Eat Simply, Eat Well

Healthy recipes & tips to help you live the good life. by Ann Plough

Meatless Monday: Bok Choy, Ginger and Mushrooms with Lentils

December 1, 2014 by aplough

Bok Choy, Ginger and Mushrooms with Lentils

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ve noticed that I love the cruciferous vegetable family in all of its forms:  Brussels sprouts, Savoy cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, to name just a few of the wonderful vegetables in it.

Now I have a new one for you to try and this is close to the top of the list for nutritional value deliciousness potential.

Bok Choy (also Buk Choi, Pak Choi or combinations thereof) is one of the healthiest of the entire group, but can be a bit harder to find here in Helsinki.  My favorite spot to buy it is from the Asian grocery story; in the US and the UK it’s a bit easier to come by in your neighborhood store.  It has high levels of 21 nutrients including omega-3s and zinc, and also includes 70 antioxidant phenolic substances.  It has high amounts of beta carotene and vitamin A, C and K.  This is a vegetable you want to be eating.

In the spirit of “Meatless Monday”, I wanted to use an vegetarian protein source and chose Du Puy lentils for their outstanding flavor, speed of cooking, and because they too, are a nutritional powerhouse.  The high amounts of magnesium they contain help your body absorb calcium and keep your heart happy as well. They are also full of folate, protein, fiber, iron, and a number of all nutrients that make for a strong digestive system, stable blood sugar levels, and steady energy.

Maybe it’s because Bok Choy is a chinese cabbage used widely in Asian foods that I leaned toward Asian flavorings in this dish as well.  The cabbage is mildly sweet with a tender crunchy texture when cooked properly (read: not overcooked) and pairs really well with the ginger and mushrooms in the savory, slightly spicy sauce.  The lentils round out the meal to make a satisfyingly hearty dish without being heavy.  And the best part is, it takes

The thought of missing meat won’t even cross your mind.

Bok Choy, Ginger and Mushrooms with Lentils

Bok Choy, Ginger and Mushrooms with Lentils

1.  Cook the lentils:
1/2 cup whole dried lentils: Du Puy, Brown or Green
1.5 cups water
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon soy sauce, or more to taste

Combine all of the ingredients except for the soy sauce in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Cover.  Cook for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender.  Drain the lentils and remove garlic clove.  Stir in soy sauce; taste; if desired add more soy sauce.

2.  Cook the vegetables
2 tablespoons rapeseed or other cooking oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 liter of shiitake or dusky wax cap mushrooms, cleaned, trip, and cut into large pieces
1/2″ piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2-3 teaspoons of Schiracha sauce, depending on how spicy you like things
5-6 heads of baby Bok Choy, root ends removed, washed, and cut into large pieces
salt and pepper to taste
black sesame seeds to serve

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the onions and mushrooms.  Cook until the onions are tender and translucent and the mushrooms have released most of their liquid.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook 2 minutes more.  Add the broth, reduce heat to a simmer, and allow the mixture to simmer for 8 – 10 minutes.  Add the Bok Choy, cover the pan, and cook for another 3 minutes until lightly steamed and crunchy tender.  Remove the lid and stir the vegetable mixture so the Bok Choy is covered with the sauce.  Taste to check the seasonings and add salt and pepper as needed.

3.  Plate it up
Divide the lentils between two plates.  Arrange the vegetable mixture over the top and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.

Serves 2.

 

Filed Under: Main Course, Meatless Monday Tagged With: leafy g, legumes, meatless, mushrooms, vegetarian

Spicy Cauliflower Rosemary Soup with toasted Cashews

November 25, 2014 by aplough

Spicy Cauliflower Rosemary Soup with toasted Cashews

Here is a quick, simple, belly warming soup for a busy day.  The unusual combination of rosemary and Cayenne pepper in this soup raised the flavor profile to another level and are just enough to enliven the natural nutty mildness of cauliflower without overwhelming your taste buds.  Sprinkle a few toasted cashew nuts on top to contrast with the smoothness of the soup, serve with some high-quality, whole grain bread, and you’ll have yourself a nice starter soup or a satisfying light main course.

