Recipes
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How to Prepare Dry Beans
One cup of dry beans will yield approximately 2 1/2 cups of cooked beans. You will want to rinse and pick through these beauties before cooking. Like most dry beans, they also need to soak before cooking. You can cover them with water and leave out overnight. Or, you can cover them with plenty of water, bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover and let sit 2-3 hours. Either way, the beans are now ready to be cooked. In Heather's chili recipe below, they are precooked for 30 minutes before going into the crockpot. Otherwise, you'll want to cover them with 2 inches of fresh water and simmer, testing for doneness after an hour. Refrain from adding tomatoes or other veg to your beans during the softening phase as the acidity may result in toughening the skins. Many believe that draining and rinsing the beans after the soaking step reduces flatulence. Others believe that adding a bit of baking soda while they cook has the same effect.
Jalapeno Dressing
2 jalapenos, half of the seeds discarded, finely chopped
1/2 tsp grated garlic
1 1/2 cups unseasoned rice-wine vinegar
4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups grapeseed oil
Place jalapeno, garlic, rice-wine vinegar, and sea salt in the jar of a blender. Blend until well combined. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in oil until emulsified.
Caesar Salad Dressing
The Dressing
6 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained (optional)
1 small garlic clove
Kosher salt
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more
¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper
The Croutons
3 cups torn 1" pieces country bread, with crusts
3 tablespoons olive oil
Romaine hearts, leaves separated
Parmesan, for serving
Dressing: Chop together anchovy fillets, garlic, and pinch of salt. Use the side of a knife blade to mash into a paste, then scrape into a medium bowl. Whisk in egg yolks, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, and mustard. Adding drop by drop to start, gradually whisk in olive oil, then vegetable oil; whisk until dressing is thick and glossy. Whisk in Parmesan. Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired.
Croutons: Tearing, not cutting the bread ensures nooks and crannies that catch the dressing and add texture. Preheat oven to 375°. Toss bread with olive oil on a baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Bake, tossing occasionally, until golden, 10–15 minutes.
Assembly: Use whole lettuce leaves; they provide the ideal mix of crispness, surface area, and structure. Caesars crowned with a mound of grated Parmesan may look impressive, but all that clumpy cheese mutes the dressing. Instead, use a vegetable peeler to thinly shave a modest amount on top for little salty bursts.
Skip the tongs. Use your hands to gently toss the lettuce, croutons, and dressing, then top off with the shaved Parm.
Roasted Eggplant Salad
1 medium eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Salad Greens
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Peppers
Chicken or other protein
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush two rimmed baking sheets with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil each. Arrange eggplant slices on sheets. Brush tops with 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until eggplant is golden and tender, about 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
On a serving platter, layer eggplant onto salad greens. Add tomatoes plus any other veggies you want in your salad. Top with honey and lemon dressing.
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
1 pint tomatillos
small onion, minced
1/2 c minced cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
hot pepper to taste, either red pepper flakes or fresh minced chile pepper
Rinse the tomatillos and roast in their jackets @ 450 for 10 or 15 minutes. They should brown but not burst open. Cool to handle & peel off the husks. Fork mash the tomatillos in a bowl then mix in all other ingredients. Taste for salt & spice. You can also pulse all together in a food processor, but I like to leave a little texture.
Use this salsa with any Mexican dish, enchiladas, tacos, huevos rancheros, beans & rice, etc. Also great with grilled fish, etc.
Black Bean and Roasted Tomato Soup
This soup stretches a few tomatoes into an easy and flavorful meal. Adapted from Epicurious.com. Serves 4.
1 lb. tomatoes, seeded and quartered
1 large onion, halved lengthwise, cut into thin wedges
1 medium carrot, peeled, quartered
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped, or 1/2 tsp dried
2 cups (or more) vegetable or chicken broth
3 1/4 cups cooked black beans
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine tomatoes, onion and carrot in large roasting pan. Add garlic, oil and oregano and stir to coat vegetables. Roast until vegetables are brown and tender, stirring occasionally, about 55 minutes. Cut carrot into small cubes and set aside. Transfer remaining vegetables to processor. Add 2 cups broth to roasting pan and scrape up any browned bits. Add broth and 2 1/4 cups beans to processor. Puree vegetable mixture until almost smooth.
Transfer soup to heavy large saucepan. Add remaining 1 cup beans. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until flavors blend, adding more broth if soup is too thick, about 10 minutes. Stir in carrot. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm before continuing.) Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with dollop of yogurt.
Garlicky Mushroom Quesadillas with Tomatillo Chile Salsa
This recipe is adapted from the aforementioned "A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen," by Jack Bishop. Serves 3-4.
Tomatillo-Chile Salsa
1 pint tomatillos, husked and washed
2-3 medium jalapenos
2 TB chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Salt
Quesadillas
4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
8 oz oyster mushrooms, thickly sliced
salt to taste
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
freshly ground black pepper
6 8-inch flour tortillas
4 ounces goat cheese
Preheat oven to 450F. Roast the whole tomatillos and chiles in a rimmed baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven, turning the veggies once, until lightly browned and tender, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly and transfer the tomatillos to a food processor. Cut off the stems of the chiles and add, (seeds and all, for extra heat), to the food processor. Pulse just until combined and still chunky. Scrape the salsa into a bowl and stir in the cilantro and salt to taste.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned lightly, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and pepper to taste and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Set the mushroom mixture aside.
Lay 3 tortillas flat on a work surface. Sprinkle goat cheese on top, leaving a 1/2" border around the edges. Divide the mushroom mixture evenly among the tortillas. Top with the remaining tortillas. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the first quesadilla and cook, turning once, until the tortillas are golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large plate and repeat with the remaining quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into quarters. Spoon some salsa into the middle of each quesadilla. Serve the remaining salsa on the side.
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