Pasta with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Leeks

While I often say that black beans are my favorite food, sweet potatoes and winter squash are pretty high on the list too.  So I apologize to any of you that aren't fans, since I know that all three of these foods make very frequent appearances in the recipes here.  This was a quick dish that I made for dinner the other night that was pretty much inspired by the fact that I had peeled one too many sweet potatoes when making the Carribean sweet potato black bean gratin, and I needed to use it up before it went bad.  It turned out to be really delicious though so I wanted to share it here, both for your benefit and so that I can remember what I did the next time I want to make it.  The roasted sweet potato and leeks both give it a nice, sweet (but not cloying) taste, which is well balanced by the richness of the pepper and walnuts and the tartness of the goat cheese.  I think this would also be delicious, although in a different way, with winter squash.

Pasta with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Leeks

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 leek
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Aleppo peppers (more about them here) or regular crushed red peppers
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 lb pasta (or less)
• 1-2 oz. goat cheese
• salt to taste

Put on a large pot of salted water to boil on stovetop and set oven to 400.  Peel and chop sweet potato into ~1/2" cubes. Wash leek and finely chop white and light green parts.  Toss together sweet potato, garlic, red pepper flakes, and about 1 tablespoon oil and salt to taste in a roasting pan or on a baking sheet.  Put in oven to roast.

When water boils, put pasta in to cook. Toast walnuts until lightly browned.  Check roasting vegetables and stir after about 10 minutes.  When pasta is done cooking, drain and then check roasting vegetables - they should be about done after cooking for 15-20 minutes, which was about the time it took for my pasta water to boil and then my pasta to cook.  Put pasta in a bowl and top with walnuts, drizzle with another 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil (to taste), then add roasted veggies and salt to taste and stir to combine.  Crumble goat cheese on top and serve.

Carribean Sweet Potato Black Bean Gratin

I made this sweet potato gratin last week for the second time, and it again was really delicious.  It's from one of my favorite cookbooks, Moosewood Restaurant New Classics, which I find often has recipes that are interesting and delicious without being needlessly complicated - it's a good, solid everyday cookbook.  This dish actually took me a while to assemble but that also could be because I didn't have canned beans on hand so I cooked some in the pressure cooker, I had to pick the spinach and thyme from the garden, and I was just generally moving at a slow pace.  In any case, it is worth the effort.  I often make black bean and sweet potato dishes with southwestern flavor combinations, which I love, but the flavors in this dish are a welcome departure - sweet from the coconut and lime, but with an earthiness from the spinach and thyme - it really does taste carribean.  I couldn't quite think what to serve it with so we just had a salad but if you had time and wanted to make it more special I think fried plantains would be a great accompaniment!

Pottery note - the plate above is one that I made a few years ago, it has a simple carved design on the flange that I really like and a deep green glaze.  It doesn't match any of the other dishes we have which actually makes me like it even more.

Carribean Sweet Potato Black Bean Gratin
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

• 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lime zest (about 1 lime)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon dried or chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 1/2 cups light coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cans)
• 4 cups peeled and thinly sliced sweet potatoes
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (1 can, drained)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, thinly chopped

For the topping:

• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh chopped thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine the garlic, lime zest and juice, herbs, salt and pepper and coconut milk in a measuring cup.  Pour a third of this mixture into a lightly oiled 9 x 13" baking pan.  Put half of the sweet potatoes in a layer on the bottom of the pan, followed by half of the rice, half of the beans, and half of the spinach.  Pour in another third of the coconut milk mixture and repeat the other layers.  Pour all the remaining coconut milk on top. 

