Spinach and Lentil Soup

Here is a simple yet delicious soup that highlights the classic spinach and lentil combination. Instead of using plain vegetable broth, I made my own version infusing it with a combination of indian spices that gives this dish an exciting complexity.

2 bags baby spinach (8 cups)
8 cups vegetable broth
1 cup moong aka mung dal (green gram dal), washed until there is almost no muddled water that washes out
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 dried bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves
3 tbsp coriander seeds
3/4 tsp red chilli powder (this gives a slight undertone of heat at the back of your throat. This is optional)
zest from one lemon
juice from one lemon
1/2 tsp + 1 1/2 tsp salt

Heat 8 cups of vegetable broth over medium heat in a dutch oven. Add cumin and coriander seeds, cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf. Let the broth come to a boil and drop the heat to medium and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Drain and pour the spiced broth back into the dutch oven.

In the meanwhile, in a heavy bottomed pan add the cup of washed/soaked moong dal along with 2 cups of water, turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring this to a boil over high heat. Then drop the heat to low and cook covered with a lid for 25 minutes. Keep checking on it every 5-10 minutes to make sure the water doesn’t overflow and the dal is cooking in a simmering boil. If the water is boiling over through the covered lid, then leave the lid very slightly open to let some of the steam escape. Adjust heat accordingly and complete cooking the dal completely.

Using a blender, puree the spinach in batches. You may need a few tablespoons of liquid to make a smooth puree. Use the spiced broth rather than plain water, it will add a lot of flavor. Pour the pureed spinach back in along with the spiced broth. Add the remaining salt and chilli powder. Mix evenly and bring this to a boil over medium heat.

Simmer the soup for 15 minutes until the spinach is cooked and goes from a bright green to a darker color. Now add the cooked lentils into the soup, mix well and let simmer for 15 more minutes. Add 1 tbsp of lemon zest, lemon juice and chopped cilantro. Let it simmer for 10 more minutes and turn off the heat.

Check if you need more seasoning. Serve with crispy croutons. It’s easy to make your own croutons – just cut the edges of any bread you have, spray it with butter spray and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Spread on a baking sheet and toast in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, flip over and toast 5-6 more minutes on the other side. Carefully watch the bread, it can easily burn.

Garlicky Roasted Red Pepper Ravioli

This dish came about from one my favorite party dips made with roasted red peppers, garlic and cream cheese. Using those flavors to make a tangy, spicy and creamy roasted red pepper sauce worked perfectly with simple cheese ravioli. Apart from being really simple to put together, this dish is so flavorful that it’s almost hard to believe it can be made in under 30 minutes!

1 pound cheese ravioli (I bought fresh ravioli)
1/2 cup cream cheese
4 indian green chillies (this makes the dish spicy. Use 2 serrano peppers or 1 jalapeno to make the dish milder)
5 cloves garlic, peeled
1 bunch of scallions (green onions) , discard an inch from the bottom including the roots
4 red peppers, fire roasted (you can store bought or roast your own)
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp cilantro, washed
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp + 1 tsp salt
zest from one lemon
3 tbsps capers, roughly chopped

Pulse blend together garlic, scallions, green chillies and cream cheese. Add 1/2 cup cilantro, cumin powder, 1 tsp salt and roasted red peppers. Blend completely to make a smooth sauce. No extra water is needed since the red peppers tend to render liquid. I like to make my own roasted peppers. I use tongs to hold the peppers with its top stem and roast over a gas flame. Keep turning them evenly until you see evenly charred skin. Let them cool completely. Simply scrape the skin off with a towel, you should be left with a perfectly roasted soft pepper.

Pour the sauce into a skillet and gently warm the sauce over medium-low heat. Add the remaining 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, 1 tsp salt, zested lemon and chopped capers.

Simmer the sauce over medium heat for 10 minutes. In the meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water over high heat to a rolling boil. Drop the ravioli in the water and cook for 3-5 minutes until done. the ravioli will float to the top when done. Drain the pasta and drop into the simmering sauce.

