Spicy Pinto Beans

 

 

Here’s an easily made pinto bean dish of the sort that goes well as an ingredient in tacos, fajitas, nachos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and burritos. Alternatively, the beans go well with rice as a lunch or snack.

 

The recipe serves six people as a light meal, or serves more people if used as an ingredient in one of the Tex-Mex dishes mentioned above.

 

1 small green bell pepper or 1/2 a medium one

1 medium jalapeño pepper

1 small onion or 1/2 a medium one

1 clove garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 (14-ounce) cans pinto beans

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder, if available, or 1 extra teaspoon regular chili powder

1 teaspoon regular chili powder, or 2 teaspoons if chipotle chili powder not used

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/3 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup water

Coarsely chopped cilantro for garnish, if desired

 

Core the bell pepper and cut it in chunks. Cut the stem off the jalapeño, and cut the jalapeño in half, keeping the seeds. Peel the onion and the garlic clove. Chop all four vegetables very finely in a food processor, or on a cutting board with a chef’s knife. Place vegetable mixture in a heavy pot with the olive oil. Set aside.

 

Open the cans of beans, and holding their lids on, drain off as uch liquid as you can, but do not rinse. Add 1 cup of water to one of the cans of beans. Measure the salt and dry seasonings and put them in a small bowl or cup.

 

Place the pot with the chopped vegetables and olive oil on the stove, and fry, stirring very frequently, until the vegetables are softened, but not browned. Add the beans and their water plus the spices to the pot. Heat, simmering for about ten minutes, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pot, so that the beans don’t stick.

 

Remove from the heat. Taste, and add salt if needed.

 

Use a a lunch dish with rice, sprinkled with chopped parsley, or use as an ingredient on nachos, quesadillas, enchiladas, tacos, fajitas or burritos.

 

 

Red Lentil Dal with Spinach, a good Iron Source

 

One of my teenage grandchildren has been vegetarian for some years. And as she is active in sports, getting enough iron to avoid anemia is a challenge. She loves Indian food, and does some cooking. So this one is for her. 

Lentils, and especially red lentils (called “masoor dal” in India), and spinach (called “palak” or “saag” in India) are both good sources of dietary iron. They also have many other nutritional benefits, including protein, soluble and insoluble fiber, and multiple vitamins.

 

Here is a delicious vegan version of an Indian vegetarian dish, Dal Saag (or Dal Palak), that brings together these two fine iron sources. It also makes a great meal, accompanied by rice or chapati flat bread, plus a fresh chutney (I have a good recipe for fresh tomato chutney elsewhere in this blog).

 

Masoor dal, split and hulled red (or “Egyptian”) lentils, are available inexpensively at supermarkets, Indian stores, and natural food stores. The spices are relatively readily available at the same places. Frozen spinach is the easiest for this cooking, but fresh could be used if preferred. Indian cooks would typically fry part of the cumin seeds and part of the onion in a little oil (or clarified butter -- ghee) and stir it in at the end for heightened flavor. For simplicity (and for a teen-aged cook) I leave that step out and just cook all the seasonings in with the lentils.

 

The recipe makes about a quart and a half, enough for six people. It keeps well in the fridge and reheats easily in the microwave.

 

1 1/2 cup split red lentils

5 cups water

3 tablespoons vegetable oil (not olive)

1 small onion finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

1 1/4 teaspoons whole cumin seeds (or ground as a second choice)

1/2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds (or ground as a second choice)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1 (12-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach (not thawed)

Coarsely chopped cilantro for garnish, if desired

 

Rinse and drain the lentils. Place in a pot with the water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of thee pot. Skim off and discard the foam that arises as the lentils boil.

 

Add the oil, onion and spices (not the salt), and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot, until lentils are tender and start to disintegrate, 25-30 minutes. If the mixture is getting somewhat dry, add a little water.

Add the salt and simmer a few more minutes.

 

Finally, add the frozen spinach, and stirring frequently, cook only until the spinach is heated. Do not cook after the mixture boils.

 

Remove from the heat, taste for salt and add a little if needed. Let cool. The flavors are enhanced as the mixture rests.

 

Reheat to serve. Top lightly with coarsely chopped cilantro leaves, if desired, when using as part of an Indian meal with rice or chapati.

 

 

Lentil Chili with Red Beans

 

 

Lentils, one of my favorite dry legumes, make fine chili. Tasty, versatile, inexpensive and quick-cooking, lentils are are also loaded with vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber. In many ways they’re a wonderfood.

 

Here’s my easily made lentil chili, in which I now use red beans. Small red beans, as opposed to red kidney beans, are a variety I am recently getting to know. They’re the favorite bean for New Orleans and Louisiana cooking as well as one of the most popular beans in several countries in Central America and the Caribbean. While I use them in this recipe, other beans would also serve, including pintos, light red kidney beans, and black beans.

 

Chili can be a main course, particularly if accompanied by rice or corn chips, avocado and salsa. Chili, can also be a snack or, if thinned down with extra liquid, can serve as a soup.

 

The recipe serves six, but leftovers are great to have.

 

1 small-medium onion, diced

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 1/4 cups (1/2 pound) dry tan-green lentils, rinsed and drained

2 1/2 cups water, plus more as needed

1/2 cup canned crushed tomato

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

A pinch of ground cloves

2 (14-ounce) cans red beans (or pintos or others), drained

1 teaspoon vinegar

 

In a heavy pot, gently fry the onion with the olive oil, stirring frequently, until softened. Add the minced garlic and fry one minute, stirring most of the time. Add the rinsed and drained lentils plus the water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat. Simmer, pot covered but stirring frequently, until lentils are becoming tender. Add a little water from time to time to keep a little liquid on the bottom of the pot. This cooking takes 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, assemble the other ingredients.

