Tag: Dutch oven

Italian Rice and Beans – Riso e Fagioli (Oil Free)

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Italian Rice and Beans
Italian Rice and Beans, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow

Here where I live, and I imagine where you live too, schools have been closing, events are being cancelled, and most people are advised to work from home and stay away from large gatherings (where I work, we are down to less than 25 people). It’s called social distancing and it is one of the strategies that can help reduce the impact of COVID-19.

In these times of uncertainty and anxiety many will turn to comfort food (I’ve already seen posts about people getting into their Nutella reserves!). And: many will turn to their pantry for the ingredients. So, this recipe is made for such a day, when you want to make something really comforting and filling with things you likely already have on hand: rice and beans.

The recipe here was inspired by an old Italian favorite called Pasta e Fagioli – a pasta and bean soup/stew that is absolutely delicious. This time around I wanted to replace pasta with rice, and see where we end up. Where things ended up was a really rich, and dense stew/casserole dish, with a lot of rich flavors working in harmony!

I took one shortcut to make putting everything together easier and used canned white beans, also known as cannellini beans. Beans are a great source of plant protein and I always have a good supply of canned beans in my pantry. White (cannellini) beans are a fantastic basic bean, and I use them in many different ways, for example in burgers, pasta sauces, or soups. I also used them to make a marvelous mushroom pâté!

If you have dry beans, please remember to soak them overnight before cooking. I recommend that you cook beans first before using them in this stew. The amount of dry beans you need for this recipe is about 1 to 1 1/2 cup, however I recommend that you soak and cook a full batch (in my house that’s usually 1 lbs (about 500 g)), and use the leftover beans for something else, perhaps one of the recipes I listed above. This will save you some time and help with meal prep and batch cooking.

The dish itself is one-pot – all the ingredients go into a single pot, and the lovely meal comes out. Please note that the pot needs to be oven safe, as you will move the dish from the stove top into the oven. I recommend using a Dutch oven or another heavy and sturdy type of pot. If you don’t have such a thing, you can transfer your stew into an oven safe dish and proceed from there. Please note that the food will be very hot, and you  can burn yourself badly if you are not careful!!!

Finally, you have options when it comes to rice. To keep things authentic, you may want to choose a short grain rice, like Arborio, as this will give you a creamier texture. However, you don’t need to lose any sleep over the rice choice here and use whatever you have on hand. As you can tell from my pictures, I used a very long grain rice known as Basmati rice, which is the staple I have in my pantry.

Note: When combined with rice, beans make a complete protein (meaning includes all the essential amino acids that we need), just in case you were wondering. In general, if you eat a varied plant-based diet, you really don’t need to stress over whether you are getting enough protein and whether it is complete, because the quick answer to this is: Yes, you are! Plants have plenty of protein, and people eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole grains are all set.

Italian Rice and Beans, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow

Italian Rice and Beans – Riso e Fagioli (Oil Free)

What you’ll need:

  • 1 cup rice, washed and rinsed
  • 1/2 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 sweet pepper, diced (any color or type provided it’s not hot; you can also used frozen)
  • 2/3 cup tomato paste
  • 1 14.5 oz (400 g) can diced tomatoes
  • 2 15.5 oz (440 g) can white (cannellini) beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 cups water (or vegetable stock if you prefer)
  • Optional toppings: fresh basil, and/or vegan parmesan, and/or nutritional yeast.