Serve hot with some fresh bread. Not only is the best part the cheesy ravioli with the tangy sauce, but using the bread to scoop off leftover sauce is simply heavenly.

Macaroni – The Simple Indian Way

This is my favorite go-to recipe. With ingredients that I always have readily in my pantry, it makes for a delicious, comforting and easy to make meal.

1 pound elbow macaroni
2 tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp cumin powder
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
5 indian green chillies, finely chopped  (substitute: thai chillies or serrano chillies)
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped into bite size pieces
4 large tomatoes
1 cup green peas
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp canola oil

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Add cumin and coriander powders. Fry for 30 seconds (the spices can burn easily, so keep stirring) until the spices are slightly toasted. Add the finely chopped garlic, chillies and onions. Saute until the onions turn translucent.

Add the sliced onions in and cook for another 5-7 minutes until the onions turn golden brown. I finely dice a couple of onions to blend into the dish and leave a couple of onions sliced to give a bite to the dish.

Puree 4 whole tomatoes (no water added). The tomatoes itself, will give enough water to make this a thin puree. Pour this over the golden brown onion mixture. Add 1 tsp salt, green peppers and green peas.

Mix well, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1/3 cup water and cook covered over medium heat for another 10 minutes. This will cook the raw tomatoes along with the peas and soften the green peppers.

Add the garam masala and cilantro. Add another 1/3 cup of water and cook uncovered for 10 more minutes.

During this time, bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil and drop the elbow macaroni in. Cook according to packaging instructions. Around 6-7 minutes until al dente (perfectly cooked but with a slight bite). Drain the pasta and put the hot pasta back in the pot it was cooked in.

Add the tomato-peas-onion sauce to the cooked pasta, mix well an serve hot with your favorite bread.

Spiced Lentil and Bean Stew

Inspired by the classic Ethiopian dish, and with my inclination towards indian spices came about this hearty and ‘warm your belly’ lentil stew. If you love earthy, warm spices, this will hit the right spot. Just the perfect bowl of dinner for the winter.

You will need:

3 cups lentils (regular brown or puy)
2 cans dark red kidney beans (pre-cooked)
1 bay leaf (fresh or dried)
1 large onion, finely chopped (yellow or white)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2″ piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp butter
2 large tomatoes, chopped ( for plum tomatoes, use 4)
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 cups vegetable stock (you can substitute with water)
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1 sprig, fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice

For the Spice mixture:
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 tsp cardamom (i use whole ones)
4 cloves
1/2 stick cinnamon
2 tbsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp salt

In a dry skillet, add all the above spice mixture  ingredients. Toast over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Keep tossing making sure the spices don’t burn. Powder these ingredients in a blender along with the chopped ginger with no liquid. It has to be a dry powder. Frying whole spices and freshly grinding them adds immense flavor to the stew. If you don’t have access to fresh whole spices, as a substitute, you could use the pre-powdered version of all the above spices and just mix them together in a bowl.

In a large pot, add 6 cups of water along with the lentils and bay leaf. Boil the lentils for about 45 minutes. Around the 30 minute mark, check to see the doneness and adjust amount of water and cooking time accordingly. The lentils after 45 minutes, should be cooked but not mushy. It should be firm and al dente since it is going to cook a bit more while putting together the stew.

Drain the lentils, also drain the can of kidney beans and set aside.

In a large pot, add the butter and vegetable oil. Once the butter is golden brown, add the onions and garlic. Sauteé for 10 minutes until the onions soften.

Add the ground spice mixture and cook for 7-8 more minutes making sure the spice powder is mixed evenly.

Add the chopped tomatoes and salt , cook 5 more minutes.

Add tomato paste, mix well and then add the vegetable stock.

Simmer over medium heat for 25-30 minutes.

Now add the cooked lentils and beans, simmer 20 more minutes.

Check for salt, top with the chopped cilantro, mint, lemon juice and turn off the heat.

I prefer this stew just on it’s own with a little extra squeeze of lemon, but you could also serve it with your favorite bread.