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix together all the topping ingredients in a small bowl and distribute evenly over the top of the gratin.  Bake uncovered for about an hour, rotating the pan halfway through.  When topping begins to brown and the sweet potatoes are tender, remove and let cool for 3-5 minutes before serving.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

I really love black beans (I may have mentioned this), and I think that black beans and sweet potatoes are an amazing flavor combination.  So this chili makes a natural pairing - I am almost surprised that I didn't come up with this a lot sooner than this year.  I had made chili with sweet potato or winter squash in it before, but usually multi-bean chilis with a lot of other stuff going on to distract you.  This version keep the focus on the black beans and the sweet potatoes, and it is earthy with hints of smoky sweetness.  It is moderately spicy, hot enough to be interesting but not so hot that it should make anyone squeamish.  I have made this chili several times this winter and finally remembered to write the recipe down, so I feel like it is already an old favorite and really overdue for posting here (especially considering the number of friends that have asked for the recipe).

I also realized that, since all our everyday plates/bowls/mugs are pretty much pots that I made, I am frequently posting pottery photos along with my recipes but rarely say anything about it.  So I may start highlighting some of the pots, too, and giving a bit of a backstory.   This bowl is one that I made in college, when I was first experimenting with carving on my pots.  I really like the simple basketweave type hatching pattern that I made on this bowl, and how it subtly shows through the matte glaze.  There is actually a small matching plate so I kind of think of this as a soup and salad set.  The earthy beige/brown color of this glaze is a great match for hearty bean and lentil soups like this one.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
Makes 4 quarts

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil (or less, if desired)
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chilis (optional)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and finely chopped into ~1/2"-1" pieces
• One 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (or two 14 oz cans)
• 3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 lb bag of dried black beans, cooked (not drained)
• 1/4 cup tomato paste (optional)

Like most soups, this soup is best if you let it simmer for several hours (or simmer for a while and then refrigerate and serve the next day).  If you have a slow cooker, it is easy to start this soup on the stovetop and then transfer it to the slow cooker to simmer away.  If you don't have a slow cooker, you can also easily make this on the stovetop and just simmer it there.  If you are going to transfer to a slowcooker, start the first step in a large skillet, but if you are planning to cook entirely on the stovetop, you can start in a large stockpot/soup pot.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions and saute until soft.  Add the peppers, celery, garlic, herbs and spices, and saute for another 5-10 minutes, until onions are slightly browned and vegetables start to soften.  If cooking in a slow-cooker, transfer this mixture to the slow cooker and add the sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beans, and tomato paste.  If the herbs/spices are stuck to the pan when you transfer the mixture, add some water to the skillet to loosen and add to the slow cooker.  If cooking on the stove, just add the ingredients to the pan and stir to loosen anything that has gotten stuck to the pan.  Add water until it is chili consistency - 6-8 cups if you used drained canned beans, and 2-3 cups if you used cooked dried beans and added their cooking water (or whatever amount seems to get you to the right consistency.  Simmer for at least 1 hour, ideally 2-4 hours or longer (Note - 1 hour may not be sufficient in a slow cooker - 3-4 hours or longer in slow cooker is probably best).

Note on optional ingredients:

• The chipotle peppers add the slight smoky flavor and are really delicious.  If you don't have them though, you can make this without and just add a bit more chili powder.
• If you omit the tomato paste, this is more like a black bean soup than a full blown chili, but also very good.  This is actually what I did the last time I made the soup.

Festive Hanukah Meal - Sweet Potato Latkes and Baked Apples

 

 

Growing up, my family celebrated both Christmas and Hanukah, but I don't always celebrate Hanukah now, so I was excited to cook up a celebratory Hanukah meal when I had a good friend over for dinner last night.  We actually didn't light a menorah (we were going to jerry-rig one using birthday candles but I didn't have enough)... but the dinner still felt like Hanukah in any case.  I wanted to think of a menu that had some traditional elements but that took healthy, vegetarian and interesting approach.  I love sweet potatoes, so I thought it would be fun to try sweet potato latkes, and rather than making apple sauce I decided to make baked apples.  I also made rolls using 1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 white flour and the artisan bread in 15 minutes a day cookbook, and I made a lentil stew with potatoes and spinach.  I was very happy with how it turned out!  The baked apples were especially delicious, I want to make them again soon.

