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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 }

Grilled Avocados with Corn and Tomato Salsa

By Angela on March 19, 2012 in Main Dishes, Recipes, Seasonal, Side Dishes, Spring, Summer

For many years I believed avocados were good for one thing only; guacamole. Oh, how wrong I was. I discovered this delicious fruit is ripe with potential once I did a little research after my mother (thanks, Mom) pushed me towards eating more than hot pockets in my younger years. The world of hot pockets is now long behind me, thanks in part to the tasty wonders of the grilled avocado.

Grilling an avocado is simple enough, but first I have to make the salsa to stuff inside it. I like a good, chunky pico de gallo type salsa, but if you have a recipe you like better feel free to substitute! For my salsa:

2-3 medium sized fresh tomatoes, finely diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1/2 cup of corn
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
Juice from one lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Oregano to taste, maybe some cumin if I’m in the mood

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, mix, cover and refrigerate for an hour or two so the flavors merge together in harmony. A note on cutting jalapeno peppers; they can be pretty nasty if they get in your eyes or in an open cut, so it’s a good idea to wear gloves, wash your hand thoroughly and clean out all the seeds.

For the avocados, cut four to six in half and take out the seeds, but leave them in the shell! Avocado seeds can be tricky, to cut an avocado, slice around the seed and pop one side off, so get the seed out of the other side just carefully push your knife into the seed and pull out. The seed should come out easily, leaving two intact avocado halves. Rub some olive oil and lime juice on the flat half and place them flat side down on the grill for 2 to 3 minutes. remove from the grill, fill with salsa and enjoy! But don’t eat the shell, it’s not tasty, we just need the shell to keep the avocado goodness from melting into the grill.

Avocados will oxidize and turn brown, so it’s best to eat them the same day you prepare them, but the salsa can be stored in the fridge for about a week!

Comments { 1 }

Grapefruit Avocado Couscous

By Megan on March 12, 2012 in Recipes, Salads, Side Dishes, Spring

In order to make sure I keep getting fresh-tasting, delicious meals during this crazy week of Not-Wanting-To-Cook-SXSW, I’ve made a refreshing grapefruit and avocado couscous salad. It’s perfect for this almost-spring weather we have, and I love how pretty the Texas grapefruit looks alongside the green avocado. Make sure you use avocados that are firm, yet ripe. You want the avocado to maintain its shape in the salad and not get mushy.

You can easily add a zesty vinaigrette to this salad, but I prefer to let the fresh flavors of the grapefruit and avocado shine.

Grapefruit Avocado Couscous Salad

1 cup dry couscous
2 large red grapefruit
2-4 small avocados (or 2 large)
1 tablespoon finely diced shallot
Juice of 1 lime
½ cup diced fresh parsley or cilantro
Salt and pepper

Set a saucepan with 2 cups of water or vegetable stock to boil. Once water is boiling, pour in couscous, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Section your grapefruit (a helpful tutorial video is located over at Kitchen Daily) and place onto a paper towel. Halve avocados, remove pits, and slice into small chunks. Put avocado in a large bowl along with shallot; drizzle lime juice over the top and stir gently.

Fluff couscous with a fork and add to the bowl. Add grapefruit and parsley or cilantro and stir gently to combine all ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and chill until ready to serve, up to 12 hours in advance. (Any longer and the avocado might start to oxidize and turn an unattractive brown.)

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Shrimp Stuffed Avocado

By Megan on March 4, 2012 in Appetizers & Snacks, Gluten-free, Recipes, Side Dishes

Stuffed avocado is an easy snack or light lunch that anyone can throw together because it requires no cooking skills. You need to know how to use a knife, a spoon, and a bowl – the hardest part of this is slicing the avocado in half.

You can make this fancier by getting raw shrimp and sauteeing them in your choice of spices, but using precooked shrimp takes no time at all, and if you’re hungry you probably don’t want to mess with it anyway. This goes great with blue corn chips, or you can just eat it with a fork and serve with a salad. Either way, it’s a great way to get all the flavor of the beautiful avocados we’ve been seeing this season.

Shrimp Stuffed Avocado
serves 2

2 small avocados
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 tablespoons diced green onion
1 cup chopped precooked shrimp
1/2 cup crumbly cheese, such as goat, blue, or queso fresca
Salt and pepper

Halve avocados and scoop pulp into bowl, removing pits. Add lime juice and mash avocado roughly. Add onion, shrimp, and cheese, and stir to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture back into avocado skins and serve with extra shrimp and cheese sprinkled on top.

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Avocado Mousse

By Megan on February 22, 2012 in Desserts, Recipes

Even though you probably have no trouble eating up the delicious avocados we’ve been getting week after week (my son has taken to eating them with a spoon!), there’s no reason why you can’t try something new, right?

Chocolate doesn’t necessarily seem like a logical pairing for avocado, but I’ve been seeing avocado cakes, brownies, and more popping up all over the internet and in cookbooks. The luscious avocado, it turns out, is a perfect ingredient for the last course of the meal.

This mousse is a creamy, dreamy, dairy- and guilt-free delight. If you’re a chocoholic like me, you won’t be let down by this dessert. You can easily swap out the honey for agave nectar, if you’re vegan.

Avocado Mousse
serves 2

2 small or 1 large avocado
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 teaspoon vanilla

Slice the avocado in half and remove the pit. In a blender or food processor, puree avocado flesh until smooth. Add cocoa powder, honey, and vanilla, and blend until completely mixed and no lumps remain. Scoop into dishes and serve immediately, or chill until ready.