Black Bean Salad with a Mint-Lemon Dressing

This is a recipe I frequently make and definitely one of my favorites. It’s a wholesome salad with a perfect combination of textures. The creamy black beans and crunchy vegetables, with fresh herbs and lemon makes this a flavor packed, quick and easy to make salad.

1 32oz can, cooked black beans (drained and washed)
1 small onion
1/2 cup tightly packed fresh mint
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro
1 serrano chili (substitute:jalapeno)
1 large tomato, cubed
2 medium carrots, cubed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
juice from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lime
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp salt

Finely chop the mint, cilantro, serrano chilli and onion together. I used a manual chopper, but use whatever you have. In a mixing bowl, add the rinsed black beans, tomato and the herb onion mixture. Sprinkle salt, lemon zest and toss together.

Add the chopped carrots, green peppers, lemon+lime juice and mix well. I like to serve these in lettuce cups with my favorite rye baguette, makes for a great lunch. It can also be served as a side with entrees.

Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Green Lentil Soup

This is a soup recipe adapted from BHG. The original recipe called for pumpkin, red lentils and chickpeas, but with sweet potatoes, green lentils (french puy lentils) and chickpeas in my pantry, I decided to improvise. The sweet potatoes and green lentils turned out to be a great substitute for the pumpkin and red lentils.

I also had sage in stock. Since I am a sucker for sage with sweet potatoes, I decided to fry the sage in butter first and then start the soup with the sage infused butter. The crispy butter fried sage also makes a great garnish.

I was quite pleased that I could make enough and share with friends at work. It turned out to be a great lunch perfect for that rainy day!

4 medium sweet potatoes, washed, peeled and cubed
1 32 oz can chickpeas
3 cups green lentils, dried ( I prefer using dried and cooking it in stock, rather than using pre cooked lentils)
1″ piece ginger, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 large tomatoes, chopped
6-8 fresh sage leaves
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 dried bay leaf (optional)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp cumin powder
4 tbsp butter
12 cups vegetable stock
2 tsp salt ( split into four 1/2 tsp quantities to be added in layers)
juice from 1 lemon

Melt butter over medium heat until it turns golden brown. Add sage leaves which will start becoming crispy after some spluttering. Remove sage and set aside.

In the sage infused butter left behind in the pan, add garlic, ginger and onions. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the onions are cooked translucent.

Add chopped carrots, 1/2 tsp salt and sauté for 5 minutes until the carrots just start getting tender. Add cubed sweet potatoes, chickpeas, 1 tsp salt, turmeric, cumin and coriander powders. Cook for 10 minutes until the sweet potatoes just start cooking.

Add chopped tomatoes, remaining 1/2 tsp salt and the sage leaves. Cook for 2 minutes and add the lentils, bay leaf and measured vegetable stock. Cover and let cook over medium heat for 40-45 minutes.

Uncover and check for doneness. The lentils should be perfectly tender (but not mushy), the sweet potato, chickpeas and carrots should also be tender yet hold their shape but will melt in your mouth into an explosion of flavors. Add chopped cilantro and lemon juice, turn off the heat and serve hot with any fresh baked bread of your choice.

I served the soup with pumpernickel bread and loved the combination of the smoky earthy soup with the deep and intense pumpernickel bread. The combination was perfect.

Garlicky Carrot and Potato stuffed Wontons

This makes a perfect tea time snack and is great served as an appetizer. It’s quite easy to make and needs only a few ingredients. I love working with wonton wrappers because sky is the limit when it comes to options for it’s filling. Here is one of my creations served with a ginger-scallion sauce.

20 wonton wrappers (makes 10)
2 large potatoes, boiled and peeled
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1″ piece ginger, minced
4-6 indian or thai green chillies, minced
3 carrots, peeled and grated
2 tbsps salt
3 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
3 tbsp unsalted butter

For the sauce:
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp sriracha sauce(optional)
3 tbsp  scallions, finely chopped
1 “piece fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp lemon juice

Heat a large skillet and melt butter until golden brown. Add onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies.  Saute for 5 minutes over medium-high until the onions are cooked until translucent, not just brown yet. Add the grated carrots and 1 tbsp salt. Cook for another 6-8 minutes until the carrots are done.