For the latkes, I used this recipe, although I had a lot of sweet potatoes so I added another egg.  I liked the spices but I think they might have actually been better without them.  Also, mine had slightly cooled before I ate them, which really isn't ideal.  They are definitely best when eaten piping hot!  I served them with sour cream.

For the baked apples, I modified this recipe (inspired by this recipe from Epicurious, but not having the necessary ingredients/time to do something that complicated).  Basically, in each apple I put a tablespoon or so of brown sugar, as many raisins as would fit, a sprinkle of cinnamon and then topped with a small pat of butter (definitely not as much as the recipe called for).  I baked them at 350 for about 45 minutes or maybe more (until they were tender).  They were tender but not disintegrating and the addition of cinnamon and raisins definitely made it a more interesting taste.

Happy Holidays!  I hope you are having good celebratory meals with friends and family!

Indian Food Feast

Last night I made a delicious feast of Indian food for dinner.  The keystone was a dish I have made many times, Sweet Potato Badi from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet.  Since I had the time, I went whole hog and made roasted cauliflower, raita, and flatbread (aka pita) to go along, as well as the usual long grain brown rice.  It was really yummy and well worth the effort - I have lots of leftovers to eat for lunch this week (and some more stashed in the freezer).

 The first thing I got started was the flatbread.  I used the pizza dough recipe from Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and then just cooked it as a flatbread.  This is my favorite pizza dough, and it made a great bread all by itself.  Following instructions from the Sunlight Cafe, after the dough had risen I punched it down and then cut it into pieces.  I actually put half of it in the fridge to experiment with the idea of letting it sit for a day or two and get a little bit of a sourdough taste (I have been wanting to read Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day but get the basic gist of it from reading articles etc).  The other half I cut into four pieces and smooshed each one out into a disc, then let them rest for five minutes and then rolled them out very thin.  Some of them sat for another five minutes at this stage which I remembered after the fact seems to be what gives pita its pocket - so I basically made pita breads.  I cooked each one for about 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees.

While the Badi was simmering, I chopped up the cauliflower and roasted it in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes.  I used 2 teaspoons of an Indian spice mix that I had from Penzeys, then drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt.  I stirred it a few times while it was cooking to make sure it cooked evenly.

Finally, while the breads were cooking I pulled together a quick raita - mixing 1 cup each of plain yogurt and shredded cucumbers (from my garden) with about 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin and salt.

Over time, I have made some tweaks to the Badi recipe, so here is my version.


Sweet Potato Badi
Modified from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup red lentils
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1 large sweet potato (or 2 medium), peeled and cut into 3/4" cubes
• 2 small zucchini, halved or quartered lengthwise and then cut into 1/4"-1/2" slices
• 2 plum tomatoes, peeled and seeded and cut into 1/2" cubes (or diced tomatoes from a can)
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1-2 small skinny chile peppers (jalepeno or serrano work fine), minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

In a large pan, heat the canola oil over medium heat.  Saute the lentils 5-10 minutes (adding the spices part way through), stirring frequently, until they begin to brown (or before - they burn pretty easily).  Add the potato/sweet potato and 1 1/2 cups water (or enough water to cover them when you put the pieces in a bowl after you chop).  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover almost completely; simmer for about 15 minutes.  Add the zucchini, tomatoes, and peas and bring back to a boil and then reduce to a simmer again.  Cook until the vegetables are fork-tender and the liquid is mostly gone, about another 10-15 minutes.  Add more water while they cook if needed.  Remove from heat.

While the sweet potato mixture is cooking, heat a small frying pan over medium heat without any oil.  Toast the coconut until it is light brown (about 5 minutes), stirring frequently with a fork to mix, or shaking the pan.  Remove from heat before it is entirely done, as it will continue to cook in the pan (or transfer it to a bowl at that point).  Combine the the coconut, yogurt, chiles and salt in a bowl and mix together thoroughly.  Fold the yogurt mixture into the sweet potato mixture, then cover and let sit for a few minutes.  Serve over rice.