a few inches of water to a boil over medium heat, then salt the water. Trim the broccoli rabe and cut it into 1 1/2 to 2-inch lengths. Simmer in boiling water to reduce the bitterness, about 4 to 5 minutes, then cold shock in ice water and drain very well.

Heat a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat with extra-virgin olive oil, a turn of the pan. Add the sausage and brown and crumble, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the onions, garlic and chile and cook a few minutes more. Add the thyme and lemon zest, then add broccoli rabe and season with a little nutmeg. Stir in the stock and the water and bring to a boil. Simmer a few minutes to combine the flavors. Turn off the heat, cool and store for a make-ahead meal. Reheat the stoup over low heat and bring to a low boil. Add the pasta and cook to al dente, about 10 minutes. Ladle the stoup in shallow bowls and garnish with cheese. Serve with crusty bread for mopping.

Note: For a milder version, use only 3 tablespoons of chili powder and ½ teaspoon cayenne.




See more hearty recipes for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays hosted weekly by Kahakai Kitchen.

Apple Slaw

This recipe is a fresh twist on coleslaw, it includes two kinds of apples! This isn't a creamy coleslaw, so be prepared for vinegary flavors. It's REALLY important to let this sit. When I first ate it I didn't think it had much flavor, but when I had a few bites a few hours later it was really great. So I suggest letting this sit even longer then their recommended thirty minutes.

To turn this into a meal we at it with some fresh bratwurst straight from Milwaukee. And with my leftover I sliced it up and mixed it in with the slaw. What a great lunch. And the next night I broiled some tilapia and used this slaw to make fish tacos. The flavors of the slaw were a bit strong by then but it went great with the fish tacos! In fact I may use this recipe for fish tacos from now on.

Apple Slaw Serves 4 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp olive oil 1/4 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper 1 1/2 small cabbages, shredded (7 cups) 3 large carrots, shredded (1 cup) 1 Granny Smith apple, unpeeled and cut into thin strips 1 Braeburn apple, unpeeled and cut into thin strips 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped 2 tbsp unsalted walnuts, chopped (optional)

In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, Dijon, oil, salt and pepper.

In a large salad bowl, combine cabbage, carrots, apples and parsley; toss with dressing to coat. Top with walnuts, if desired. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Serve immediately after chilling.

Nutritional information per 1 1/4 cup serving as provided in magazine:
Calories: 129, Total Fat: 4g, Sat. Fat: 0.5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g, Carbs: 22g, Fiber: 5g, Sugars 13g, Protein: 3g, Sodium: 247 mg, Cholesterol: 0mg

Broccoli Raab, Sicilian Style

Well, this confirms it. I only like broccoli raab in soups. I have tried several times because I am trying to "eat more green leafy vegetables", but the taste is too strong for me. Or maybe I'm still not doing it right. I had hope for this recipe, but the flavor was still too overpowering. However, I do want to try this with regular broccoli and also spinach! I think tomatoes and fennel seeds are amazing together so I'm sure this would be great if I like the greens. But it's simple to make and smells great while cooking so if you like broccoli raab I hope you give this one a try.

Broccoli Raab, Sicilian Style Serves 4 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 5 cloves garlic, sliced 1 chopped tomato, or 12 halved cherry tomatoes 1 tsp. fennel seeds 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes 1 big bunch (16 oz.) broccoli raab Sea salt, for sprinkling

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, tomato, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes. Stir frequently for a few minutes, until the tomatoes soften and the garlic is golden but not burned.

Blanch, then drain the broccoli raab. Add to skillet - careful, it splatters - and sprinkle with sea salt.

Cover, and cook about 3 minutes, then toss again to cook evenly. Cover, and continue cooking for another minute or two.

Taste for doneness; it's ready when tender to your preference.

Nutritional information as published in magazine:
Per 1-cup serving: 107 Cal; 4 G Prot; 7 G Total Fat (<1 G Sat Fat); 7 G Carg; 0 MG Chol; 231 MG Sod; 3 G Fiber; 2 G Sugars

Cjalsòns rustìcs

What are Cjalsòns? I'd describe them as a type of dumpling. But I didn't know until I played with this recipe and made them for myself. And I did so because Rossella of Ma che ti sei mangiato?, and Italian food blog, asked us to all try them.

We had a lot of fun converting the measurements and trying to figure out the recipe. I guess I am used to recipes with more detailed information. For example, "some parsley" is usually measured. But we were laughing and guessing so it was a fun evening.

I don't know that you need to cook the potatoes as specified in the recipe - feel free to peel and cook them any way you like. The starting point is just to have some cooked and mashed potatoes.

I'm not sure how many these were supposed to make, but we got about 14 Cjalsòns and could have had 2 or 3 more with the extra dough we had left over.

The original recipe I received is European so I have converted everything into ounces and cups and shared below. Hope I did it right... it turned out okay so I must have done it okay.

I'm looking forward to the roundup to see how everyone else fared attempting to make these!

Cjalsòns rustìcs
Rustic pirogi
Adaptation of a traditional recipe

For the dough:
10.5 ounces potatoes
1 2/3 cup flour
1 egg
a pinch of nutmeg
some parsley

For the filling:
3.5 ounces sausage
1/2 glass of white wine
1 beaten egg

For the dressing:
1 2/3 cup ricotta
3/4 cup milk
pepper

Prepare the dough by boiling the unpeeled potatoes. Afterward, peel the potatoes & pass through a sieve and allow to cool. Then mix them with the egg, flour, nutmeg and parsley.

To make the filling, in a pan saute the crumbled sausages, moisten with white wine and let evaporate.

Roll out the dough onto a floured pastry board (or surface) making sure it does not stick. Cut discs of 6 cm in diameter, & place at the center of each a spoonful of filling.

Fold the discs in half and close them by pressing the edges well.

Cook the discs in boiling salted water for several minutes, then drain.

Separately prepare a warm whipping cream made of ricotta and hot milk. Pour this sauce of each plate, place the six warm Cjalsòns on the sauce and sprinkle with freshly crushed coarsely ground pepper.