Archive for the 'one dish' Category
Happy bean day! Oh yes it is. I wonder why Bean Day doesn’t get as high billing as Christmas?
Fortunately our freezer is stacked with enough bags and containers of chili (some labeled, most not) to keep us fed until Thanksgiving. I keep making large batches of practical, freezable, beany things like chili to stash away for mealtime emergencies at a rate that does not at all sync with the number of mealtime emergencies there actually are in this house. I suppose when I’m completely unorganized in all other areas of my life, it makes me feel totally on the ball to be making dinner ahead of time.
I eat vegetarian black bean chili because I love it, not only because it’s the new year and good for me. I added a ballast of mac & cheese partly because I still had leftover cheese stubs from our polyester & cheese Christmas party, and partly because I adore church supper-style chili, which is traditionally served on a bed of mac & cheese. If you haven’t tried it this way, you should. Isn’t anything better served on a bed of mac & cheese?
Also, my friend Lauren is hosting this month’s Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free (GAHIGF) – a monthly online event for which a theme is chosen, and bloggers create gluten-free dishes based on the theme. Lauren’s theme of choice: Follow the Calendar. As in, check out all the food-related Official days of the month, and pick one. January 6th happens to be Bean Day. (It’s also Shortbread Day. Whomever assigned that one kind of missed the mark.) Beans are totally my bag, baby.
The beans are kind of a no-brainer in terms of gluten-free-izing a recipe, but mac & cheese – I would miss that if I couldn’t eat gluten. There had to be some sort of a challenge here. There are gluten-free pastas out there – some made of quinoa, some corn – I’m a particular fan of brown rice pasta, which has a smoother mouthfeel than whole wheat pasta (which of course isn’t gluten-free, but we can eat it in our house) – be warned that it will make the cooking water much muggier than your regular pasta.
If you want to skip the pasta, this chili would also do just fine over a baked potato. Still, I’d likely add a dose of cheese on top. Or a blob of sour cream to offset the heat of the chili.
Note: just before I took this, as I was heating up the chili in a small pot on the stove, I opened another can of beans for something else, and got the 7 bean blend by mistake, and so dumped half the can into the chili. Which is why you see more than just black beans and chickpeas in the photo. Really, you could use any beans you like here.
Vegetarian Black Bean Chili
canola or olive oil, for cooking
2 onions, chopped
2 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, seeded and chopped
5-6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1-2 tsp. chopped chipotle chili en adobo (optional)
1 tsp. cumin
2 19 oz. (540 mL) cans black beans, drained
1 19 oz. (540 mL) can red kidney beans or chickpeas, drained
1 19 oz. (540 mL) can diced or fire-roasted tomatoes
1/2 small can tomato paste (a couple heaping spoonfuls)
sour cream, chopped avocado, grated cheese, chopped green onion and/or chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)
Toss everything but the garnishes into a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Alternatively, saute the onions, pepper and garlic in a drizzle of oil in a large pot set over medium-high heat, add everything else, bring to a simmer, turn the heat down and cook for an hour, or until thick. Chili is always better the next day – if you like, cool and refrigerate it, then reheat the pot or individual servings.
Gluten-Free Mac & Cheese
An adaptation of Pam Anderson’s Shells and Cheese, Gluten-Free, from Perfect One-Dish Dinners- by way of Gluten Free Girl and the Chef.
1 lb. gluten-free macaroni or pasta shells (brown rice, quinoa, corn-your gluten-free fave)
a drizzle of canola or olive oil
1 lb. grated sharp white cheddar, Gouda, or your favourite meltable cheese, grated
1 cup ricotta
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (I use my rasp)
1/2 cup sour cream
Topping:
1 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs (here, Danny demonstrates how to make them)
2-3 Tbsp. melted butter (I usually use half butter, half olive oil)
Preheat the oven to 350° and spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.
Boil the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water – allowing enough water to give the pasta space to move around – according to the package directions or until it’s al dente (tender but still firm). Drain the pasta immediately, drizzle with a bit of oil to keep it from sticking together, and set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the grated cheese, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and sour cream, in a large bowl; dump in the pasta and toss it to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and pour into the casserole dish.
Mix the gluten-free breadcrumbs and butter, then sprinkle evenly over the top of the pasta. Bake until the pasta and cheese are bubbly and the crumbs are golden brown, about 35 minutes.
