Recipes

For those of you who remember seeing a kohlrabi (or other extra-terrestrial vegetable) for the first time and that sinking feeling of what on earth do I do with this , here is a running post for recipes. It can always be accessed by the hyperlink on the right-hand side of the page-- blogger does not allow the links overhead to have dynamic content.

Have an exceptionally good or bad recipe? Post it for all to enjoy!

Columbian Black Bean Soup

1 ½ c dried black beans, soaked ~8 hrs

1-2 fresh or dried chile

6 cups water

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup diced onion

4 minced garlic cloves

½ cup diced green bell pepper

½ cup diced celery

Salt and pepper

3 Tablespoons orange juice

3 Tablespoons lime juice

For garnish: cilantro, scallions, orange and lime wedges

Drain the soaked beans and place in a medium saucepan with the chile and the water.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for about an hour, partially covered, until tender.  Discard or keep the chiles.  Remove 1 ½ cups of the beans with 1 cup of the cooking liquid to a blender and puree.  Return the puree to the pot.

Toast the cumin seeds over medium heat until fragrant.  Grind with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.

Warm the oil in a sauté pan and sauté garlic and onions over medium low heat until softened.  Add the cumin, green pepper, celery and cook an additional 5 minutes, until soft.

Add a couple ladles of beans with cooking liquid to the sauté pan and simmer a few minutes.  Stir the contents back into the bean pot.  Add 1 ½ teaspoons salt and black pepper and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes.  Stir in the orange and lime juice and add salt to taste.  Garnish bowls of soup with chopped cilantro, scallions and chopped orange and lime, if you desire.

Asian Greens and Tofu

Steam any combination of greens: bok choy, spinach, kale, collards, mustards, beet greens, broccoli or kohlrabi leaves

Saute one chopped onion and 1-2 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger in olive or peanut oil 5 minutes.  Add cubed tofu and soy sauce (at least 2 tablespoons, but to your taste).  After a few minutes, add the greens to the sauté pan.  Turn off the heat and add a handful of chopped cilantro and mint.  Sprinkle lime juice over all.

Serve with rice, cooked rice noodles, or fettucine.

Tuscan Kale with Raisins

1 lb Tuscan kale, cut into fine strips

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 whole dried hot red chile

3 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled but left whole

3-4 tablespoons raisins

2 cups vegetable stock or water

Salt

Put the oil, chile and garlic in a wide, medium pan and set over medium high heat.  Stir until the garlic is golden and put in the raisins.  Stir once and put in the kale.  Stir a few times and put in the stock.  Bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to low, and simmer 20 to 30 minutes until the kale is tender.  Uncover and if there is any liquid remaining, turn up the heat and boil it away.  Add salt to taste, and remove chile before serving.

Sauteed Kohlrabi

2 kohlrabi heads

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

½ teaspoon salt

Black pepper

Cut off the coarse bottom end of the kohlrabis and peel.  Cut into 1/8 inch thick slices.  Stack the slices together and cut into julienne strips.

Melt the butter and oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Saute the kohlrabi until tender, 5-7 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
  
Stir-Fried Snow Pea Shoots

     Ingredients

• One bunch of pea shoots, tendrils trimmed off
• 1 Tbs peanut or canola oil
• 1 slice peeled fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, lightly crushed and peeled
• Salt, to taste
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

     Cooking instructions

• Put the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
• When hot, add the ginger and garlic.
• After a few quick stirs when the garlic is golden, add the pea shoots and salt.
• Stir and cook about 3 minutes, until the shoots have wilted completely.
• Put in the sesame oil and toss.
• Serve immediately.

Quick Braising Mix with Pasta

 5 cloves garlic, chopped

Olive oil

Braising mix

Red wine vinegar

Cooked pasta

Saute the garlic in olive oil until soft.  Turn the heat to medium high and toss in the braising mix, stirring until it wilts.  Sprinkle with red wine vinegar, stirring until the vinegar disappears.  Salt to taste.

Mix with the cooked pasta.  Optional: Pinenuts and raisins, or 2 teaspoons honey, 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard and walnuts or pecans.

Sorrel Pesto

Use with pasta or as a thick sauce for fish (sorry, I don’t have a recipe for the fish!)

2 cups chopped sorrel, ribs removed

1/3 cup parsley leaves

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/3 cup fresh parmesan

¼ cup pine nuts

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup olive oil

Puree all the ingredients together and chill.  It will last 2 weeks in the refrigerator.  For a pasta sauce, mix ¾ cup pesto with 2/3 cup cooking liquid from 1 pound of pasta.

Potato, Sorrel and Watercress Soup (from The Voluptuous Vegan)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 cup diced onion

2 leeks, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound low to medium starch potatoes, diced (such as the potatoes received in June)

½ pound russet potatoes, diced

4 cups water

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups watercress or arugula, chopped

2 cups sliced sorrel

Black pepper

¼ cup chopped dill, or dried dill to tasts

Saute the onions and leeks in the olive oil in a soup pot for 8 minutes over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more.

Add the potatoes and water, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat, add the salt, and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat.  Stir in the watercress, sorrel, and pepper.  Mash about half the potatoes with the back of a spoon to thicken the soups.  Taste for salt and serve with dill.

Broccoli Rabe with Garlic

     Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds of Broccoli Rabe (rapini)
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves

     Cooking instructions

• Cut off coarse stems and wash well.
• Blanche for two minutes and then run immediately run under cold water.
• Saute garlic in olive oil until lightly browned, and put in Rabe.
• Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of salt and gently mix.
• Turn down to low and sautée until rapini is heated through.
• Serve.

Green Beans with Coconut

     Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut (I use dessicated; just don't use the sweetened cooking kind)
• 1/4 cup cilantro or parsley
• Minced hot green chili
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 lb cut green beans
• 2 Tbs sesame seeds
• 1 Tbs mustard seeds
• cayenne pepper

     Cooking instructions

• In a small bowl, combine the following and set aside:
  • 1/2 cup coconut
  • 1/4 cup cilantro or parsley
  • Minced hot green chili
  • 1/4 tsp salt
• Cook 1 lb cut green beans in salted boiling water for 3 minutes.
• Drain and refresh in cold water.
• Drain again and set aside.
• Heat 6 Tbs oil (safflower, canola, peanut or vegetable) over medium heat in a wide saute pan or electric skillet.
• Add:
  • 2 Tbs sesame seeds
  • 1 Tbs mustard seeds
  • cayenne pepper to taste
• Add beans and saute 1-2 minutes, coating the beans with the seeds.
• Add coconut mixture, stir once, and remove from heat.
• Salt to taste.

MultiBean Salad

     Ingredients

• 4 cups mixed dry beans, cooked (kidney, pinto, navy, garbanzo, black, etc)
• 1 cup cooked wheat berries
• 6 Tbs olive oil
• 1 Tbs minced garlic
• 3 to 4 Tbs lemon juice
• 6 to 8 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 & 1/2 tsp salt
• Black pepper
• 1/4 lb green beans, steamed
• 2 stalks celery, minced
• 1/3 cup minced red onion
• up to 1 cup minced parsley
• 1 chopped bell pepper
• Optional: cucumber, tomatoes, hardboiled eggs

     Cooking instructions

• Mix all together.
• The longer it sits in the fridge, the better it gets.
• Unhulled wheat berries will float and can be scooped off.