Add cilantro and remove from heat. Transfer this mixture to a mixing bowl and let cool. Boil potatoes and peel. Add the potatoes to the mixing bowl along with the carrot mixture. Mash together adding the remaining tbsp salt until it comes together like a filling.

Place a tbsp of the filling on a wonton wrapper. Wet the edges of with water. Place another wonton wrapper over it and use a fork to press the edges together immediately so the water helps to stick and seal the edges.

Prepare all of them and set them aside for 20 minutes before frying or steaming. In the mean while mix the soy sauce, sriracha sauce, ginger, lemon juice and scallions in a bowl and set aside. This is the dipping sauce. It is a really versatile sauce that can be used for many other asian inspired dishes.

The filled wonton wrappers can be prepared two ways. I fried half of them and steamed the remaining half.

Heat a wide-deep skillet with canola oil for frying. Keep the heat low and drop in two wontons at a time, fry until golden brown and set aside over a paper towel to drain.

In another pot, fill water about 2-3 inches high and let it come to a gentle boil. Drop in two wontons at a time and cook for 2-3 minutes until the inside is completely warmed and the skin is perfectly soft. Serve with the ginger scallion sauce.

Roasted Garlic and Onion Soup

What could be possibly be better than a big bowl of soup with crusty bread on a snowed in winter night! Here is a light yet creamy soup with roasted garlic and onions. Infused with thyme and chives, it makes a perfect winter soup.

2 large sized garlic heads (use 4 if they are medium sized)
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp butter, unsalted
2 large onions, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and chopped into small pieces (1/2″ cubes)
1 tbsp crushed red pepper
6 cups vegetable stock
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup half and half
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
2 sprigs of fresh thyme, strip the leaves from the stem and rough chop the leaves
3 tbsp chives, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cut off the tail end of the garlic to expose the bottom of all the garlic cloves. Place them in a baking tray, drizzle 2 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil over them and bake in oven for 45 minutes- one hour. Remove from oven and let it cool. Once cool enough to handle, gently squeeze the garlic into a bowl and it should separate from the skin very easily. Mash together and set aside.

Heat a soup pot and add the remaining 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil with the 3 tbsp butter. Add the chopped onions and saute over medium heat for ten minutes until onions are golden brown. Add the potatoes and crushed red peppers and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the roasted garlic, the vegetable stock, lemon juice and salt. Mix well, bring to a boil and cover the soup pot. Simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Add the half and half, cream, chopped chives and fresh thyme leaves. Heat through for 10 minutes and serve warm with your favorite bread.

Roasted Beet, Walnut and Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese

This is one of my favorite salads. The juicy sweet beets with warm toasted walnuts and the creamy blue cheese is heaven in a plate. You could always use a milder option like goat cheese if you are not a fan of strong cheeses.

You will need :

5 small red beets
1 pound baby spinach, washed and dried
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 cup blue cheese (substitute: gorgonzola , goat cheese or any other creamy cheese of your choice)

For the Dressing:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp dried garlic
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp dried thyme
1/2 tbsp dried scallions
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Pre heat oven to 375 F.

Wash the beets, sometimes they tend to be a bit muddy on the skin. Wrap the washed beets in aluminum foil, like a package. I had two large beets and three small ones. So I halved the large beets to make sure all the beets are around the same size which will help cook evenly. Place the foil package on a baking tray and put them in the oven. If some beet juices tend to flow out, you dont have a messy oven, they collect on the tray.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. This time might vary depending on the size of the beets. Make sure you check them after 30 minutes. Insert a small knife into the center of the beets and if it goes in easily, they are done. If not, leave them in for another 10-15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them cool down.

Increase the oven temperature to 400F.

In another baking tray, spread the rough chopped walnuts around and place them in the oven for 10 minutes. When roasting nuts, make sure you always have an eye on them, they can easily burn.

Once the beets have cooled, scrub the outside and the skin should peel very easily leaving you with a juicy delicious roasted beet. Chop the beets into bite size (1″) pieces.