January 06 2011 | beans and freezable and one dish and slow cooker | 15 Comments »
Like so many, I went to bed last night watching crews rescue trapped miners in Chile. This morning when my alarm clicked on, the first sound that came over the radio was news that half of the men had been successfully extracted. I was inspired to dig up a Chilean recipe – relating in the best way I know by making a stew similar to what those men may be going home to eat with their families, and sitting down to eat it with my own.
Also – I’d like to introduce a new family member, a 4.7 L red braiser I brought home from the Le Creuset store last week. (No, they didn’t give it to me – I wish – I didn’t get a deal nor was I coerced into reporting back here. I just decided that I deserved a Le Creuset, dammit, and I went and bought myself one, right after purchasing the fanciest and most expensive coffee I could find at Phil & Sebastien. I needed a little retail therapy.) If you haven’t heard the news, we now have the only stand-alone Le Creuset store in Canada, in the new part of Chinook mall. It will allow you the experience of being a kid in a candy store all over again. A kid who doesn’t get nearly enough allowance to buy all the mojos she wants.
This stew was a great way to break it in. (I must say though, I’m surprised that the handle can only tolerate temperatures up to 375F. I really don’t want to have to go and replace the handle when I just bought the thing. Staub cookware, also made in France, has handles made of nickled steel or brass that can take temps up to 500F.)
This has slow-cooker potential, but I wanted to do it in a pot, like they would in Chile. I braised the meat in the oven rather than simmer on the stovetop for an hour, as instructed (I’m a bit of a culinary rebel) and used a small roast I had in the freezer from Buffalo Horn Ranch, which I diced and browned and which tasted surprisingly like flank steak, I think. Or perhaps I’m just having flashbacks of the flank steak stew of my childhood.
After braising the meat with the onions and carrots, you add the potatoes and green beans and peas, which you don’t want to cook to death, and finish them off. And top off the lot with a poached egg. Once the egg parts of our dinners were gone, my sister went and got the sour cream and lobbed on some of that, and was it ever a Good Idea. Chilean Hangover Stew, meet Beef Stroganoff.
This is called Hangover Stew because it’s often served on Mondays as a means of using up the leftovers from the Sunday barbecue – it’s a dish served all over Chile. This version is adapted from Saveur, issue #14 – of their adaptation of the version at Raquel Orellana’s Restaurante En Familia in San Fernando, Chile.
Hangover Stew
canola or olive oil, for cooking
2 lb. flank steak, cut across the grain into 2″ strips, or a small beef or bison roast
4-5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 cups chicken, beef or vegetable stock
2 thin-skinned potatoes, cut into thick sticks
1/4 lb. string beans, trimmed and cut in 2″ pieces
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
one egg per person (optional)
In a large heavy pot or skillet, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat and brown the meat, in batches if you need to so that it doesn’t crowd the pan, seasoning with salt and pepper as it cooks. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two, then add the cumin and oregano. Set it aside or transfer to a pot (if you’re braising in a different pot than you’re browning in).
Add the onions and carrot to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes, until starting to turn golden. Return the meat to the pot or transfer the onions and carrots to the pot the meat is in, and add the stock and 2-3 cups water. Cover and bake at 300F for 4 hours.
Add potatoes, beans, peas, parsley and cilantro; cover and return to the oven for another half hour, or until the potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile, poach your eggs in simmering water as if you were going to serve them on toast; ladle the stew into wide bowls and top each with an egg. Serves 6ish.
October 13 2010 | beef and one dish | 14 Comments »
Have I shown off my garden yet? I’m loaded – with spinach and chard, that is – between the CSA box and the boxes in my back yard, I should have X-ray vision or some such superpower by the end of the summer. Which is coming up all too quickly.
I punched “chard” into the search box on Epicurious the other day, looking for more inspiration (but really just procrastinating), and these frittata bites jumped out – they suggest cold squares for a cocktail party. I wound up doing my own thing, but kept the sausage-chard-feta combo, and it was loved by all. (Except W, who struggled unsuccessfully to separate the green stuff from the rest.) Bonus: two huge bunches of chard went into this – it always amazes me how small it gets once it wilts. You could cook a bunch down to a spoonful and just eat it, like a real-food vitamin pill.
Chard, Sausage and Feta Frittata
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 small onion or half a purple one
2-3 large sausages (I used Winter’s Turkeys sausages)
1-2 bunches chard, ribs removed and leaves roughly chopped or torn
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
salt & pepper
1 cup crumbled feta
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large ovenproof skillet (cast iron is perfect!) heat a drizzle of oil and cook the onion over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until starting to soften. Squeeze the sausage out of its casing into the skillet and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl and add another drizzle of oil (if you need it) then add the chard to the pan – if you’ve washed it, the moisture clinging to the leaves should provide enough moisture – and cook for a few minutes, until it wilts. Add the sausage and onion back to the pan.
Whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese and pour over the meat and veg in the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook for a few minutes, until it’s starting to set around the edges and on the bottom. Transfer to the oven and cook for about 10 minutes, until cooked through and golden on top. (Alternatively you could stir the lot together, pour it into a buttered baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes, until set.)
Serve warm, in wedges, or cold in squares. Leftovers make great sandwich filling. Serves 8.
One Year Ago: Browned-Butter Blueberry Muffins (made with saskatoons)
August 24 2010 | appetizers and eggs and one dish | 16 Comments »
This was actually dinner last night. Tonight W had his two cousins over for their first! sleepover! ever! And I doubt a vegetable curry would have gone over well. They played trains, and Mouse Trap, and played with bubble wrap, and we biked to the store for a movie and then went to the ice cream shop for some MacKays. We had pillow fights and popcorn, and grilled a plain old steak, straight-up, for dinner with new potatoes, carrots and peas from the CSA box. Sounds downright wholesome, don’t it?
For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about when I refer to my CSA box, I’d love to tell you about it – I’m hoping that soon CSA will be as common a household term as Costco or superstore.
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture – it’s a great arrangement that allows consumers (eaters) to connect more directly with (and more directly support) the source of their food. In a CSA relationship, the eater supports the farmer directly by buying a share of his or her crop at the beginning of the growing season. This guarantees a market for the farmers’ produce while covering the expense of planting early on, when it’s most needed. Members typically buy half shares (enough for 2-3 people) or whole shares (enough for a family of 4-5). It’s a direct way of sustainably supporting the existence of a small family farm, and getting to personally know who’s growing your food.
Over the course of the summer and fall (or the length of the growing season), CSA members typically receive weekly boxes of produce containing a share of the crop – most often fresh produce but often eggs, dairy and meat as well – dropped off and picked up at a prearranged location. For us, every Thursday between 5 and 7 we pop by the parking lot at the Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Association, conveniently located across from Riley park (that has a wading pool!) and pick up our share – ours is a full share, and it about fills two shopping crates. It has become the highlight of the boys’ week to come and each pick one item from each box – white potatoes, purple potatoes, pink potatoes, summer squash (yellow zucchini and pattypan), tomatoes, onions, green onions, chard, lettuces, radishes, peas, and their favourite carrots, which they eat in the car on the way home.
Some CSAs send out weekly newsletters with photos and updates on the current crop. There is also often the option to go help out on your CSA farm – a great experience for anyone who wants to learn hands-on gardening skills or would like their kids to see exactly where their food is coming from. John, the owner (with his dad) of the farm we support, was telling me yesterday how thrilled he is with this new arrangement (in his twenties, he’s part of a new generation of Alberta farmer taking over the family farm – something not enough of the next generation are willing to do these days). This is his first year running a CSA. He says it’s far more efficient than the farmers’ markets as he knows exactly what’s being picked up and doesn’t have to guess at quantities nor haul the remainder home after a disappointing turnout (bad weather can affect weekly markets). Of course there isn’t any overhead either when all you’re doing is pulling into an empty parking lot once a week.
Our CSA is Eagle Creek Farms, in Bowden. But there are others in the Calgary area – Thompson Small Farm in Carbon, Blue Mountain Biodynamic Farm in Carstairs and Oxyoke Farms, in Linden. Of course they’re all booked up for this season, but it doesn’t hurt to connect now and perhaps even put your name on the list for next year. I know John has had a ton of interest for next spring already. For more information and a full list of Alberta CSAs, visit www.csaalberta.com.
Right – the curry. It was a ploy to get rid of the last of last week’s boxes before (or in this case immediately after) picking up this week’s. I chopped sweet onions, garlic scapes, a pepper (not from the box yet), yellow zucchini and chard, and at the last minute tossed in the remains of some flaked fish I used for a fish taco photo yesterday afternoon. Really – all you need to do to make a pretty smashing curry is saute whatever veg you like with a good glob of grated ginger and garlic, a spoonful of curry paste and a can of coconut milk poured in once the veg are soft and starting to turn golden on the edges – this means there are browned bits in the bottom of the pan, too, and the coconut milk will help you get them all up. If you want to add a spoonful of chutney – mango or otherwise – go for it.
