Salad Archives - Eat Simply, Eat Well

Spicy Mung Beans With Spinach

May 4, 2016 by aplough Leave a Comment

It’s the Year of the Pulse according to the World Health Organization. That means these Spicy Mung Beans are right on theme, but that’s not the reason you should make them.

Mung beans have one of the best nutritious profiles of any bean; unlike most other dried beans do not need to be pre-soaked; and absorb a variety of flavors easily, so you can dress them up to add into salads or serve with whole grains for an easy and delicious meal.

According to Indian tradition, mung beans help to detoxify the body, are beneficial for the liver and gall bladder and are good for people with high blood pressure, acidosis or gastro-intestinal ulcers. In addition, mung beans have a wealth of other health benefits including:

per 1 cup cooked: 14 g protein, 15 g fiber, 1 g fat, 4 g sugar
high levels of manganese, potassium, magnesium, folate, copper, zinc and various B vitamins
considered to help defend against lifestyle-related diseases including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity
can be used cooked or sprouted
according to the Journal of Chemistry Central, “mung beans have biological activities including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, lipid metabolism accommodation, antihypertensive and antitumor effects”

Sources: Healing with Whole Foods and draxe.com

These little green beans are nutrition power houses, so you’ll benefit from adding them into your diet on a regular basis.

Cooked alone with just salt, mung beans can be a little bland, so I’ve created a recipe that calls for the mung beans to be tossed in a spicy marinade while still smoking hot so that the soak up all the flavor.

You can make these a few days ahead: they’ll stay good in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to five days. Unlike some other beans, mung beans don’t give you a gassy stomach – so you can use these without the fear of embarrassing yourself or suffering from other discomfort later. Great news, right?

Spicy Mung Beans

First, cook the beans:

2 1/2 cups / 1.2 liters cold water
1 cup / 2.5 dl dried mung beans

Bring the water to a boil and add the mung beans. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. You want the mung beans to be tender but with a slight firmness to them. Try not to overcook them – you don’t want them falling apart!

Then make the marinade:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fennel seeds or aniseed
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/8 teaspoon chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 yellow onion, minced
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 handfuls of spinach, rinsed and spun dry

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a small pot. Add the fennel seeds or aniseed, mustard seeds and chili flakes. Place a lid on the pot and cook until you hear the mustard seeds begin to pot. Pour the oil and spices into a mixing bowl. Add the cumin, salt, pepper, onion and lemon and stir well.

Final steps:

Place the rinsed spinach leaves into the bowl on top of the marinade. Drain the cooked, hot mung beans and pour the beans into the bowl. Stir well to completely coat the beans in the marinade, then cover the bowl with a large plate for 5 minutes.

Serve warm or cold either as a side dish or on top of a nice green salad.

Makes roughly 2.5 cups / 5 dl

Eat simply, eat well,

Ann

Did you like this recipe? Do you have your own favorite way of cooking mung beans? Let me know in the comments below, and please share the recipe with your friends!

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Are You Wasting the Best Part of your Squash? Butternut Squash Patties and Tip to Tail Squash Cooking

April 8, 2016 by aplough 4 Comments

We’re at that point in the year where the last of the Winter vegetables are bumping up against the first of the Spring vegetables. At least – that’s true here in Helsinki, where the last pieces of ice hug the edge of the shore near the sea, slowly melting away, and where the migrant birds have finally returned to begin nesting in local waters.

There is one Winter vegetable that landed on my table in early Fall, and is still something I pick up pretty much every week, because the flavor is just so good: Butternut Squash. This lovely squash, with its shapely curves and bold orange interior is not only beautiful to look at, it’s easy to cook and has flavor that needs very little tampering with in order to create a healthy and delicious meal.

Butternut Squash is good for you:

contains high doses of antioxidants, and is in fact, a primary source of alpha-carotene and beta-carotene in our diets
the form of starch found in butternut squash comes from polysaccharides found in the cell walls – which have been found through research to have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic and insulin-regulating properties
1 cup/2 dl of of the squash provides 1/3 of the daily recommended amount of Vitamin C!
it’s a surprising source of Omega 3 fatty acids: 1 cup of the squash provides 340mg of Omega3; although the squash itself is only about 15% fat. No wonder it tastes so silky smooth.
contains good amounts of five B vitamins: B1, B3, B6, pantothenic acid and folate. These are important for blood sugar regulation
in addition to the nutrients already mentioned, it is a very good source of fiber, manganese and copper and a good source of potassium, vitamin K, magnesium, and niacin.
Naturally sweet, you can add this squash to any meal to combat sugar cravings, and boost your health in the process. A win-win!

source: whfoods.com

This recipe calls for roasting the squash whole, and then using nearly the entire thing. Consider this a nearly zero-waste food, because with the exception of the stem attached to the squash, literally every other bit and piece of this wonderful vegetable can provide gastronomic joy for you.