In a salad bowl, toss together the baby spinach, roasted walnuts and chopped beets. Be careful as not not over mix or bruise the beets while tossing or your entire salad will be red which is not very appealing.

Dressing:

In a bowl, add the lemon juice. Use of a fork or a small whisk and start whisking the lemon juice. While whisking, slowly stream in the olive oil and stop when the oil and juice are completely mixed together as a smooth blended liquid. If you dump all the oil all at once over the juice, the two liquids will not mix and you will have an inch of oil floating on top, again, not appealing.

Once you have a well emulsified liquid, add all the herbs, garlic and salt and mix well.

Plate a scoop of the salad, crumble fresh blue cheese on top and drizzle a spoon of the dressing. Serve with any fresh toasted bread.

Bombay Sandwich – The Queen of Street Food

One of the best things about India and the thing I miss the most food-wise is street food. Here’s one of my favorites, the bombay sandwich. A simple yet soul satisfyingly delicious snack perfect for an appetizer or served with coffee or tea. The thing I love about this is you can make this with things you probably always have in your pantry. The only extra step is to make the chutney which is the star of this dish.

For the chutney you need :

4 green chillies (indian or thai variety preferably, serranos or jalapenos are a good substitute)
1/2 cup Cilantro
1/3 cup Mint
1/2 tsp Tamarind paste
2 Garlic cloves, peeled
1/2″ piece Ginger, peeled
1 tbsp grated Coconut (frozen works fine)
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Salt
2-3 tbsp Lemon juice

To make the sandwich:

3 slices of white bread- makes one sandwich (classically made with white bread, substitute with wheat or grain bread, not with any stonf flavored bread like rye)
1 white onion, slicked thinly lengthwise
1 large tomato, sliced thinly into rounds
1 large potato, boiled, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

Blend all the chutney ingredients together in a blender with as little water as possible. You want a smooth texture almost the consistency of room temperature butter.

Fill a pot of cold water an add some salt. Drop in the potatoes and bring to a boil. Boil until the potatoes are completely cooked. Peel and slice into thin rounds and set aside. Remove the crusts off the bread, slice the onions and tomatoes and set aside.

Spread the chutney liberally on the first slice of bread. Place a couple of the sliced onions and tomatoes on it. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread the chutney liberally on the second slice of bread and place it on the first slice with veggies, chutney side up.
Place the sliced boiled potatoes on the second bread, add a pinch of salt  and pepper. Spread the third slice with chutney and place on top of the potatoes chutney side down. Press down slightly.

Cut into four pieces serve at room temperature.

Campanelle with Asparagus and Creamed Sun dried Tomato Pesto

Campanelle is a flower shaped pasta that is perfect for hearty and chunky sauces which makes it the ideal for this rustic sauce. The pesto is definitely key to taste of this dish. So make it fresh and store enough for future use. If you have the sun dried tomato pesto pre-made, this pasta takes under 15 minutes to make!

Sun dried tomato pesto

This is my variation of pesto which turned out to be a keeper!

1 1/2 cups + 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil, roughly chopped (drain most of the oil- keep 1 tbsp to add in the pesto)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
1/2 cup pecarino cheese, grated or shredded
1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
1 tbsp large capers
1 tbsp pine nuts
6-8 large garlic cloves
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all the ingredients except the oil in a food processor or blender. Pulse a few seconds until all the ingredients combine together coarsely. Drizzle in the olive oil and continue pulsing until you get a thick coarse paste. Add the remaining 1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes and mix it in to keep it chunky and to give a bite to the otherwise smooth dish.

For the Pasta

1 pound campanelle pasta (substitute: fusili, gemelli or shells)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pound asparagus, the thick bottom part snapped off
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 tbsp crushed red peppers
1/2 cup sun dried tomato pesto
1/2 cup light cream
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp salt

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for 7-8 minutes or until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add sliced onions and crushed red peppers. Saute until the onions are cooked(they turn translucent). Add the asparagus, salt and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the sun dried tomato pesto, mix and just after a minute stir in the cream, remaining basil and shut the heat off.

