Romanesco Alfredo Pasta

March 17, 2020

This recipe was inspired by receiving romenesco and having no idea what to make with it. We love how it pairs with the cheesy Alfredo sauce. Combined with some shittake bacon and wilted greens it’s a perfect pasta night!

Serves: 4

Time: 1 1/2 hrs

Ingredients

2 heads romenesco, cut into small florets (cauliflower or broccoli is a good substitution)

6 tbsp olive oil, divided

salt

1 batch Shiitake Bacon

1 bunch Red Russian kale (or any hearty greens)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb pasta (gluten-free option)

1 onion, sliced

3 tbsp white wine, optional

For the Breadcrumbs:

1 cup breadcrumbs (gluten-free option)

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 tbsp garlic powder

3 tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:

1 cup cashews soaked for at least 30 min

1 1/2 cup water

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 tbsp garlic granules

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1 pinch of red pepper flakes

Pre-heat the oven to 375 F and soak 1 cup of cashews in water. Start making shiitake bacon since the mushrooms need time to marinate. Cut the romenesco into florets and toss with 4 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of salt. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender and golden brown with a couple of crispy bits.

To make the breadcrumbs, whizz the sunflower seeds in a food processor until breadcrumb consistency. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil. Start the food processor and stream the olive oil into the mixture while it is running. This should clump some of the breadcrumbs together. Be careful not to over blend.

Drain the soaked cashews. Add them and all of the other sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. To test the consistency, put a small amount of sauce on your finger and rub your fingers together. If it is completely smooth then you are there! If it feels at all like there is some sandiness, keep blending.

Boil a pot of well salted water. If you aren’t sure how much salt to use, the water should taste similar to seawater. Once boiling, add pasta and cook to desired consistency (follow instructions on pasta package). While pasta is boiling, cook the shiitake bacon and slice the onions. Next de-stem kale, wash, and slice into ribbons. Mince the garlic.

After straining the pasta, heat the pasta pot with oil and saute the onion until it caramelizes and turns a beautiful brown color. You will need to stir less at the beginning, but as the onion starts to break down you will need to be stirring non-stop. If the onion starts to stick, de-glaze the pan with a bit of white wine (optional). Add the cashew alfredo sauce to the pan and stir until slightly thickened. At the same time, in a separate pan, cook the garlic in a little bit of oil, adding the kale in just to wilt. Set these aside.

Now, it’s time to add it all together! Add the strained pasta back into the pot with the Alfredo sauce and stir to coat. To plate serve the Alfredo pasta topped with the romenesco, wilted garlic kale, and shittake bacon. Garnish with breadcrumbs and enjoy!

White Bean Kale Stew

March 10, 2020

I seasoned this soup with rosemary and thyme this time (haha) around, but any herbs can be used to give the soup a richer and more interesting flavor. I generally grab whatever herbs I have in the kitchen from previous recipes or in the spice cabinet. Some other nice options include: oregano, sage, bay leaves, and hot pepper flakes. If you prefer it with more or less spice, feel free to add or remove some of the cayenne.

serves: 6

time: 1 hr

Ingredients

1/2 onion, (1 cup) diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 large carrots, (1/2 lb) diced

1 small zucchini, diced

3 cups seasoned white beans* (2 cans)

4 medium waxy potatoes, 1 1/2 lbs (yukon golds or red potatoes work well), cut into 3/4 inch cubes

1/2 bunch lacinato kale, chiffonaded, about 3 cups loosely packed

6 cups hot veggie broth

1/8 tsp cayenne

one sprig rosemary, de-stemmed and minced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

parsley

salt

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Put a pot (about 6 cups) of salty water on the stove to boil. The water should taste about as salty as sea water so that the potatoes soak in the water and are perfectly salted when done. Cut your potatoes into 3/4 inch cubes and add to the water (it’s okay if it isn’t yet boiling). Cook the potatoes until they are fork tender but not falling apart, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large soup pot, sweat the onions and carrots on medium low heat for about 7 minutes before adding the garlic and the zucchini. Cook this mixture for about 10 minutes before adding your seasonings: rosemary, thyme, a pinch of cayenne, and a generous pinch of salt. Mix all this together and allow to cook for about 2 more minutes.

Pour the broth over the veggies and stir. Bring up to a simmer before adding the beans and potatoes. Once the potatoes and beans are hot, add the kale, cooking 5 more minutes until the kale wilts. Add the apple cider vinegar and season to taste.

Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy on a cold rainy night.

*Cooking white beans from dry:

In the Instant Pot:

To cook the white beans in an Instant Pot, add 1 1/3 cups of dried white beans to the pot. Cover the beans with water (in the small Instant Pot this is about 6 cups of water), season with 1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp cumin, a sprig of rosemary, and 1/8 tsp cayenne. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 28 minutes letting depressurize naturally. Drain and rinse before adding to the dish.

