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Sweet Potato, Kale, and Black Bean Skillet

By Margo on March 11, 2013 in Main Dishes, Recipes, Staff Picks, Winter

Craving Mexican food but determined to eat healthy and use in-season veggies? This Sweet Potato, Kale, and Black Bean skillet does just the trick. Fairly simple and deliciously aromatic (and vegetarian!), this recipe makes a meal for 4-6, or sides for a crowd. Sumac and cumin give this dish its wonderfully deep flavor. Sumac isn’t a super common spice, but I found it at Central Market. (If you can’t find it, you can get a similar flavor from mixing chili powder and paprika in a 1:1 ratio.)

I like this recipe because it isn’t fussy. I wanted kale and sweet potatoes to be center stage, but if you would rather taste more black bean, just use a little less of the veggies. If you’re sensitive to onions or garlic (like my Mom is), you can easily leave them out and it will be just as good. Similarly, to kick it up a notch, I’d consider adding another clove or two of garlic, some chili powder, and thinly sliced red onions (added with the kale.) Serve it alongside rotisserie chicken, or eat it wrapped up in a tortilla. And if you’re not interested in healthy, I think this would be an excellent enchilada filling! Because lets be honest, who doesn’t love things smothered in cheese? Any way you slice it, this recipe can easily be made your own.

Sweet Potato, Kale, and Black Bean skillet
serves 4-6
prep time: 15 minutes | cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 or 3 sweet potatoes
1 shallot
1 clove of garlic
1 can organic black beans, low-sodium, drained
3 hearty handfuls (3 cups ish) kale (I used Russian kale, because it’s what I had, but green kale is just as good!)
1-1/2 to 2 tbsp. organic olive oil
1/4 tsp. sumac
1/8 tsp. cumin
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 lime, for serving
tortillas, for serving
sour cream or greek yogurt, for serving
1 avocado, for serving

Prep
1. Peel sweet potatoes, shallot, and garlic. Wash and dry kale.
2. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Lay cut surface flat on a cutting board and slice in half again lengthwise. Then, slice into ¼-1/2 inch thick pieces. (Sweet potatoes are tough to cut. I don’t have an amazing knife, but this method works great! See photo.)
3. Dice shallot and garlic.
4. Tear kale into large pieces.

Cook
1. Place large sauté pan over medium high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Add sweet potatoes, shallot, garlic, sumac and cumin to pan and cook for 2 minutes until you can smell the spices, stirring throughout to coat.

2. Bring the heat down to medium and cover. Let cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, making sure the sweet potatoes don’t burn (oops, a few of mine did!) Cook until the sweet potatoes are soft enough to easily cut in half and are nice and brown.

3. Add black beans. Stir to mix. Add kale. At this point it will be a little hard to stir, but don’t worry, kale cooks down! Season generously with salt and pepper, mix and cover.

4. After 3-4 minutes, uncover and stir. If it’s feeling a bit too dry at this point, drizzle a little more olive oil. Taste for seasoning- if you want more spice, add a pinch of sumac! Cook for another minute or so until kale is cooked to your liking.

5. If you’re serving with tortillas, start warming them up. For just a few people, heat them with a bit of oil in a small skillet. For a larger group, wrap a tortillas in foil and stick in a warm oven for 2-3 minutes. Cut your lime and slice the avocado.

6. Serve on top of warm tortillas, drizzled with lime and served with avocado slices and greek yogurt. I made a taco out of mine. Enjoy!

Comments { 2 }

Broccoli Chicken Soup

By Christy on May 21, 2012 in Recipes, Soups, Spring, Winter

Although it is getting a little warm to think about soup, I used this as a base for three quick weeknight meals. Just a couple of cans, some leftover chicken, and fresh broccoli for a delicious homemade soup on the first night. I use evaporated milk in this recipe because it can take higher cooking temperatures than cream or milk. Since I will be using it over a few days, I can reheat it to boil without having to worry about it breaking or curdling. You can substitute milk or cream, just be careful when reheating not to bring it to a full boil.

1 cup chicken broth

2 cups water

2 cups broccoli, cut into bite size pieces

1 cup cooked chicken, deboned and cubed

1 can evaporated milk

salt to taste

Add broth, water, and broccoli to a large stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until broccoli is tender when pierced with a fork. Transfer broccoli to a blender and add enough broth to fill half way. Be careful not to overfill blender. Process in batches if you need to. Return processed broccoli to stock pot. Add cubed chicken and evaporated milk. Taste for salt. Bring to a simmer to warm.

Comments { 2 }

Roast Chicken

By Christy on May 4, 2012 in Fall, Gluten-free, Main Dishes, Recipes, Spring, Winter

As the Texas summer starts creeping up on us, my thoughts turn to ways to avoid the heat of the oven. I have long been a fan of the crock pot to stew a chicken in for soups but did you know you could roast a chicken in the crock pot? OK, technically it is probably a braise but by just leaving the lid off for the last 30 minutes of cooking time, the skin gets closer to a crispy roast than a flabby stew. By placing the chicken on top of a bed of vegetables, the juices are used to add flavor to the veggies without submerging the bird in too much liquid. It is ok if it comes part way up the bird but you want it mostly out of the broth for the crispiest skin.

3-4 potatoes cut into bite size pieces

4-5 carrots cut into bite size pieces

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

olive oil

3-4 pound whole chicken

Combine the spices to make a dry rub for the chicken. Rub the chicken inside and out with the olive oil and thoroughly sprinkle with the rub. You can let this rest covered in the refrigerator for an hour up to overnight if you have time. Layer the vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot and position the bird on top. You should still be able to close the lid on the crock pot. Cook on high for 30 minutes, then switch to low for 6-7 hours. For the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the lid.

Comments { 1 }

Kale Chips

By Christy on May 3, 2012 in Appetizers & Snacks, Fall, Gluten-free, Recipes, Side Dishes, Spring, Vegan, Winter

My poor kale was starting to yellow. One too many days in the fridge. I needed to cook it right away but was not in the mood for cooked greens. A quick toss with some oil, salt, and sesame seeds and I had a delicious crunchy snack of kale chips. Even the kiddos will like this one.

1 tablespoon sesame oil or chili oil if you like it spicy

1 head kale, thoroughly washed and dried

salt to taste

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Remove tough stems from kale. Toss with oil. Sprinkle with salt and sesame seeds. Bake for 40-50 minutes, stirring after about 20 minutes.

Comments { 0 }

Mushroom Soup

By Christy on April 23, 2012 in Fall, Gluten-free, Recipes, Soups, Winter

This recipe can be used with any kind of mushroom you have on hand. I had some fresh button mushrooms and an assortment of dried ones. Rehydrate the dried ones by bringing 2 cups of water to a boil, pour it over the dried mushrooms and let them steep for 20-30 minutes. Do not throw the steeping water away! Strain out any sand or dirt particles and use the broth in the soup. The fish sauce is optional in this but I really like the umami flavor it adds, not fishy at all.

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 ounces dried mushrooms, rehydrated with boiling water and roughly chopped

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, like button or crimini, roughly chopped

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

2 sprigs of thyme

6 cups broth, veggie or chicken

1/2 cup milk or cream

2 tablespoons fish sauce (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add mushrooms and saute until browned, about 6 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and saute until translucent. Add the thyme and broth to the pot and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove thyme stems and whisk in cream, fish sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture into a blender, never filling more than half full and pulse till smooth. If you overfill a blender with hot liquid, it can blow the lid off the blender and send hot soup flying everywhere, so be very careful and work in batches or use an immersion blender right in the pot if you have one.