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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 }

Texas Grapefruit Margaritas

By Kathryn on February 22, 2012 in Beverages, Recipes, Slider, Spring, Staff Picks, Summer

Have you ever heard of National Margarita Day? I hadn’t until I hopped on to Facebook this morning, where people were posting many, many pictures of margaritas. By the end of the work day, there were so many posts about tequila that I practically couldn’t see straight. Lucky for me, it was a short drive home where I have quite an acumulation of Local Box grapefruit– perfect for making margaritas after work!

This recipe is adapted from the LA Times’ Grapefruit Margarita. I skipped the salt they suggested and sweetened up the recipe even further by adding some fresh orange juice into the mix. Instead of Triple Sec, I used Paula’s Texas Orange, an orange liqueur made here in Austin. Finally, I skipped the cocktail shaker and margarita glasses in favor of mason jars. A big mason jar is so much easier to use for this recipe than a cocktail shaker because you can mix everything together at once. (Most cocktail shakers are too small.) And I find small mason jars to be a much more versatile use of cupboard space than specialty cocktail glassware.

Texas Grapefruit Margaritas (yields 4 drinks)

1 1/4 cup grapefruit juice, with pulp (about 2 medium grapefruits)
1/3 cup orange juice, with pulp (about 1 small orange)
1 ounce lime juice (about 1/2 a lime)
5 ounces reposado tequila
2 ounces Paula’s Texas Orange

Combine all the ingredients over ice in a large mason jar. Put on the lid and shake until juice is well chilled. Pour into 8 oz. mason jars to serve.

Comments { 4 }

Spicy Cantaloupe Margaritas

By Kathryn on September 10, 2011 in Beverages, Gluten-free, Vegan

What’s orange and spicy and perfect for tailgating? Serrano cantaloupe margaritas!

These fruity drinks pack a punch of spice thanks to a red serrano pepper, and a bit of sweetness thanks to cantaloupe from Gundermann Acres farm. I served them in mason jars at our last gameday party, and rimmed the glasses with a mix of sea salt and chile powder.

If you need a kid-friendly drink, skip the serrano pepper in the recipe below and substitute ginger ale for the tequila. Rim kids’ glasses with turbinado sugar, if desired.

Spicy Cantaloupe Margaritas (serves 6)

1 medium cantaloupe, peeled and cubed (7-8 cups of cubed fruit)
1 red serrano pepper
1 cup tequila
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Garnish:
Lime wedges
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1/2 tablespoon chile powder

Cut the stem off of the pepper. Combine pepper, cantaloupe, tequila, lime juice and sugar in a blender and process on high for about a minute, until mixture is smooth and no large pieces of pepper remain. Strain mixture through a sieve into a pitcher and let it rest for several minutes while you rim the glasses.

To rim margarita glasses: mix the salt and chile powder together and put the mixture in an even layer on a small plate. Rub a lime wedge along the edge of the margarita glass, then swirl the moistened edge of the glass in the salt mixture to coat it.

Fill the prepared glasses with ice and gently pour in the cantaloupe margarita mixture. Serve immediately.

With a little help from the freezer and some mason jars, these margaritas can be made several days in advance of a party. Once you’ve blended the ingredients, pour the drinks into freezer-safe mason jars instead of glasses. Leave a half-inch of headspace at the top of each jar, screw on the lids, and store them in the freezer until ready to serve. During the party you’ll have enough time to garnish the rim of each jar with salt before the margarita inside is slushy enough to drink. (Thanks to fellow Local Box blogger Megan for this great trick!)

Comments { 1 }

Local Box Picnic: Allen Park

By Kathryn on July 6, 2011 in Greenling Central Texas, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegan

Unless you live in the Far West neighborhood of Austin, chances are that you’ve never heard of Allen Memorial Park. This hilly little hiking spot is tucked near an office park west of MoPac near Far West. There are no playgrounds or sports fields at Allen Park; its main draw is the well-kept trail, clean picnic areas, and a real sense of seclusion.

Nearly a mile of gravel trail twists through the park. Some hills are very steep, while other parts of the trail are relatively flat overlooking the city. Although sounds of MoPac traffic hum throughout the park, a thick layer of foliage helps the trails feel set apart from the surrounding city. My husband and I were the only visitors at the park at dinner time on the Fourth of July.

