Oct 10, 2016

pantry + brazilian black bean casserole


Baked casserole dishes are a fantastic way to have dinner on the table in a descent amount of time with a lot of hands off work. This recipe has about 10 minutes on the stove before it is assembled completely and placed in the oven to finish cooking. 

This dish is Pantry + and it is whole foods, using brown rice, beans and cabbage as the base of the meal. The cabbage serves as a delicious cooling accompaniment accented with roasted corn. 


This casserole is very flavorful thanks to the Latin all-purpose seasoning called, adobo, but here we will make our own. It really is a simple matter of combining a few spices to create a different flavor dimension. 

The casserole is rich and delicious and the salad is tangy and sweet, thanks to the roasted corn. All in all, it has all the flavor components of a great tasting meal: sour, sweet, salty, and spicy.

Brazilian Black Bean Casserole:

Equipment:
large oven-safe pot
blender
mandolin
oven

Pantry Ingredients:
Red pepper flakes
Jarred tomato
Black beans
White wine vinegar
Adobo

Fresh Ingredients:
Brown rice
Onion
Ginger
Thyme
Cabbage
Bell pepper
Frozen corn

First things first, let's make the adobo seasoning:


Either just mix together, or better, yet, blend the ingredients in a small blender to break up the oregano. If you have Mexican oregano, use that, but otherwise regular will work just as well. 


Using a large Dutch oven or just an oven safe pot with a lid (or use foil to seal the pot), cook the onions in a dry pan (use a lid to cover the pot to retain the moisture) until golden. Add the adobo and the tomatoes and mix well. Use an immersion blender or transfer the mixture to a standard blender and process until broken up. 


Add the rice, thyme, beans, spice and liquid, mix well, and cook in the oven tightly sealed until the rice is tender, about 1 hour. 

In the meantime, use a mandolin to finely shred the cabbage and mix it with roasted corn (roast the corn in the oven during the last 25 minutes of cooking), bell pepper and vinegar and set aside to meld flavors. 



This is scrumptious and very healthy since there is no oil used and it is made with whole foods.
This makes about 6 to 8 servings, so leftovers are terrific.








Brazilian Black Bean Casserole (a Pantry+ recipe)
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Pantry list is HERE.

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 (15-ounce) can of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons adobo seasoning (recipe for homemade HERE)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 dried red chili
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, liquid drained and reserved
Water, as needed
2 cups long grain brown rice
Sea salt

Salad:
1/2 small head cabbage, finely shredded
1 small green or red bell pepper, diced
1 cup roasted corn***
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon adobo seasoning

1. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees F. Heat a large dutch oven or large oven-safe pot over medium heat. Add the onion, cover and cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add a tablespoon of water if the onion begins to stick. Add the tomato and the adobo seasoning.  Blend using an immersion blender or transfer to a standard blender. 
2. Add the drained bean water to a 4-cup measuring cup. Add enough water to reach 3 3/4 cups. Add the water mixture to the pot. Add the rice, red pepper flakes, beans and salt. Bring to boil and cover tightly with a lid or foil. Bake in the preheated oven until the rice is tender, about 1 hour. 
3. Salad: Combine the cabbage, bell pepper, corn, vinegar and adobo in a medium bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper or adobo. Set aside until needed.
4. Serve the casserole with the salad. Leftovers reheat well.  

*** Transfer the corn to a small baking sheet. Bake in the oven during the last 25 minutes of cooking of the casserole. 



© 2016 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.



Oct 7, 2016

autumn panzanella

It is a common custom among cultures to invent recipes that use up stale bread and it makes complete sense. There is no waste of old bread that has lost its freshness and a new recipe is developed.

Panzanella is the Italian version of using up old bread in a salad and it usually uses spring or summer vegetables.  I wanted to reinvent the salad using autumn produce because, well, tis the season.


I made use of cauliflower, carrots, chickpeas, whole grain bead (I'm working on a whole grain refrigerator dough, so I had a loaf hanging around), parsley and scallions.

You could, of course, use whatever vegetables you have lurking in the back of your fridge and no one would be the wiser. That's part of the beauty of panzanella salads.


Roast the cauliflower, chickpeas and bread in the oven and then throw it all into a large bowl. Toss with Italian dressing and you are in the money.

The question then becomes, which Italian dressing is the best for this salad? Mine, of course! Kittee Berns of Cake Maker to the Stars (with the cutest blog *ever* and the best Ethiopian cookbook *ever*) is sharing my recipe from Aquafaba [AmazonB&NBook Depository]. Go get it! I promise, it is worth it!



That's all there is to this one. Lunch or dinner is served. 










Autumn Panzanella
Serves 4

6 tablespoons Italian Dressing (this one from Aquafaba is amazing!), divided
1 cup cooked chickpeas
3 cups cubed bread, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
Sea salt and black pepper

4 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
2 medium carrots, julienned
4 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup parsley leaves, chopped fine

1. Add 1 tablespoon dressing to a small bowl and toss with the chickpeas. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Transfer the beans to a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, stirring often. 
2. Move the beans to a quarter of the baking sheet and add the bread cubes to half of the sheet. Add the cauliflower to the remaining section and season with salt and black pepper. Continue to bake the beans and bread for another 25 minutes, until the beans are lightly crunchy, the cauliflower is golden and tender and the bread is dried out.
3. Transfer the bread to a small bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the dressing and set aside for 5 minutes. 
4. Add the lettuce, carrots, scallions, parsley, chickpeas, bread, cauliflower and the rest of the dressing to a large bowl. Toss well, season with salt and black pepper and serve. 




© 2016 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.


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