To use this “tip to tail” method for butternut squash, make note of these tips:

The whole squash can be baked the day before and refrigerated overnight before proceeding with the recipe.
The seeds are delicious toasted: remove the flesh from the seeds and toast in a lightly oiled pan over medium heat until they just begin to blacken. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Don’t throw the skin away! Tear it into chip-sized pieces, sprinkle lightly with salt, and fry, in small batches, in a very thin layer of oil in a frying pan until crispy and brown on both side. Woohoo – delicious! You’ll be wondering why you’ve been chucking that skin away your whole life!
To keep the first batch of butternut squash patties warm while you cook the rest, place a plate into the oven and turn the oven onto its lowest setting. Place the patties into the oven until you are ready to serve.

While this meal can be prepared all at once, I highly recommended roasting the squash one day and storing it in the refrigerator to use on a subsequent day. Nowadays, I usually roast two at a time as it takes an hour either way, and I can always find a use for it! (salads, smoothies, made into a dip, or…)

Butternut Squash Patties

1 Butternut squash
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
7 sage leaves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
1 egg
1/3 cup chickpea flour
1/2 cup greek yogurt
12 small sage leaves or thyme sprigs for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Wash the squash to remove any dirt or residue. Lay a whole butternut squash onto a parchment lined baking pan, pierce the top several times with a fork, and place the pan in the oven. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes, or until squash begins to collapse and is very soft when pierced with a fork. Remove the squash from the oven, cut in half lengthwise, leave on the pan and allow to cool to room temperature.

Once the squash has cooled, remove the seeds with a spoon and set aside. Scoop the flesh away from the skin, reserving the skin for later use (they make seriously good chips when fried in a little oil in a pan, then salted). Place the squash in a bowl and add the nutmeg, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Using a fork or potato masher, mash until smooth. Taste the squash and adjust seasonings to your liking. Add the egg and the chickpea flour and mix until completely smooth.

Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Allow the oil to heat up briefly, then spoon 2-tablespoon sized scoopfuls of the squash mix into the pan and flatten them down into patties. Fry 3-4 minutes per side, allowing each side to cook until golden brown and crispy.

Makes 8 patties.

To serve:

Make a simple green salad:

6 cups of dark greens of choice – I really like either Savoy cabbage or Lollo Rosso with this
1 cucumber, chopped into cubes
1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts (other sprouts work well too)
6 radishes, thinly sliced
pinch of salt
6-8 grinds of fresh black pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and using your hands, mix well to coat the vegetables evenly with the dressing.

Divide the salad between 4 plates. Arrange the patties on top of the salad, overlapping slightly. Add a spoonful of yogurt to the top, and sprinkle a few sage leaves or thyme sprigs over the top.

Serves 4.

Did you like this recipe post? Let me know in the comments below, and please share it with your friends.

Eat simply, eat well!

Ann

Spring in Rome and an Orange & Fennel Salad

March 21, 2016 by aplough 2 Comments

A recent trip to Italy has inspired me to cover my table in seasonal fruits and vegetables. Leaving a snow-covered Helsinki behind, we arrived in Rome to sunny-cloudy skies, early buds just emerging on trees, low levels of tourists (a huge win!) and pleasant temperatures that required only a light jacket and scarf for warmth while touring this beautiful city.

Rome is one giant museum, and best seen by walking around, so we were glad we’d packed great walking shoes. Everywhere you look, there are bits and pieces of ancient Rome, with layers brought in by all the subsequent generations, each looking to make their mark on the city they call(ed) home, while literally and figuratively building on the work and lives of the city’s previous residents. We visited the major sites: the Colesseum, Forum, Pantheon, Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica. We stepped inside multiple churches to enjoy the intricate architecture, artwork, and in some delightfully surprising cases, groups of locals singing and enjoying their daily lives.

We wandered down winding side streets leading to courtyards and plazas and parks in the back streets of Rome.

We took selfies and panorama shots, alongside other tourists from around the world, in front of the fountain by the Spanish steps; from the rooftop of Castle d’Angelo, in front of ruins in the Jewish Ghetto, in the midst of headless statues inside the Forum. We sat overlooking the Tiber river, watching the world go by, enjoying the unscheduled days and the warmth of the Spring sunshine.

And we ate. We dined on the usual suspects of pizza and pasta…

…and the more surprising and enjoyable offerings on the menu: arugula salad topped with fennel and orange; local goat cheese and toasted hazelnuts on dark greens; zucchini, sundried tomato and pecorino souffle; Roman-style artichokes – Carciofi alla Romana; and became completely addicted to Brutti ma Buoni – the “ugly but delicious” cookies made from toasted hazelnuts – a completely irresistible chewy-crunchy (we went back to the same bakery 3 times).

We enjoyed gelato from Gelateria del Teatro – more than once. We consumed many, many oranges and blood oranges – too many to count.