 

When lentils are nearly tender, add the crushed tomato, all the seasonings, and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer, covered, and stirring frequently, 10 minutes. Add drained beans and simmer about five minutes. Add a little water as needed to keep the mixture moist.

 

Remove from heat. Stir in the vinegar. Taste the chili and add a little salt if needed, to taste. The chili can be served now, or for better flavor, cool, refrigerate, and rewarm to serve. When rewarming, add a little water, if needed, to the desired thickness.

 

Accompany with sliced avocado, sliced tomato or tomato salsa, and corn tortilla chips. Optionally, also serve with rice.

 

Vegan Massaman Curry, with Tofu, Sweet Potato and Peanuts

 

Although Thai curries were not traditionally Vegan, some communities of Thai Buddhist nuns did choose to completely avoid meat and seafood. And dairy products are rare in the Thai diet, anyway. The principles and spice mixtures used in making Thai curries can be applied to produce some very tasty, as well as nutritious, Vegan versions. Here’s my effort at a Vegan Massaman curry.

 

“Gaeng Massaman,” is richly flavored but not very hot from peppers. The curry paste is made with darkly caramelized garlic and red onion and has aromatic spices like cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. It is also somewhat sweet-sour.  Purchase it at Asian grocery stores, along with the  unsweetened coconut milk. “Maesri,” my preferred brand, is completely Vegan (check other brands, if available, to be sure that shrimp paste, a traditional Thai curry component, is not an ingredient.)

 

Massaman curry flavors reflect the dish’s origins in southern Thailand’s Muslim community, which was ancestrally Malay/Indonesian. Massaman curry almost always has peanuts cooked into it for flavor, and in addition they add to whatever protein the principal ingredient brings. Here, I’m using tofu for the main protein and sweet potato as the vegetable interest, along with the usual peanuts.

 

In the Thai manner, serve this curry with Jasmine rice, or other long grain rice, cooked without salt. (See a rice cooking method in this blog.) A Thai curry dinner would usually include a stir-fried vegetable dish as a side dish for contrast.

 

The recipe serves six to eight.

 

2 (14-ounce) blocks firm or extra firm tofu

1 (4-ounce) can Massaman curry paste (I like “Maesri” brand)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 (13-14 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk -- shake well before opening

2 cans worth of water

1/2 cup dry-roasted skinned peanuts (unsalted or lightly salted)

1 medium-large sweet potato, about 3/4 pound

Salt, if needed

1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice

Sprigs of cilantro plus fine shreds of a small red hot pepper for garnish

 

Drain tofu. Cut into approximately 3/4-inch cubes. Set aside to drain. Peel and cut the sweet potato into 3/4-inch cubes. Set aside till needed.

 

In a pot over very low heat, gently fry the curry paste in the oil, stirring constantly, until the oil bubbles a little. Add the coconut milk, and stir well. Heat until beginning to boil. Add the water and bring to a full boil.

 

Add the peanuts, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and bring back to a boil. Boil gently, stirring occasionally, until sweet potato is becoming tender (test by piercing a piece with a toothpick), 7-8 minutes. Add the cubed, drained tofu, part at a time, stirring very gently. Simmer 4-5 minutes and remove from the heat. Stir in the lime or lemon juice. Taste and add a little salt if needed.

 

Allow to cool for the flavors to mingle. Reheat, stirring very carefully, and serve with unsalted rice. Offer the curry in a serving dish, and garnish lightly with plucked-off cilantro leaves and fine shreds of hot red pepper.

 

 

 

Chickpeas Braised with Spinach

  

Here’s a substantial main dish that I developed many years ago while volunteering at my friends’ Turkish restaurant in Decatur. On Saturdays if I wasn’t otherwise busy I served as “Guest Chef” there, and learned a great deal about Eastern Mediterranean cooking.

 

The dish is influenced heavily by what I learned hanging out with those Turkish chefs, though it is not specifically a Turkish dish. They wanted a vegan “special” that would meet the preferences of some of their customers. The dish went over well and got added to their regular menu, where it still remains several decades later. At our restaurant, Donderos’ Kitchen in Athens, we use a version of it for both catering and for sale from the freezer. 

 

Here’s a sized-down version of the recipe we use at the restaurant that approximates the restaurant dish. A batch serves six, accompanied by a rice dish, such as a pilaf, or warmed flatbread, such as pita. In the Turkish manner, the chickpea-spinach dish can be garnished with julienned red onion plus some chopped fresh parsley when served. 

 

1 medium-small onion, finely diced

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium clove garlic, minced

1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup water, plus more as needed

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon (or more) crushed dry hot pepper

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 (14-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed

1 (12-ounce) bag frozen cut or chopped spinach leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar

Julienned (lengthwise thinly sliced) red onion for garnish

Coarsely chopped parsley for garnish

 

In a heavy pot, gently fry the onion in the olive oil, stirring frequently, until well softened and starting to turn faintly golden. Add the garlic, stir and fry for half a minute, Add the tomato, water, salt, spices and herbs. Simmer a few minutes.

 

Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas, plus enough water to come a quarter inch below the surface of the chickpeas. Simmer, stirring often, for ten minutes. Add the frozen spinach and bring back just to a boil. Add a little water if the sauce is too thick. Remove from the heat.

 

Stir in the lemon juice or vinegar. Taste and add salt if needed. Serve now, or let cool and reheat later for serving. Sprinkle some julienned red onion and chopped parsley as a garnish. Accompany with a rice dish, such as a pilaf  (see elsewhere in this blog) or warmed pita bread,