Whole Grain, White Bean and Winter Vegetable Dish with Pickled Red Onions

This delicious, hearty recipe is solidly in the winter comfort food category--and just happens to be healthy! You can use any whole grain that is earthy in flavor and a bit chewy. I prefer Kamut or wheat berries, but short grain brown rice or pearled barley also work well.

Kamut: For those of you who haven't heard of Kamut, it is the trademarked name of an ancient type of wheat berry that was originally grown in Egypt. It is high in protein (12-18%) and always organic. The taste is nearly identical to traditional wheat berries.

Many whole grains take 35-60+ minutes to cook--something I cannot wait for when I get home starving after a long day of work. To solve this problem (and avoid getting take-out), I cook a batch of some type of whole grain most weekends, portion into family-sized servings, and freeze in Ziplock baggies or freezer containers. Then, I just empty the frozen grains into a microwave safe container, cover with a plate, and heat for 1-3 minutes. This technique yields whole grains that taste no different than if they'd been freshly made for that meal! This recipe utilized whole grains that were precooked and reheated in this way.

This process is simple and shown in more detail in the Basic Techniques Series: CookingWhole Grains post which includes a cooking time chart for most whole grains.

Whole Grain, White Bean and Winter Vegetable Dish with Pickled Red Onions 

Pickled Red Onions:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of one medium or large lemon (zest lemon before juicing)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onions

Ingredients for the rest of the dish:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 medium carrots, sliced 1/8-1/4 inch thick

1 large parsnip, sliced 1/8 inch thick

1 medium or large fennel bulb, halved then sliced ¼ inch thick

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

1 can (or 1-1/2 cups cooked) white beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups cooked Kamut or wheat berries

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Zest of 1 lemon, chopped

1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh dill

1/3 cup chopped, roasted almonds

Combine the ¼ cup olive oil, lemon juice, salt and red onions in a small bowl. Stir and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Toss in the carrots, parsnips, and fennel slices then season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables get somewhat browned (about 10-12 minutes).

Add the beans, Kamut and brown sugar to the skillet and cook for another 3-5 minutes to heat through. Add the lemon zest and dill; stir to combine. Remove from heat and add red onion mixture; stir and season with salt and pepper.

Let rest at least 5-10 minutes before serving.

Serve topped with chopped almonds. Serves 6-8 as a side dish; 4 as a main dish.

Makes a great vegetarian main dish, or side dish for fish or chicken.

Eat your greens—the versatile kale salad

Leftover salad that tastes even better the next day? Yes, it’s possible.

Enter the kale salad.

Fall Kale Salad: Fig-Balsamic Vinaigrette, Roasted Heirloom Winter Squash,  Pecans, Pomegranate, & Black Mission Figs

For many foodies, kale salad is “so last year,” but when it comes to your health this is not a recipe that should be taken out of rotation. 

In every serving (1 heaping cup) of the Fall Kale Salad recipe below, there is 4 days’ worth of vitamin A, nearly 3 days’ worth of vitamin C, 20% each of your daily calcium and iron, 7g each of daily protein and fiber needs, 377mg of omega-3’s, and nearly half a months’ worth of vitamin K! Kale is also a good source of B vitamins (including folate), magnesium, and potassium.

As is usually the case, the recipes I post are a product of what is in season locally (including what is growing in my yard) and what is leftover in my refrigerator or stocked in my pantry. Don’t give up on the recipe if you don’t have all of the ingredients or they are expensive in your area! Below the recipe is a long list of substitutions that you can use to tailor this recipe to your taste, the season, and the ingredients you already have (or easily have access to).

Happy cooking and healthy eating!

Fall Kale Salad*

Ingredients-Salad Base

1 bunch of curly kale (the type most commonly seen at the grocery store)

Approximately 1-1/2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (aged is best)

1-1/2 teaspoons fig jam, honey, or other sweetener

Approximately 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Ingredients-Toppings

1 cup cubed roasted or baked winter squash (acorn, butternut, or kabocha)

6-10 ripe figs, sliced or cubed

Arils of ½ medium pomegranate (see the Knife Skills #3: Pomegranates to see how to remove the arils from the fruit)

½ medium red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 -1/2 cup roasted, chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1.     Rinse kale and dry with a salad spinner or towel. Fold kale leaves in half so that the ribs are on one side and the curly part of the leaf is on the other; slice the ribs off with a knife and discard. Chop the leaves into roughly 1-2” square pieces and put into a large mixing bowl.

2.     Drizzle kale with the vinegar, sweetener, and oil. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper, then “massage.” This means grab handfuls of the kale mixture, make a fist to crush the leaves in you hand, then release. Repeat until all leaves are glistening and the volume of kale in the bowl is reduced by 1/3-1/2. Add more salt and pepper midway through this process.

