I used to make green chile stew and red posole with pork butt. I then later used Butler soy curls, which I do love, as a meat stand in or pinto beans, but a few months ago I had some black beans in the freezer and I decided that this is my new favorite. It's sort of a combination of my pork heavy green chile stew and my posole. It's a great way to use up leftover tomatillo sauce. If you don't have that hiding out in your fridge or freezer, you could use canned green enchilada sauce or a good bottled green tomatillo salsa, I reckon. Green Posole Serves at least 4-6 3 Poblano peppers, diced 1-2 Jalapenos, diced (seeded) 5-6 cloves garlic 1 large onion, diced 1 teaspoon cumin seed 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon smoked bittersweet paprika (optional, chili powder is fine, but just not smokey) 3 cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed (2 cans) 3 cups posole (2 cans, drained and rinsed) 3 cups water or vegetable stock 2 cups tomatillo sauce (homemade or canned/jarred) I used homemade, but Herdez brand is good, and you could get two small cans of that. Use what you like. Fixin's: This soup is awesome with some cilantro and shredded cabbage on top, as well as with a slice of lime. Corn chips (I oven baked some tortillas dusted with salt, pepper, and chili powder for about 12 minutes at 425) are excellent crumbled up in the soup, and of course, avocado is always welcome to the party. Other fun add ins to the bowl include sliced radishes, and if you're in the mood for cheese, go for it. Process (stove top): Heat a large soup pot with a bit of oil (you can certainly broth-fry the veggies if you can't have oil). Add the onion, peppers, garlic and seasoning and saute a few minutes until the onion is starting to soften and the pot is fragrant. Throw in the hominy and beans, stir, then add the liquids and bring to a simmer. Let the flavors marry by simmering, covered, for at least 45 minutes. Notes: I did the whole dish in about an hour from dried beans to finished soup using my pressure cooker. The black beans went in for 30 minutes, they were drained and set aside. Using the brown function, I sauteed the vegetables and then combined everything and put the pressure back on for 30 minutes on the soup setting. If you haven't considered a GoWise or Fagor all in one (see my "Kitchen Love" page for the one I have), I recommend it. I have yet to use the slow cooker function, but I've made this and Pigeon Peas and Coconut Rice this week in my wonder pot.
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This recipe is adapted from the Sunset Vegetarian Cooking book that someone gave me in a box of odds and ends over 20 years ago. I am happy to see that you can still purchase copies, as mine is missing the first few pages, which included this recipe. There's also an almond mushroom pate that I posted about on Two Fat Sisters awhile back that's from this cookbook and a mushroom-cashew stuffed bun that I love to make. I'm pretty sure this was my first vegetarian cookbook.
On to the Hummus. This recipe likely came about before tahini was readily available, as it uses whole sesame seeds that are toasted before being blended with the chickpeas. I find the taste of commercial tahini to be rather bitter, and sesame seeds are so nice to have around for topping rolls, putting in stir fries, using in baking. I use a Vitamix, so I just peel and seed the lemon before chunking it in the blender. If you don't have a high powered blender, you might just use the juice. Hummus Yield is approximately 1.5 cups 1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas, drained (but save the liquid). This is equivalent to a 14 ounce can 1 lemon (or lime), juiced if you don't have a high powered blender 1/4 cup sesame seeds (raw) 1 teaspoon cumin seed (or sub ground cumin if that's what you have) 1 teaspoon salt 1-2 cloves of garlic 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 3 Tablespoons of the reserved chickpea liquid Paprika (optional, but nice on top, especially smoked paprika) Toast the sesame seeds and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan until toasty and fragrant. Dump this in your blender with the garlic cloves and let the blender grind that up (see the second picture above). Add all of the remaining ingredients and start blending. You might find that scraping down the sides of the blender helps to get it all ground without making it soupy. I like mine thick enough that it will stand on a spatula (picture three). The last picture has a sprinkling of smoked bittersweet paprika on top. Enjoy! I love pearl onions, red wine, and mushrooms together. I've often made seitan bourguignon, but last Sunday I decided to go with the green French lentils I had left instead of resorting to a meat analogue. I was not disappointed.
Lentil & Mushroom Bourguignon Serves 4-6 1/2 cup lentils, rinsed and sorted (I used French green, but regular brown would be fine, just not as firm) Put these in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Cook these, covered, with a bay leaf for about 20-25 minutes. 1 cup diced onion 1/2 cup diced celery 1/2 cup diced carrot 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup red wine (I used an old vine cab, but use what you've got as long as it's not too sweet) 1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock (use broth cubes or powder if you don't have stock) 2 Tablespoons of tomato paste (optional, but adds depth) 3/4 pound (1.5 boxes) of baby bello or button mushrooms, sliced 1 bag of pearl onions 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme salt and pepper Saute the onion, celery, and carrots together for about five minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute until they have a bit of color and some of the liquid is released (about five minutes). Add the garlic, thyme, and the cooked lentils (the water should be mostly cooked out, so just dump them in the pan. The juice adds flavor here). Take the bay leaf out so you don't have to search for it later. Make a "hole" in the center of the pan by pushing the vegetables to the sides of the pan. Put in the tomato paste and stir it around, breaking it up and getting some heat to it. Stir in the wine (NOTE: if you have a gas stove, turn the heat off unless you want to run the risk of a flare up. Add wine and then turn the pan back on). Cook for a minute or two to reduce the wine a bit, then add the stock and pearl onions. Cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes or so, giving the pearl onions time to soak up some sauce and everything to come together. Taste for seasoning after 30 minutes and adjust as necessary. Normally, I would serve this over mashed potatoes, but I've recently developed a love of the Hasselback potato. Pouring the chunky stew over the potato ensures that it gets in those crannies and you want a knife to cut chunks of potatoes off as you eat. This provides a more substantial feel to the meal, and the crispy bits on the potato add some interest (plus you saved calories from the fat and plant-based milk that you would put in your mash. To cook the potatoes, I just prepped them and rubbed with a tiny bit of olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and shoved them in a 425 degree oven for about 45 minutes or so. |
Who's dishing?Angel lives in Camden, Arkansas where she writes stuff and sometimes sends it out to other people to read. She used to grade papers, but not anymore. Check out her main site to see what she's up to lately. Archives
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