On the stove:

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can easily cook white beans from scratch with a little planning. First you will need to soak the beans which can be done one of two ways. 1. you can soak them overnight making sure they have enough water and space to double in size or 2. you can put them in a pot and bring to boil, then turn off the water and let soak for one hour. Again, make sure you have enough water and space that they can double in size.

Once you have soaked your beans, rinse them and then put in a pot with salty water. These will be cooking for about 2 hours so you don’t want as much salt as you would use for pasta, but you do want to add enough that you can taste the salt. The best way to get good at this is to practice. Each time you salt the water, taste it and when the beans are done taste them to see if they are well salted. A well salted bean should taste flavorful but not salty. If it tastes like you are eating salt, you added too much. If the bean lacks flavor then you didn’t have enough salt.

For this recipe, also add 1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp cumin, a sprig of rosemary, and 1/8 tsp cayenne to the white beans as they cook. Cook the beans until they are soft but not falling apart (this will take 1.5-2 hours). We recommend checking the beans at about an hour and then every 20 minutes until they are soft but not disintegrating. Make sure your pot has enough water as I have definitely cooked all the water off before and burnt the beans! This may seem like a lot of work, however once you get the hang of it the work is almost all passive and the reward is high: beans cooked from scratch taste much better and are much cheaper!

Winter Bounty Kale Salad

February 18, 2020

My dear friend Meredith shared this recipe with me. It is perfect in the fall or winter when what you have in abundance is root vegetables, apples, and kale. I love all the colors in this salad; it’s a treat for the eyes and on the palette! We usually don’t peel the vegetables (sweet potato and apple are left un-peeled) however we recommend peeling the carrot because peeled carrot tastes sweeter when you roast it. You can totally leave the carrot peel on, however it will add a bit of bitterness to the dish.

Serves: 2-4

Time: 1 1/2 hrs (45 minutes active time)

Ingredients

1 medium sweet potato (1 lb), 1/4“ diced

2 root vegetables (3/4 lb), peeled and 1/4” diced (we used carrots but parsnips and beets are also nice)

4 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 medium green apple, diced

1/2 cup raw un-salted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds

for the chickpeas:

1 15-oz can chickpeas or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas*, drained

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp garlic powder

for the kale:

1 generous bunch kale, chopped into thin ribbons

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 pinch of salt

for the dressing:

2 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 cup tahini

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp hot water

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne

1/8 tsp turmeric

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F. Dice the sweet potato and root vegetables. Toss in a bowl with 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Spread on baking sheet and bake until golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes. This should be about 45 min. Toss chickpeas in a bowl with 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp turmeric, and 1/4 tsp garlic powder. Spread on baking sheet and cook until golden brown and slightly crispy, stirring every 15 minutes. This should be about 45 min.

Wash and de-stem the kale. Cut into tiny strands (chiffanade). Pour 1 tsp apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt over the kale and massage until the kale turns a bright green color.

Combine all ingredients for the dressing and whisk until smooth. Toast pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds in a dry pan on medium heat until fragrant. Raw seeds can burn quickly, so remove from heat if starting to brown. Dice the green apple.

Combine kale, chickpeas, roasted vegetables, apple, and pumpkin seeds. Dress each serving of salad before eating. Enjoy!

Hot tip: If you end up with extra dressing, it makes a great sauce to use in wraps.

*Cooking chickpeas from dry:

In the Instant Pot:

To cook the chickpeas in an Instant Pot, add 3/4 cup of dried chickpeas to the pot. Cover the chickpeas with water (in the small Instant pot this is about 6 cups of water), season with 1 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and a pinch of cayenne. Set the Instant pot to pressure cook for 35 minutes letting depressurize naturally. Drain and rinse before adding to the dish.

On the stove:

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can easily cook chickpeas from scratch with a little planning. First you will need to soak the chickpeas which can be done one of two ways. 1. you can soak them overnight making sure they have enough water and space to double in size or 2. you can put them in a pot and bring to boil, then turn off the water and let soak for one hour. Again, make sure you have enough water and space that they can double in size.

For this recipe, also add 1 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and a pinch of cayenne to the chickpeas as they cook. Cook the chickpeas until they are soft but not falling apart (this will take 1.5-2 hours). We recommend checking the beans at about an hour and then every 20 minutes until they are soft but not disintegrating. Make sure your pot has enough water as I have definitely cooked all the water off before and burnt the beans! This may seem like a lot of work, however once you get the hang of it the work is almost all passive and the reward is high: chickpeas cooked from scratch taste much better and are much cheaper!