Category: Vegan Beans and Legumes

by betsy

Vegan White Bean and Kale Pesto Quesadillas with Tomato-Black Olive Salsa

Yield: 4 servings

What’s a gal to do when she needs to use her last little bit of Kale Pesto but is craving Southwestern food?  Make White Bean and Kale Pesto Quesadillas, of course!

With its hazelnuts and orange zest, this one of my kale pestos seems a little Italian.  So, I mixed it with cannellini beans and lightly caramelized onions (I’m usually too impatient to make true caramelized onions), and seasoned the mixture with a hint of dried oregano and smoked paprika.   This creamy and tasty filling is the perfect consistency for a quesadilla filling. 

For the salsa, I combined sliced black olives and vine-ripened tomatoes, a combo that could lean towards either Italy or the Southwest.  So to nudge it toward The Boot, I sprinkled it with just a bit of balsamic vinegar. 

Since kale is more of a cool weather veggie, and tomatoes like it warm, if tomatoes aren’t yet available in your farmers market, I would suggest substituting sundried tomatoes chopped a little more finely than the diced ones called for in the recipe.  And, whatever you do, avoid the temptation to purchase sliced black olives in a can.  They taste like what salt water would taste like if it was chewable.  Instead, purchase olives whole from your grocery deli and slice them yourself. 

Hurry and make this dish before this winter’s kale is all gone!  You’ll have a new favorite in your repertoire.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, halved and then sliced

1  to 2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1-15.5 ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup Vegan Kale, Toasted Hazelnut, and Orange Zest Pesto

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons vegan butter

4- 8 inch whole wheat tortillas (I buy a spelt four variety at Organic Depot that I love)

1/4 cup vegan sour cream

Tomato-Black Olive Salsa (recipe follows)

Approximately 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or cilantro leaves

Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high.  Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until it starts to turn golden brown.  Lower heat to prevent burning if necessary.  Add garlic and saute, stirring, for about 30 seconds.  Stir in beans, pesto, oregano, and smoked paprika, and heat through.  Scrape into a bowl and set aside.  Wipe out skillet and heat/melt 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and vegan butter over medim-high.  Meanwhile spread half of each of the 4 tortillas with 1/4 of bean mixture.  Fold remaining half over and press gently to seal.  Cook two at a time for 1-2 minutes per side or until golden brown and toasty.  Keep warm while your repeat with the remaining quesadilla ingredients.  To serve, cut each one in half, overlap one half on the other, top with 1 tablespoon sour cream, 1/4 cup of the salsa, and 1 tablespoon of the fresh basil or cilantro.  Serve immediately.

Tomato-Black Olive Salsa

1/2 cup diced tomatoes (if tomatoes aren’t in season when kale is in your neck of the woods, substitute sundried ones)

1/2 cup sliced black olives (avoid using canned!)

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small non-reactive bowl, and toss gently to combine.  Set aside or refrigerate, covered, until serving time.

For 150+ more seasonal recipes, many with a flare for fusion, dip into The Blooming Platter Cookbook!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

One Green Planet’s April Fool’s Day Tribute Includes Vegan “Knock-off-amole” aka Fresh Pea Guacamole from The Blooming Platter Cookbook

This recipe seemed like the perfect “fooled you” dish.  And One Green Planet must have thought so too, as they published it today as one of their April Fool’s Day features!

My “Knock-off-amole” is so named because it is a delicious and nutritious guacamole “knock off” made with fresh green peas instead of avocado.  And like every good art teacher knows, green and red are complementary colors, making each other “pop,” so the chopped tomato and diced red onion look glisteningly gorgeous in this Mexican-Southwestern dip.

There is nothing non-vegan or unhealthy about traditional guacamole; to the contrary avocado is high in “good” fat.  So it wasn’t for those reasons that I sought a convincing substitute. 

No, sadly, it was because I developed a food sensitivity or allergy to avocados in my twenties.  It was a tragic day, as I was born in Texas, and loved my mother’s guac.  However, even the tiniest bit left inside a veggie sushi slice even afer the avocado has been picked out does a number on me.

