Eat Simply, Eat Well

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

Chipotle Black Bean Soup

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chipotle-blackbean-soup

Happy Friday! It’s been a long, busy, fun-filled week – it’s time for a quick, easy and satisfying meal.

This soup is one of the reasons I like to keep black beans around the house – they are easy to turn into something delicious.

Last Saturday, amidst various projects, enjoying time with guests and preparing for Easter lunch, there was all of sudden nearly no time left for dinner before we had to head out the door again.  I’m sure you’ve been there: your stomach begins to growl…maybe you begin to growl a little yourself…and you start to wonder if whatever it is you’ve got packed into the fridge from grocery shopping a few days ago could possible be turned into anything you’d like to eat – but quickly.

Get out one pot.  Grab your cutting board, a knife, and those black beans that have been waiting for this day.  Pop some nice bread in the toaster ready to toast, and in 15 minutes, you’ll be sitting yourself down for a nice bowl of soup.

Seriously. This is easy. In fact, it’d work great on a Friday night (today, maybe?) when you are exhausted after a long week and really just want to kick back with your feet up. This will have you raring to go in no time. Or at least save you from ordering in pizza – this is definitely faster and way better for you. Enjoy!

Chipotle Black Bean Soup

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 yellow onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled & diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 roasted red pepper, cut into chunks (I buy them in a big jar – you can use a fresh one too)

2 cups cooked black beans

4 cups / 1 liter vegetable or chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro (or 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander)

1 dried chipotle pepper or 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon ground chipotle

optional: if you like it spicy, add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt + more to taste (this depends on how salty your broth and beans are to begin with)

pepper to taste

1 avocado, diced

In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, heat the oil.  Add the onion, carrot and celery stalk and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the red pepper, beans, chicken broth, cilantro and chipotle.  Bring the mixture to a boil; lower to a simmer, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove soup from heat.  Remove the chipotle pepper from the soup and discard. Using an immersion blender, (or pour into the heat-proof bowl of a regular blender) puree the soup until it has just a few chunks left.  Add the salt and pepper; taste; add more salt and pepper if needed.

Divide soup into bowls and top with chunks of fresh avocado.  Serve with freshly toasted bread.

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

Roasted Eggplant filled with a Savory Vegetable Medley

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Eggplant is back on my table and making me happier than ever.

I talked about the many virtues of this glorious purple vegetable before, so I won’t go into them again but you can read all about it here.  Suffice it propose that this is something we should all be cooking and eating more often.

What I will say is that if you are looking for a meal that will have you leaning back in your chair after each bite in sheer delight, then you need to turn on your ovens, roll up your sleeves, and get working on this.  I made this for two of us (though we ended up having a little left over, which was absolutely brilliant reheated for lunch the next day), but you can easily increase the quantities with minimal extra work if you want to serve a crowd.  This makes an excellent main course, a beautiful side dish, or, if you cut each eggplant into smaller pieces, would be the perfect addition to a buffet table.

The savory, salty flavors of the feta and sundried tomato are absolutely perfect against the mild flavors of the eggplant, broccoli and chickpeas, and the cilantro and parsley add a bright note that balances out the entire dish.  So good.  So, so good.  Not only that, it’s vegetarian, super healthy, and loaded with nutrients for tip-top health. What can I say?  Please get cooking!

Roasted Eggplant filled with a Savory Vegetable Medley

Begin by roasting the eggplant:
2 small eggplants (aubergines) sliced in half length-wise through the stem
sea salt
olive oil

Preheat your oven to 175°C/350°F

Lay the eggplants cut side up on a parchment-lined baking pan. Cut a cross-hatch in each eggplant, sprinkle with sea salt, and drizzle generously with olive oil.  Bake for one hour or until golden brown and soft.

While the eggplants bake, prepare the filling:
1 yellow onion, diced
1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained
2 cups raw broccoli, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup diced sundried tomatoes
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped, included stems and leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Warm oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium heat.  Add onion and fry until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add chickpeas, garlic, broccoli, sundried tomatoes, salt and pepper. Add a splash of water, stir, cover, and cook for 2-3 minutes until broccoli is bright green but still slightly crisp.  Remove from heat and stir in feta and herbs.

Stuff the eggplants:
When the eggplants are ready, remove from oven. Spoon the vegetable filling evenly over the top of the eggplants and use the back of a spoon to press the filling down into the eggplant. Return the stuffed eggplant to the oven and back for an additional 10 minutes.

Serve hot with 1/2 cup of greek yogurt mixed with 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice.

Serves 2 as a main course or 4+ as a side dish.

Love eggplant? Try these recipes:
Baked Eggplant with Tomato, Red Lentil and Herb Sauce
Grilled Zucchini and Eggplant with Lemon Mint Yogurt Dip

Like this recipe?  Please let me know in the comments below and share with your friends!

Blueberry Cacao Smoothie

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Happy April Fool’s Day!

But let me tell you, this smoothie is no joke.  It’s packed with serious flavor and nutrients to have you sailing right on through your morning or to pick you back up off the floor after a tough work out. Use blueberries or bilberries, whichever you have, toss in the remaining ingredients and blend up a drink full of fiber, antioxidants, good healthy fat (from the avocado), Omega 6 (thank you Chia seeds).

Have you been feeling forgetful?  New studies on blueberries (and their wild friend the bilberry) show that eating blueberries help are great for brain health and improving memory. Very nice.

Need a little more oomph?  Then grab that bag of Maca Powder and toss in a little of that, too and it will give you the all-over energy boost that you just might be missing.  Especially at 6 AM. What exactly is Maca?  Nutrition stripped offers the complete overview of this excellent nutitrion source here.

To top it all off, toss in a generous spoon of Raw Cacao Powder for a smooth chocolate flavor that blends perfectly with the blueberries while packing in some extra iron, magnesium and antioxidants for your health.  For more information about Raw Cacao, take a look here.

What about that kale, you say?  You won’t even taste it.  But you’ll get the benefits of perhaps the most nutrient-rich vegetable on the planet, so don’t hold back!

This can be made the night before for an instant breakfast in the morning, or pack it in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and take it with you for a snack on the go.

Blueberry Cacao Smoothie

1.5 cups cashew milk, almond milk, or other nut milk of choice
1 heaped cup fresh or frozen blueberries (frozen makes for a nice, thick, cold drink)
1/2 avocodo, pitted and peeled
3 leaves kale
2 tablespoons Chia gel (or 1 teaspoon Chia seeds soaked in 2 tablespoons of water for 5 min)
1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
1/2 tablespoon Maca powder
2 teaspoons pure maple syrup or 1 fresh, pitted date

Put all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender.  Process until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Divide between 2 tall glasses and enjoy

Makes 2 servings.