Add the cooked pasta mix well and serve. I served it with shaved pecarino cheese on top and side of my favorite roasted garlic sourdough bread.

Chilli Paneer

This dish is inspired from one of the popular cuisines in India :  Indo-chinese food. A whole genre based on merging chinese and Indian ingredients uniquely catered to the Indian palette. If you have never heard about it or eaten this food, you either have to fly to India, visit the few Indian restaurants in the US that have it or of course try this recipe(more to come) at home!

1 packet of paneer, sliced lengthwise into slabs ( This is a standard size available in most Indian stores)
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
8-10 indian green chillies, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2″ piece ginger, finely chopped
1 tbsp + 2 tbsp oil
1/3 cup ketchup ( I used the hot and sweet Indian variety, you could use regular too)
1 tbsp tsp soy sauce
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a medium non-stick pan.  Place the paneer pieces and cook until browned, around 2 minutes. Turn over, brown the other side (around a minute) and remove from heat and set aside on paper towels. Cut the slabs into half, so they are bite size pieces.

Add 1 tsps oil to the remaining oil in the pan. Add the garlic, ginger and chillies. Cook for 2 minutes and add the onions. Saute over high heat until the onions soften and brown. Add soy sauce, coriander powder, lemon juice and let simmer for 2 minutes.

Add ketchup. Mix well and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the fried paneer pieces coat well, sprinkle with cilantro on top and serve.

The soy sauce and ketchup add enough salt to this dish, no extra salt is needed.

This dish goes to Culinarty’s Original Recipes.

Black Bean-Cilantro Pilaf

1 cup Basmati Rice
3 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 jalapenos, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
1 green pepper, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained well ( I used canned cooked beans)
1 red onion, sliced thin lengthwise
1 cup vegetable stock (if you can’t find vegetable stock, you could use all water)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt

In a large non-stick pan melt the butter over medium and add the chopped jalapeno and garlic. Stir for a minute and add in the onions. Cook until onions soften and start to slightly brown.

Add green and red peppers. Cook for 5 minutes until peppers just start softening. Add in the 2 cups raw rice and stir until the rice turns opaque. Add the black beans and salt and mix well.

After about 5 minutes of stirring the rice, add in the vegetable stock and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, check to see if all water is absorbed. As soon as the bottom of the pan doesn’t have any stock remaining when you stir the rice, turn off heat and let rice sit about 10 minutes.

Then remove lid and add the lemon juice and cilantro, fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot.

Black Bean Salad – Leftover Makeover

I made a really easy black bean salad, with beans leftover from making the Black bean Tortilla rolls. For this salad I used carrots, red onions, green and red bell peppers all giving a variety of flavors all that compliment black beans really well.
To tie it all together, I simply added salt, lemon juice and cilantro for freshness.

Who says healthy can’t be tasty?

1/2 cup black beans
1 carrot, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/4 red onion, diced ( If red onions are too intense for you, substitute with scallions/green onions or chives)
1/2 jalapeno, minced
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, toss well and serve.

(Did that even need directions?!)

Leftover Makeover – 2

With my leftover Chickpeas-Mint patties and lemon garlic dipping sauce came this sandwich. Continuing my leftover makeovers, this is such a great snack with crisp fresh veggies, creamy sauce and minty patties.

I used a hearty multi grain bread that adds great flavor and stands up well with all these strong flavors of garlic, mint, chickpeas and lemon. 
1 ripe tomato, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 onion, thinly sliced
3-4 pickled jalapenos
1/4 head of lettuce, rough chopped 
more lemon juice, optional 

Toast the bread until toasted crisp. Spread one slice liberally with the garlic-cilantro sauce, and place the chickpeas-mint patties over it. I used two patties to make the sandwich more hearty.

Top with crisp lettuce, 2 slices of tomatoes, 1 slice of onion, jalapenos, a tsp more of lemon juice. Spread more of the sauce on the second slice of bread and gently press down to make into a manageable size!