We drank cappuccinos literally all over the city, soon discovering our favorite places for the first cup of the morning, the second cup an hour or so later, the place to go after lunch, the mid-afternoon pick-me-up. When in Rome… We drank coffee as the locals did: standing up at the coffee bar, knocking back a freshly pulled espresso shot, or sitting at the outside tables, enjoying a cappuccino while watching the world go by.

Here’s what we discovered while walking and eating our way through Rome for four days:

The local pasta and pizzas are great, but eat these daily and you’ll soon be craving vegetables – the pasta dishes tend to be very simple, for example the cacio e pepe made with cheese, butter or olive oil and black pepper over pasta – a delicious dish, but one screaming to be served with a side of vegetables or a salad. One trick is to ask for two plates and share the pasta dish, and then order several of the vegetables or salads along with it. Trust me, your gut, waistline and energy levels will thank you for this.

The most interesting dishes were found in from the list of appetizers, side dishes or salads. It is here that the local chefs are most adventurous, and where some of the best food in Rome. Sometimes, we ordered only side dishes – and these turned out to be our best meals.

Local markets let you see what’s in season. During our visit in early March, the markets were loaded with wild asparagus, broccoli rabe, and artichokes. So whenever we came across these items on the menu, we ordered up! Wise choice – they were always fresh and delicious. The broccoli rabe at Pizzeria del Francesco was steamed and then dressed with garlic toasted in olive oil and a generous douse of black pepper – a perfect predecessor to the crisp pecorino, wild asparagus white pizza, topped with a fresh egg and baked in the wood-fired oven.

When looking for good food, here are a few rules:
- Don’t rely only on the guide books – their recommendations will likely lead you to places overcrowded with tourists and dishes that are less than stellar. Instead ask a local in their late 20’s thru early 50’s where they eat. They are likely to give you the address of the trendier new restaurants cooking up Italian food with a modern twist.
- If the menus are in English only, skip it.
- If you’re looking for food after visiting a tourist attraction, follow the “rule of 3” shared with us by tour guide Chad: turn your back on the tourist site; walk 3 blocks in any direction and the food will be 3 times better and 3 times cheaper. It’s true.
- Don’t look for dinner before 7:00 PM. Expect to pay extra for bread, water, plus a service fee.
- You want a restaurant in which (most) of the guests are speaking Italian. If not, keep walking.
- The best food is found on the side streets in smallish restaurants.
- Use the local WiFi to check out “restaurants near here” on Google maps. You’ll get up-to-date comments from people like you about restaurants in the vicinity. We had really good luck with this, and found one of our favorite restaurants, dar sor Olimpio al Drago in Trastevere this way.
- Be adventurous. Try foods you’ve never heard of. Share dishes so you can enjoy more new flavors without stuffing yourself.

Pecorino, Zucchini & Sundried Tomato Souffle; Eggplant Involtini; Carciofi alla Romana; Tiramisu

To get you started, here are three of our favorite food stops from the trip:

dar sor Olimpio al Drago, Piazza del Drago 2 in Trastevere – Impeccable service in a charming restaurant, and where we found one of my favorite dishes of the trip: a souffle of pecorino cheese, zucchini and sundried tomato. Everything on the menu was excellent. Unusually for us – we ate here twice!
Gelateria del Teatro, Via dei Coronari, 65 – This is one place where the guide books get it right – truly the best gelato in Rome with authentic gelato flavors masterfully made in-house. Your only regret will be limited capacity as you’ll want to try every single flavor.
Baylon Cafe, Via di San Francesco a Ripa 152 in Trastevere – fresh juices and the best cappuccinos in the city. Also serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Well-loved by the locals and has a wonderful staff and decor that made me smile. This place really felt like “home”.

In case it may be a while before you visit the Eternal City, here’s a refreshing Spring salad inspired by our trip. This simple combination makes the best of a few ingredients, so look for the best quality of each that you can find. This will be on our Easter table, reminding us of those delightful days in Rome, and promising that Spring is nearly here – even in Helsinki.

Orange, Fennel and Carrot Salad

1 head of Lollo Rosso lettuce, or dark greens of choice
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced lengthwise, reserving 8 whole slices from the center.
1 orange, peel and outer pith cut away, cut into fourths and then into slices, reserving a few slices
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin, short strips
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon high-quality balsamic vinegar

Wash the dark greens and spin dry. If large, cut into bite-sized pieces. Place the greens in a large bowl. Add the fennel and orange except for reserved slices, and the carrot pieces. Add salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar. Toss well to coat vegetables with the dressing.

Divide the vegetable mixture between 2 plates for a main course and 4 plates for a side dish. Garnish with reserved fennel and orange slices. Serve immediately.

Serves 2 as a main course and 4 as a side dish.

Have you been to Rome? Share your favorite food stops and tips in the comments below! Dreaming of Rome? What would you love to see or eat there?