Spicy Cauliflower Rosemary Soup with toasted Cashews
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
500 ml chicken broth
1 small head of cauliflower
2 small rosemary sprigs, leaves picked off stem and finely minced
½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
¼ cup cashews, roasted
Cayenne pepper and rosemary for garnish
Heat olive oil in a medium-sized heavy bottom pot over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for 5 minutes until tender and translucent.  Add garlic and sauté for one minute more.  Add chicken broth, cauliflower, rosemary and cayenne pepper.  Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Cover; simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat. Puree in a blender or using a hand-held immersion blender, until smooth.  Stir in cream.  Pour into bowls and garnish with cashews, rosemary sprigs, and light sprinkle of Cayenne pepper.
Serves 4.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Cayenne-Cumin-Ricotta Twice-baked Sweet Potatoes with Avocado Relish

November 24, 2014 by aplough

Cayenne-Cumin-Ricotta Twice-baked Sweet Potatoes with Avocado Relish with a poached egg

The American Thanksgiving Day is fast-approaching.  On Thursday this week, friends and family from around the country will be sitting together around tables large and small to share stories, and memories and laughter and good food.  They’ll talk about how their lives are now.  If there are kids at the feast, the adults will shake their heads in pride and wonder, thinking about how quickly time has gone and how, not long ago, it was them gathering around with their young cousins, waiting impatiently for their moms to say that it was time to eat!  It was them shuffling and bumping and nudging and teasing, plate in hand, waiting for it to be loaded with all the good things to eat.  Perhaps they’ll fill themselves full with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, green bean salad and fresh dinner rolls: the things that filled our Thanksgiving table when I was a child.  Perhaps it’ll be a different feast: a vegetarian one, or a feast filled with flavors from around the world.  Whatever it is that fills their bellies; their hearts will be filled with what they are always full of on a day when loved ones gather around a food-laden table: the joy of being together.

When I was very young, we had three families gathered together at one house or the other, always taking turns.  We cousins loved it:  we’d egg each other on to eat a little more turkey and a little more mashed potatoes and gravy; a bit of Auntie Carol’s Pineapple-Mandarin Jello salad; a few more of Melissa’s dinner rolls; Auntie Mary’s white corn; and Mom’s roasted turkey, avoiding the jar of pimiento-stuffed green olives with wrinkled noses.  And then, we we couldn’t fit in another thing, we’d all run out of the house in a big rush to play basketball as the adults stayed in the temporary quiet of the house, catching up on life and eating whatever was left.

A few hours later, dessert would be laid out:  pie after pie after pie.  I somehow don’t remember cake. Maybe there was cake, maybe there wasn’t, but pie was definitely well-represented.  Pumpkin pie, strawberry cream pie, raspberry pie, apple pie, coconut cream pie, chocolate cream pie, banana cream pie, sometimes lemon meringue.  And we’d eat again, until our bellies were full to bursting, and the rush out the door again into the dusky light to play a game of one o’ clock, two o’clock, three o’clock rock, roaring with laughter, until our parents opened the door and shouted to us in the darkness that it was time to go home.  We say our goodbyes and thank you’s and see-you-soons, and then fall sleep on the long, warm ride home, secure in our places in the world.

Years have gone by.  Those cousins and siblings are scattered around the globe, though perhaps none so far as me, yet. They will gather together in their places, giving thanks in their own way for a good life, friends and family all around.

As for food memories – there are many – some foods that I loved then I get far less excited about now, while others I kept as far away from as possible now hold a firm place on our menu. Roasted sweet potatoes or yams were always on our Thanksgiving table, but as a kid, I wouldn’t touch them.  Nowadays, a roasted sweet potato is a welcomed sight on my plate, generally as a main course, as hopefully this dish will be on yours.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, every one, wherever you are.

Cayenne-Cumin-Ricotta Twice-baked Sweet Potatoes with Avocado Relish and a poached egg

Cayenne-Cumin-Ricotta Twice-baked Sweet Potatoes with Avocado Relish

1 large sweet potato
1/4 cup ricotta
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground Cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of fresh ground black pepper

1 ripe avocado, diced
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 yellow onion, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 200°C/ 400°F.

Oil the skin of the sweet potato lightly and prick it in several places with a fork.  Place it on a pan in the hot oven and bake until you can poke a knife into it easily, 35-45 minutes.  Remove the potato from the oven and let it cool until it’s easy to handle.  You can do this the day or hours before.

Slice the baked sweet potato completely in half lengthwise.  Making sure to keep the skin intact, scoop out the sweet potato flesh and put it into a small bowl.  Using a fork, smash the sweet potato until it forms a smooth mass.  Add the ricotta, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper.  Stir the mixture together until it is well-mixed.  Divide the sweet potato mixture between the two sweet potato skin halves and fluff the tops lightly with a fork.  Return the sweet potatoes to the hot oven and bake for 10 minutes.

While the potatoes cook the second time, make the avocado relish.  Combine the diced avocado, lemon juice, onion and salt in a bowl.  Mix well and let the mixture sit while the potato cooks.

Remove the potatoes from the oven.  Put one half on each plate and spoon avocado relish over the top. If you wish, serve with a poached or fried egg.

Serves 2.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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