Spiced Potatoes with Lentils & Barley

Lemon spiced potatoes contrast beautifully with nutty barely and delicate lentils. Peas add the sweetness of early Spring to this rustic crowd pleaser. This recipe comes to us from Trudy of Veggie.Num.Num.
Serves 4

• 1 cup pearl barley*, soaked and drained
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 ¼ pound new potatoes or other small waxy potatoes, scrubbed
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 red chili**, diced
• 2 teaspoons Cajun spice mix***
• 1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed
• 2 ½ cups low sodium vegetable stock
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup peas, fresh or frozen and thawed
• ½ cup parsley, roughly chopped

*Pre-soak the barley before you start cooking by placing in water and setting aside in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
**optional
*** Cajun spice mix can be found premixed in the spice aisle of most grocery stores, but if time allows try making your own low sodium Cajun seasoning.
Bring 1 ½ cups unsalted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the lentils and keep at a rolling boil for 2 minutes. Turn heat down and simmer uncovered for 10-25 minutes more. Cooking time will depend on how old the lentils are so taste often and simmer until lentils have reached desired tenderness. When lentils are tender, remove from heat and season with salt to taste. Set aside.
Heat a little olive oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and chili if using. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until garlic begins to soften.
Add the whole potatoes and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning. Fry the potatoes turning occasionally for 5-8 minutes, or until golden.
Transfer potato mixture to a large pot. Drain the barely and add it to the pot. Add vegetable stock, lentils and lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
Turn heat down and simmer, partially covered, for 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Add more stock if needed.
Once the potatoes are cooked, add the lemon rind, peas and parsley. Toss until combined and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Indian-Spiced Vegetable Fritters with Curry-Lime Yogurt

Indian-Spiced Vegetable Fritters with Curry-Lime Yogurt
Makes about 24 pancakes.

1/2 cup frozen peas
1 medium onion, peeled
1 large russet or Idaho potato, peeled
1 yam or sweet potato, peeled
1 large or 2 thin carrots, peeled
1 zucchini
4 large eggs
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
A pinch of cayenne
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Curry-Lime Yogurt
2 cups plain yogurt (we love the Fage fat-free stuff)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon sugar
A squeeze or two of fresh lime juice, to taste
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 200°F. Place two nonstick baking sheets in oven.

In small saucepan, bring salted water to boil. Add peas and cook, uncovered, until heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, then rinse in colander under cool, running water. Set aside in colander to drain completely.
Using box grater or food processor² fitted with grating disc, coarsely grate onion, potatoes, carrot and zucchini and place in colander set in sink, setting aside to drain.
In large mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs. Whisk in flour, coriander, turmeric, and cumin. Mix in ginger, cilantro, and peas.
Press potatoes and onion to extract as much liquid as possible, then add to bowl. Season mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Using wooden spoon or hands, mix well, but do not overwork.
In heavy-bottomed, 12-inch non-stick³ skillet over moderately high heat, heat 1-2 tablespoons oil (I used an extra-virgin olive oil spray I’d found to lightly coat the pan); until hot but not smoking. Drop 4 scant 1/4-cup portions of potato mixture into pan and flatten with spatula to form four 3-inch pancakes.
Fry until bottoms are golden-brown (the color really counts on this; the darker you let it go, the more the pancake holds together – this goes for both sides.), 4 to 5 minutes, then turn over and fry until golden-brown and crisp, an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain; season immediately with salt and pepper. Keep warm on baking sheets in oven while making remaining pancakes.
Using paper towels, carefully wipe out pan. And 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and fry 4 more pancakes. Repeat with remaining batter, wiping out pan and adding 1 to 2 tablespoons oil before each batch.

Serve pancakes hot with Curry-Lime Yogurt.

Recipe from the smitten kitchen.  

¹Or, you could do this step in the microwave, and save yourself a good bit of effort.
²Yet another recipe that yes, if you have a food processor, it takes no time at all to put this together. That said, it makes for more coarsely-grated vegetables than doing it by hand, so they are slightly harder to assemble into pancakes.
³I know there is a lot of head-shaking at nonstick these days, and I, too, try to avoid it when possible. Still, pancakes like this are much, much more difficult to make without non-stick, as you’ll end up using tablespoon after tablespoon of oil to keep the fritters from sticking.

Creamy Spaghetti and Beans

Creamy Spaghetti and Beans

Ingredients

    5 to 6 cups chicken stock
    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    2 tablespoons butter
    1/4 pound chunk pancetta chopped into small dice
    4 cloves garlic, chopped
    1 pound spaghetti
    1 medium onion, chopped
    2 carrots, cut into a small dice
    1 fresh bay leaf
    5 to 6 sprigs fresh thyme
    1 (15-ounce) can Roman beans or small white beans (recommended: Goya brand)
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    1 cup dry white wine, eyeball it
    1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
    A generous handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Directions

Place the stock in a sauce pot and warm it over medium heat then reduce to simmer.

Heat the extra-virgin olive oil and the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the pancetta to brown slightly. Next add the garlic and spaghetti and toast the noodles lightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions and carrots, bay leaf and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Soften veggies a bit, 5 minutes. Add wine and allow it to be completely absorbed. Add beans then add a few ladles of stock and stir the pasta. Keep adding stock a few ladles at a time allowing liquids to be mostly absorbed before adding more, as if you were preparing a risotto. When liquids are absorbed and spaghetti is cooked to al dente, 12-15 minutes, stir in cheese. Adjust salt and pepper. Turn off heat and stir another minute. Remove the bay leaf and thyme stems. Serve in shallow bowls and garnish with lots of parsley.

Recipe by Rachel Ray.