Big ol’ Curry
If you really need a recipe, here you go. Curry is a great cupboard cleaner – curries are great with potatoes (plain or sweet), zucchini, spinach, onions, lentils, beans, peppers, kale, chard, cauliflower… and bottled curry paste and canned coconut milk make the sauce easy. If you’re using light coconut milk and want to boost the coconut flavor even further without adding extra fat, add a teaspoon of coconut extract. Serve over steamed rice.
canola or olive oil, for cooking
2 onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1-3 cups chopped fresh veg – any kind you like
2-3 tsp. curry paste
1/2 tsp. ground cumin or cumin seed (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 14 oz (398 mL) can coconut milk, regular or light
A couple handfuls fresh spinach, chard or kale, chopped (remove the stems)
chopped peanuts or torn cilantro, to sprinkle on top (optional)
In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, sauté the onions in a drizzle of oil for 2-3 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
Add any firm veg you’re using, such as potatoes or cauliflower, and cook them for a few minutes, until they soften and start to turn golden on the edges. Add the remaining vegetables along with the curry paste, cumin, salt and coconut milk and bring the mixture to a simmer. Stir in the chutney, if you’re using it, and cook for about 5 more minutes, until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are tender. (How long you cook it all will depend on the veg you use and how big the pieces are.)
Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the spinach and cook for a minute, just until it wilts. Serve immediately over rice with chopped peanuts and/or cilantro sprinkled on top.
August 20 2010 | one dish and vegetarian | 20 Comments »
Have you ever panicked that there is just so much food and so little time? I do. Frequently.
I remember the first time I felt a pang of THERE IS JUST SO MUCH TO EAT AND ONLY SO MANY DAYS IN A WEEK AND HOURS IN A DAY! AND MONTHS IN A YEAR! EVERY DAY I HAVE TO DECIDE! I’M NOT GOING TO HAVE TIME TO EAT IT ALL! THE MATH JUST DOESN’T ADD UP! – it was triggered by a coconut cream pie. So now every time I get overwhelmed by the food possibilities out there (eating in and out), or unreasonably angry that I’ve wasted valuable space and calories on something that was not all it should be, I think of coconut cream pie. OK, not really every time. But sometimes I have my coconut cream pie moments.
I get this feeling a lot when I get sucked into the vortex of food blogs – skipping from one to the next, bookmarking stuff and taking mental notes that invariably more mental notes get loaded on top of until I go a little bit mental. Once in awhile something I see jumps the queue – this was one of them. And I had a bag of the daintiest little Canadian du puy lentils that remind me of smooth, speckled green river stones that I was dying to use.
A Gourmet recipe, it was originally titled “Fried Eggs Over Warm Lentil Salad with Lardons”, which sounds appealingly rustic and British, but of course we don’t generally use the term lardon to describe the bacon in our skillets, and because I’m trying to be a little bit less lardon I poached my eggs instead of frying them. Every little bit helps.
This was actually lunch and dinner; at 6pm I tossed the leftover lentil salad back into the skillet I had just cooked plain old pork chops in, tossing them around to warm them and get some of those flavourful bits. It made a great accompaniment; ditto pork tenderloin or roast, I’d imagine.
Poached Eggs Over Warm Lentil Salad with Bacon
Thanks again, Gourmet. (This of course has been adapted – I also tossed the spinach right in and wilted it, rather than scattering it overtop the eggs as per their instruction.) If you want to throw a peeled clove of garlic into the pot of lentils while they simmer, go right ahead.
3/4 cup dried lentils (I used little green du Puy lentils)
4 slices bacon, chopped
2 leeks (white and pale green parts only), finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, or to taste
1 cup baby spinach
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh tarragon (optional)
salt & pepper
4-8 large eggs
In a small saucepan, cover lentils with about twice as much water, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until just tender. (You can do this ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready for them.)
While the lentils are simmering, cook the bacon until crisp in a large, heavy skillet; transfer with a slotted spoon to a plate, leaving the drippings in the skillet. (If you like, pour them out and add a drizzle of canola or olive oil.) Add the leeks, celery, and carrot and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Add vinegar and cook until it’s mostly evaporated. Drain the lentils well and add them to the skillet along with the spinach and tarragon; cook, stirring, until heated through and the spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the bacon.
Meanwhile, poach your eggs. Divide the warm lentil salad among 4 plates and top with the eggs. Serves 4.
One Year Ago: Roast Chicken and Hummus Wraps and Mandarin Milkshakes
January 11 2010 | beans and eggs and one dish and vegetarian | 29 Comments »
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