So, craving my Mama’s guacamole and perusing the farmer’s market last spring, it suddently occured to me that their beautiful fresh green peas might make a fine substitute.  Indeed!  Though no one will necessarily think they are eating avocado, they won’t care because it tastes so good and is deliciously respectful of its namesake.

Therefore, whether you are an avocado lover or not, I know you’ll enjoy this fresh take on an old favorite.  Click HERE for the luscious recipe at One Green Planet.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

White Bean and Pesto Tart from The Blooming Platter Cookbook is Featured on the Happy Cow

On February 20, my White Bean and Pesto Tart from The Blooming Platter Cookbook was a “Meatless Monday” feature on The Happy Cow, but I somehow neglected to share it with you.  My apologies! 

This lovely and healthy tart is super-simple, yet special enough for company.  It’s perfect for a spring brunch or luncheon.  But you won’t want to wait for company to come! 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Coconut Dal with Tomatoes and Funengreek (Methi)

Yield: 6 servings

I have been absolutely wild for Indian food ever since I discovered it while living in Nashville in the late 1980s.  I treated myself to a huge Indian buffet for lunch on more Sundays than I can count.  My heart would start beating faster at the first whiff of those heady aromas, heck, at the first glimpse of the restaurant’s sign.  Ever since, I’ve sought out my beloved Indian cuisine from New York to London and points in between.

It’s unthinkable now, but when we first moved to Virginia, there were no Indian restaurants, so I taught myself how to cook some of my favorite dishes using one of Julie Sahni’s cookbooks.  Now I feel confident enough to create my own recipes, and this sumptuous rendition of Coconut Dal is my newest creation, just a week or so old.  Enjoy!

1 pound orange lentils, picked over, rinsed and drained

4 cups water or vegetable stock

1-15.5 ounce can coconut milk

Pinch of sea salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 stick cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1/2 of an Annaheim pepper, seeds and pulp removed, finely diced

2 medium cloves garlic, finely diced

1 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, and very finely chopped

1 tablespoon vegan buter (I like Earth Balance)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons funengreek (methi) seeds, ground (I use a coffee grinder devoted to spices)

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 small-medium fresh tomatoes, diced (about 1 cup)

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Sea salt to taste

Accompaniment: cooked basmati rice, roasted and lightly salted cashew halves and pieces, cilantro sprigs

In a two-quart saucepan combine, dal, water, cocont milk, and a pinch of salt.  Cover and bring to a gentl boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until tender.   Lentils will break down and become creamy.    The ideal consistency should be a little “soupy,” rather than porridge-like, so add additional water or vegetable stock if desired.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high.  Add the cinnamon stick and cumin seeds and saute, stirring, for about 30 seconds.  Add the onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes or until transluscent.   Add the Annaheim pepper, garlic, ginger, and vegan butter, and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender.   Stir in coriander, funengreek, and turmeric and saute, stirring, for about a minute.

When lentils are tender, remove the cinnamon stick from the onion mixture, and stir the latter into the lentils.  Turn off the heat, adjust the seasoning with ground spices and/or salt if desired (not cumin seeds at this point, as they need to toast), and gently stir in tomatoes and cilantro.  Serve immediately over basmati rice, sprinkle with cashews and cilantro, and serve immediately.  Alternatively, I like to serve a shallow bowl of the dal with a scoop of rice in the center like an island, garnished with cashews and cilantro.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

FARM Publishes Vegan Kale and White Bean Stew (with Fennel and Vegan Sausage) from The Blooming Platter Cookbook in Today’s Meatout Monday eNewsletter

Thanks to FARM for not only publishing my vegan White Bean and Kale Stew recipe from The Blooming Platter Cookbook, but for also including nutritional information, Gimme Lean product information, and an article on the fast food-obesity connection.  Just click HERE to access the newsletter, including recipe.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

One Green Planet features Blooming Platter Cookbook Recipe: Vegan Black Eyed Pea Cakes with Sundried Tomato Tartar Sauce

Hedge your bets for good fortune–and certainly good health–in 2012 by eating your black eyed peas the Blooming Platter way throughout the month of January and beyond.