3.     Taste one of the pieces of kale and adjust with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper until you achieve a flavor that tastes good to you (i.e. if too acidic add more oil, if not acidic enough add more vinegar, if the flavor doesn’t stand out after that add a bit more salt and pepper). As with all salads, you should have enough dressing just to coat the leaves but not pool in the bottom of the bowl.

4.     Mix in toppings and serve.

Serves: 6 medium-sided or 4 large salads

Storage: This salad tastes great for 2 days after you make it, so make it ahead or make extra to take for lunch the following day.

*Alternative Kale Salad Ingredients

Below are substitutions that you can make to the salad recipe above to create different flavors or make use of other ingredients you have at home.

Alternative Ingredients

·      Substitute other greens for the curly kale, including:

o   Swiss chard, other types of kale, or shredded collard greens.

·      Substitute another acidic ingredient for the balsamic vinegar, including:

o   Lemon/lime or orange juice, or other vinegars.

·      Substitute another sweetener, including:

o   Agave, honey, different jam, brown sugar, maple syrup.

·      Add other ingredients to the salad base/dressing, including:

o   Dijon or whole grain mustard, tahini or nut butters, herbs, spices.

·      Substitute different toppings, including:

o   Other fruit (apples, pears, orange slices, mango, berries, dried cranberries or other dried fruit),

o   Other vegetables (shredded carrots, cucumbers, peppers, artichoke hearts, avocado, radishes, sprouts, scallions, shallots, red cabbage, fennel, roasted Brussels sprouts),

o   Other nuts or seeds (pine nuts, sesame seeds, shaved coconut, macadamia nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews).

·      Add other ingredients to the toppings:

o   Legumes/Beans (edamame or other beans),

o   Grated or shaved hard cheeses (parmesan, asiago) or crumbled feta,

o   Cooked whole grain (quinoa, brown rice, etc.),

o   Croutons, fried strips of tortillas or wontons.

Simple Vegetarian Chili

November. It's undeniably fall, and the weather has turned decidedly chilly. Suddenly, my summer soup hiatus has vanished and nothing sounds better than a thick, hearty stew.

While it seems that most people know how to make chili, following recipes found on the internet often yields mixed results. Many of the recipes are awash with time consuming, complicated steps or have dozens of ingredients. Granted, some of those recipes likely result in an amazing chili, but how often do you have time for hours of preparation?

Simple Vegetarian Chili

The recipe below is a pared down, healthy chili that is quick, cheap and easy to make. If you make it exactly as is, the 1-1/2 gallon recipe (16 servings) will cost $19 (or $1.19/serving). However, using dry beans saves you at least $3 and you save another $4 if you leave out the crimini mushrooms ($2 if you substitute white button mushrooms). That brings this down to a total of $12 (or $0.75/serving).

A note on chili powder: like most of my spices, I get this at Penzey's . The last batch I made was with their medium chili powder, but it was quite spicy (and I love spicy food), so you may want to go with a mild chili powder and serve some sliced jalapeños on the side for those who want to spice it up.

Serving and cooking notes: 

• The chili pictured above is served with avocado and cilantro. 
• I also like to top with a few corn chips to add some crunch or serve with a piece of cornbread. 
• This is a very chunky chili. If you prefer a less chunky chili, cut the squash, onions, mushrooms and peppers smaller. This will also take less time to cook. 
• If you are in a hurry, you can dump all of the ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. This way you have instant, hot dinner when you get home in the evening.
• You can prepare chili in advance. It tastes better the next day and keeps in the refrigerator for a week. 
• Portion into individual serving containers that are microwavable for a quick lunch or into family-sized containers for a heat-and-eat dinner.

Simple Vegetarian Chili

¼ cup olive oil

1-1/2 large yellow onions, diced in 1-inch cubes

2 green bell peppers, diced in 1-inch cubes

4-6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 pounds butternut squash or sweet potatoes, diced in 1-inch cubes

8 ounce package crimini mushrooms, diced in 1-inch cubes

4 Tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1-28 ounce can tomato puree

1-28 ounce can diced tomatoes

3 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans small red beans, drained and rinsed

½-1 can filled with water

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a 2 gallon pot over medium high heat. Add onions, peppers and garlic, cook covered, stirring regularly for 3 minutes.

2. Add squash and mushrooms and season with ½ teaspoon of salt (if using) and freshly ground black pepper. Cover pot and cook, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes.

3. Add chili powder and cumin. Stir to coat vegetables. Add both cans of tomatoes, all of the beans and enough water to make chili the thickness you like.

4. Stirring frequently, bring chili to a simmer over medium heat. Then, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until squash is fork tender.

5. Serve.

Makes 1-1/2 gallons (16 1.5 cups servings)