What you’ll do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C).
  2. Place the Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the diced onions and dry sauté until soft and slightly browned. You may need to add some water to prevent onions from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning. Keep stirring! (Note: If you are OK with using oil in your cooking, you can sauté the onion in some olive oil – 1 tablespoon should be sufficient).
  3. Add the diced peppers, and continue sautéing for another 5 minutes, with frequent stirring, until peppers soften.
  4. Once the peppers are softened, add the tomato paste and mix well. Let the tomato paste bloom for 1-2 minutes with frequent stirring.
  5. Add the rice, beans, herbs, water, and diced tomatoes. Stir well and let come to boil, then transfer into the oven and leave in there for 30 minutes.
  6. Take rice and beans out of the oven and enjoy! I recommend topping each plate with some fresh basil, and if you are not entirely oil-free with a drizzle of good olive oil and/or some parmesan (vegan, for those who are vegan or regular if you are a vegetarian or transitioning to plant-based diet), or some nutritional yeast (that’s my guilt-free favorite!!!). A simple side salad will complete this nicely, but if you are out of fresh produce due to social distancing, a pickle may work just as well!
COPYRIGHT © EAT THE VEGAN RAINBOW, 2020

Jackfruit Barbacoa 

Posted in Main Course, Meat ReplacementTagged , , , , , 3 Comments
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Jackfruit Barbacoa Tacos with Queso Fresco, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow

One of the most amazing discoveries I made when I transitioned into plant-based, vegan, eating and cooking was the jackfruit. I had never heard of jackfruit before but once I read, and then made few recipes I was completely sold on it! The jackfruit recipes I made so far varied from very simple, like tacos, to a couple that replaced seafood and shellfish with jackfruit, like the New England Clam-free “Clam” Chowder and Crab-less “Crab” Cakes, to some that take a bit of time to come together, like the Jackfruit Tikka Masala.

If you are not familiar with jackfruit, it is a beast of a fruit. It is actually the largest fruit produced by a tree, since one jackfruit can weigh as much as 80 pounds (35 kg). Not to worry, most home cooks will not have to carve this beast themselves, because the jackfruit comes chopped up in a can. I recently saw a real fresh jackfruit and was tempted to buy it, but it is just too expensive plus I am not even sure I would be able to handle all the prep work. When it comes to jackfruit in a can, for savory dishes you need to pick young, green jackfruit in water or brine. I drain and rinse the jackfruit well to remove excess salt, and use my fingers to pull it apart and remove any seeds that may be in there and the bits of the hard core. At the end of all that I have a pile of jackfruit shreds that are ready to go.

For this barbacoa I start with a pile of onions and grated carrots to give the dish a lot of sweetness, and by caramelizing the onions and carrots I add smoked flavors as well. There are no tricks here, other than taking it slowly and adding layers off flavor one by one. I start by letting the onions caramelize over the medium heat. Then I add carrots and let them cook through, before adding garlic and a nice mix of spices (dried oregano, cumin, allspice, and paprika) leading the way.

My secret ingredient for this barbacoa is roasted red pepper purée, which is super simple to make. All you need is couple of roasted red peppers, homemade or store bought, a can of fire roasted green chili peppers, and a food processor or a blender. You need to give your peppers a buzz for ten to fifteen seconds, and they will be ready to pour over the barbacoa. Finally, I add the shredded jackfruit and let everything simmer for a while, with couple of additions of water to deglaze the bottom of the pan and get all those flavorful brown bits incorporated into the barbacoa.


You can serve this barbacoa any way you like, but it works really well in tacos. If you are into making your tacos exciting, you can try pairing the jackfruit barbacoa with Macademia Nut Queso Fresco and some fresh cilantro. Yummy!

 

Jackfruit Barbacoa

What you’ll need:

3 large white onions

6 large carrots

3 20 oz. (570 g) cans of young (green) jackfruit in brine

4 cloves garlic

1 7 oz (200 g) can fire roasted green chili peppers

3 roasted red peppers

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon allspice

1/4 (or as needed) cup water

Cooking spray

Corn tortillas, fresh squeezed lime juice, fresh cilantro, sour cream, queso fresco, avocado, …

What you’ll do:

  1. Peel and slice the onions lengthwise into thin strips.
  2. Spray the bottom of a large Dutch oven with cooking spray and place over the medium to medium high heat. Add the onions and let them caramelize for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Peel and grate the carrots using a grater or a food processor. You want the carrots to be about the same width as the onions. Add them to the caramelized onions and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.
  4. Peel the garlic and mince by hand or use a garlic press. Make a bit of room in your Dutch oven by pushing the onion and carrot mix to one side. Add the garlic and let it brown for a minute or two.
  5. Push the garlic to the side and add the rest of the spices. Let the spices brown for a minute, until the aromas start to develop. Mix everything together and simmer for couple of minutes.
  6. Put roasted green chili peppers and roasted red peppers in a blender or a food processor. Blend until a smooth purée forms.
  7. Add to the rest of your barbacoa and mix together. Let simmer for couple of minutes.
  8. Add jackfruit to the post, mix everything together and increase the heat to medium high to high. Stir occasionally, but do let your bottom brown a bit before stirring. This will help your jackfruit and the rest of your barbacoa get browned, and look almost as if they came from a grill or a roasting pan. You are going for a bit of burned ends look and feel here, but keep an eye on things and from time to time add a bit of water to deglazed the bottom. This step takes about 15 minutes.
  9. Lower the heat to medium low, put the lid on and let barbacoa cook for another 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot in a taco, burrito, with rice or beans. Top with sour cream or queso fresco.

 

Copyright © Eat the Vegan Rainbow, 2017

Mushroom and Eggplant Couscous

Posted in Main CourseTagged , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Mushroom and Eggplant Couscous
Mushroom and Eggplant Couscous, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Sometimes you need to throw together couple of ingredients you have on hand and have the meal ready in a blink of an eye. This recipe is your one way ticket to a no fuss meal that is filling and satisfying. When it comes to easy and hands-off cooking nothing comes even remotely close to couscous. I’ve been making couscous for years and all you need to remember is to 1:2 ratio – 1 cup couscous plus 2 cups of boiling water – and to keep your lid on and your hand off.

Basically, once you pour your boiling water over the couscous and give it one gentle stir, all you need to do is put the lid on and let the couscous sit for 15-30 minutes. For best results use a fork to fluff the couscous up and that’s it – a delicious base for your meal is done!

The rest is very straightforward. The eggplant needs to be chopped into good size, 1 x 1 in (2.5 x 2.5 cm), cubes and mushrooms need to be quartered. The cooking begins with browning onions, then adding eggplant and letting it brown for a bit, adding mushrooms and sprinkling some corn starch to bind everything together, especially mushrooms that tend to release a lot of liquid. Another important thing to do is deglaze the pot as a lot of great caramelized flavor will be stuck to the bottom of your pan. Here, just a little bit of vegetable stock will help.

Mushroom and Eggplant Stew
Mushroom and Eggplant Stew, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow

Mushroom and Eggplant Couscous

What you’ll need:

2 medium eggplants, cubed

2 10 oz. (284g) white button mushrooms, quartered

1 yellow onion, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

2 tablespoons garlic, crushed

6 scallions, diced

3 tablespoons corn starch

1/2 cup vegetable stock

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon dry thyme

Cooking spray

What you’ll do:

  1. Prepare couscous according to the box instructions, usually by mixing 1 cup of couscous with 2 cups of boiling water, putting the lid on the container and letting couscous soak for 15 to 30 minutes.
  2. Spray the bottom and the sides of a large Dutch oven or another heavy pot with a good lid with cooking spray. Turn the heat to medium high, add diced onions and scallions and brown for 5-6 minutes.
  3. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute or so, letting the garlic release its aroma.
  4. Add eggplant and let it brown which will take anywhere between 5 and 10 minutes, depending on the size of your pot.
  5. Lower heat to medium, and add mushrooms, corn starch and thyme. Sauté for 5-8 minutes. You want your mushrooms to be soft.
  6. Use the vegetable stock to deglaze the bottom of your pot and let everything cook for 5-10 minutes more, covered.
  7. Fluff the couscous with a fork, then plate the couscous and spread the mushroom and eggplant stew on top. Sprinkle with fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley, and enjoy!

    8. Copyright © Eat the Vegan Rainbow, 2017