Follow this link to my recipe for Vegan Black Eyed Pea Cakes with Sundried Tomato Tartar Sauce from The Blooming Platter (Vegan) Cookbook on One Green Planet.

Thanks OGP and Happy New Year all year!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

VegKitchen Features The Blooming Platter Cookbook’s Vegan “White Bean and Kale Stew” with Fennel and Vegan Sausage

Has it turned chilly where you are?  If so, I thought you might appreciate a sneak preview of a nutritious and delicious winter soup that my omnivorous husband asks for by name.  If so, just click on the soup name below.

This beautiful “White Bean and Kale Stew” hails from The Blooming Platter Cookbook and was featured this week as the Veg Kitchen’s “Recipe of the Week.”  (Thanks, Nava Atlas!)  Not the ubiquitous white bean and kale stew that we all know and love, my recipe is extra special with the addition of fennel and vegan sausage.

Fragrant with that faintly anise scent so appealing and particular to fennel, and “kicked-up” with the addition of winter spices, this stew is like aromatherapy in a bowl.  And it’s very quick to make.

Our family started a tradition of making a special soup on Christmas Day because none of us wanted to repeat the (healthy) excesses of Thanksgiving less than a month before.  Plus we had come not to relish opening presents and then leaping up to hit the kitchen for hours of work–pleasant enough, but work all the same.  Our soup tradition takes any residual stress out of the day and has been enjoyed for several years.  If you have the same inclinations, this soup would make a lovely choice.

Please, everyone, have yourselves a wonderful holiday.  And stay-tuned for my extra special post for New Year’s Eve.  It may be the simplest, quickest and most beautiful “recipe”–if you can call it that–that I’ve posted in Blooming Platter history!

And, quickly, if you are in need of a last minute gift, I would like to suggest running out to your local bookseller and snagging a copy of The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.  (You can purchase it for 25% off its regular retail price through December 31!)  If you already have purchased one for yourself or others, my sincere thanks!  People’s generous support of TBPC has been extraordinary.

 

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

The Blooming Platter Cookbook’s Vegan Sweet Potato Latkes with Chutney-Sour Cream and Curried Onion-Apple-White Bean Topping Published on One Green Planet

With Hanukkah and other winter holidays just around the corner, I was thrilled that One Green Planet (OGP) published my latkes recipe from The Blooming Platter Cookbook (TBPC) to which I added a couple of tasty toppings to make them more of a tapas-style meal.

Consider them dressed up for the season!

Find the recipe and a little about their inspiration here.

Thanks OGP for making our holidays and our world just a little greener!

To purchase TBPC, just click on the title in RED above.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Kale and Lentil Salad

My fresh take on beans-and-greens presents lentils and kale as a hardy, yet light, salad that is equally good served warm or at room temperature, and makes the perfect bed for a piece of grilled tofu drizzled with a delectable sauce.  This dish is a powerhouse of vitamins and protein, simple enough for any day, but lovely enough for special occasions.

Here I serve it on its own with a shimmering slice of lemon and a sprig of fresh rosemary from our garden.

4 cups rough chopped and firmly packed kale, thick stems removed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 of a medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

Sea salt

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 pound steamed lentils (I buy the Trader Joe’s brand which is actually 17.6 ounces)

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Optional: juice of 1/2 of a medium lemon

Finely chop kale in a food processor and set aside.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high until shimmering.  Add onion and a pinch of salt, and saute lightly, stirring frequently, just for a couple of minutes.  Add garlic and saute, stirring, for only about 30 seconds.  Add kale and cook, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes or until kale is tender but still bright green.  Add remaining ingredients and heat through.  Adjust seasoning if necessary with salt and pepper and, if you want added brightness, stir in the lemon juice.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Still Life with Vegan Kale and Lentil Salad and Minnie
For 150 more fresh, seasonal recipes that will make your (and your dog’s!) mouth water, I hope you will check out The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.

 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Print Friendly, PDF & Email