Spicy Potato Tacos

Spicy Potato Tacos

Ingredients

    1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    1 teaspoon fajita seasoning
    1 (16-ounce) bag pre-cooked diced red-skin potatoes
    1/2 cup pre-sliced mushrooms
    1/3 cup reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese
    1 (16-ounce) can vegetarian refried beans
    3/4 cup cilantro salsa, plus more for serving
    1 (5.8-ounce) box white corn taco shells
    Chopped red onion, tomato, and lettuce, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together oil and fajita seasoning. Add potatoes and mushrooms and toss until well coated. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and arrange in a single layer. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Meanwhile, stir together beans and salsa in microwave-safe bowl. Cover with a damp paper towel and microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes; set aside.

Heat taco shells in oven for 3 to 5 minutes.

Spoon beans into heated taco shells. Top with potato mixture and garnish with red onion, tomato, and lettuce.

Serve immediately with salsa.



Recipe from foodnetwork. 

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash

elemenoPee via "We Are Not Martha" blog

• 1 acorn squash
• 1 T butter
• 1 C quinoa
• 2 C chicken/veggie stock or broth (reduced sodium)
• 1 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped finely
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 habanero peppers, chopped finely (remove seeds for less heat)
• 1/2 C mushrooms, chopped
• 2 C spinach, uncooked
• 1/2 feta, crumbled
• 1 T parsley, chopped
• 1 T fresh lemon juice

(Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees)

Start by slicing your acorn squash in half. You’ll need a sharp knife to do so. Trust me.

Once sliced (albeit perhaps unevenly), scoop out all the seeds.

Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper and put 1/2 T butter in each squash half.

Place on a baking tray and roast at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Make sure squash is tender to the fork upon removal (otherwise, stick it back in the oven for a few more minutes).

In the meantime, start cooking your quinoa, according to directions. You can use water, but I find chicken stock/broth to be a bit more flavorful. I generally try to get low-sodium, so I can control levels of salt. And, of course, use vegetable broth if you want to keep this dish vegetarian-friendly.

While the quinoa is cooking and the squash is roasting, pour your extra virgin olive oil into a skillet over medium heat. Sauté mushrooms, onion, garlic, and habaneros until they’re slightly browned, about 7-10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and squeeze lemon juice over.

Now, turn heat to low and add the cooked quinoa to the veggie mixture. Throw in 2 cups of spinach and stir to combine and wilt spinach a bit.

Add in feta cheese and parsley here, as well. Save a little of each for topping, if you want

Your acorn squash should be looking beautiful by now.

Spoon quinoa mixture into acorn squash halves and top with a little extra feta. And parsley too, if you desire.

This is the kind of salad I could eat all day, every day. And it gets total bonus points for coming in an edible bowl. I loved taking a bite of the quinoa and then digging my fork into the squash. I swear, if you’re going to eat healthy this is the way to do it! I kind of want to add artichokes or sun-dried tomatoes to this next time. Or dried cranberries. The options are endless!

I was super full and satisfied when I was done with my squash. And I felt pretty good about myself, too.

It’s likely that you’ll have some leftover quinoa, too, which means you can have it for lunch the next day.

Curried Lentil Vegetable Stew

Curried Lentil Vegetable StewErika (MsAnthrope) 

1 medium onion, chopped2 medium carrots, diced
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 cups dry red lentils, rinsed and picked over
6 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or until lentils are very soft and stew is thick. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Aloo Matar Paratha

Aloo Matar Paratha - Potato and green peas stuffed pancakes

Makes 14-16 parathas

Ingredients

For the stuffing:

4 medium sized potatoes (boiled and mashed)

1 ¾ cups green peas (thawed if using frozen and steamed or cooked if using fresh)

1 cup onion (julienned)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 ½ tsp coriander powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red pepper flakes (you can also use cayenne pepper or chopped green chili)

1 ½ tsp lemon juice

1 ½ tbsp. oil

Salt

For the dough:

2 ½ cups of whole wheat flour

Water (approximately 1 cup. But I have experienced that different brands of flour ask for different quantity of water depending on the quality. So I usually eye ball the amount of water used.)

1 ½ tsp salt

Ghee or oil for pan frying the parathas

Method

For the dough:

The process of kneading the dough for parathas is very much like doing that for making rotis. Please refer to my detailed post on how to make a roti to find out how you can make dough for parathas. Process is simple, just add water and salt to the flour and knead but can sometimes be tricky. I hope the post on making roti helps you make your dough.

For the stuffing:

Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. Once cumin starts to pop add onion.

Cook onion until light golden in color. Add turmeric, coriander and red pepper flakes.

Mix well. Add mashed potatoes and green peas. Add salt.

Mix everything together and mash it all well.

Set aside and let it cool.

Stuffing and making parathas:

Divide the dough and filling into equal parts. 

Dust the working area where you will be rolling the dough.

Roll out dough about 2 inches in diameter. 

Place a ball of filling in the middle and bring all the edges together sealing the filling in the center of the bag.

Press the bag gently on the sealed side, flattening it a little.  Dust and roll out the dough flat.Tip- Try to be light handed while rolling out the dough. Dust frequently if the dough is softer and the filling is coming out.

Repeat the same for the rest of the filling and dough. Tip- If you plan to roll out all the dough before starting to pan fry them then cover it with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out in the air.

Heat a skillet and place the rolled out dough on it. Tip- To check whether the skillet is hot enough sprinkle some water in it. If it sizzles out right away then its ready.

Let it cook for a few seconds and when you see the surface of paratha getting darker, flip to the other side. If you see some small brown spots on it then that’s good!

Brush ghee/oil on the cooked side and then flip again. Gently pressing with a spatula and rotating cook it for a minute. Repeat the same for the other side as well.

A perfect paratha should be golden brown with some dark spots on it.

Serve hot with yogurt, pickles or chutney.