The wide, gravelled trail starts at Allen Park’s parking lot and ascends up a rocky scramble to a large picnic area. Besides this larger picnic spot, there are at least six separate picnic tables near the entrance of the park. Each table is located in its own paved clearing, and some have a charcoal grill nearby. (As of this post, these grills are covered and unusable because Travis County is under a burn ban.) Although it’s not a long walk from one picnic area to the next, each clearing is separated by dense greenery and windy trails. We chose to dine at this picnic table, which overlooks the Northwest Hills neighborhood to the west.

For dinner I made some easy summer salads with Local Box ingredients from Hillside Farm, Massey Farm and Tecolote Farm. The highlight of the meal was a spicy corn & black bean salad, studded with Juliet tomatoes and topped with Cotija cheese. The best part of this recipe– besides the tomatoes– is a spicy jalapeno vinaigrette dressing. To get an even level of high heat throughout the salad, I use a blender to liquify a whole jalapeno pepper and a clove of garlic into the dressing. This technique ensures a high level of heat without worrying about whole jalapeno seeds creating “hot spots” throughout the salad. I also don’t have to bother with wearing gloves as I mince the pepper by hand– a huge plus.

Spicy Corn & Black Bean Salad (serves 6)

Salad:
3 ears of fresh corn on the cob
1, 15-ounce can black beans
1 medium red onion
1 medium bell pepper
1 pint Juliet tomatoes
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1/4 cup crumbled Cotija cheese
lime wedges to garnish

Dressing:
1 garlic clove
1 large jalapeno pepper
Juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Fill a medium saucepan with a few inches of water and bring water to a boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, remove the shucks and silks from the ears of corn. Wash and dry the corn, then cut the kernels off of the cob. Cook the kernels of corn for about three minutes in boiling water, until they are tender-firm. Drain the corn and set aside to cool.

Peel and dice the onion. Remove the ribs and seeds from the bell pepper, and dice the remaining flesh. Slice Juliet tomatoes in half. Place them in a large salad bowl along with the minced onion, bell pepper and sliced tomatoes. Chop off the tough stems from the bunch of cilantro. Chop the remaining leaves and add to the salad, stirring to combine.

To make the dressing, peel the garlic and slice the top stem off of the jalapeno pepper. Put the whole garlic clove and decapitated pepper– seeds, ribs and all– into the blender along with the remaining ingredients. Pulse on “liquify,” or your blender’s highest speed, for about three minutes, until all the pepper seeds have been obliterated and the dressing is emulsified. No blender? Peel and crush the garlic with a garlic press. Remove the stem, ribs and seeds from the jalapeno and mince it by hand. Whisk the crushed garlic and minced pepper together with the remaining ingredients in a small bowl.

Pour the prepared dressing over the salad and mix well. Top with crumbled Cotija cheese and garnish with lime wedges before serving. This salad keeps well in the refrigerator and tastes better the second day, although the tomatoes will not be as vibrant red by then.

Comments { 2 }

New Year Noodle Soup

By Stephanie on January 8, 2011 in Uncategorized

Raise your hand if you are a victim of cedar pollen right now. Yeah, me too. When I’m suffering from stuffy sinuses, all I want is some spicy, brothy soup to clear everything out. When I came across this recipe, I knew I had to try it. The original calls for a serrano pepper, but mine somehow didn’t make it home from HEB and I substituted a generous pinch of red pepper flakes with great results.

Besides that, there’s so much going on in this soup. There are three types of beans: chickpeas, yellow split peas (or lentils) and borlotti beans. The latter are also called cranberry beans, for the reddish-pink flecks on their skin. They are a bit sweeter and fuller-flavored than pinto beans, but pintos are a good substitute if you can’t find borlotti. I used dried beans that I cooked a few weeks ago and froze until now. The borlotti are on the far right in this picture.

I used Swiss chard, but any hearty green would work. Also, I used whole wheat spaghetti instead of the egg noodles originally called for, as I think they’ll hold up better when the soup is reheated. And I love the addition of fresh herbs at the end, along with a squeeze of lime juice. Oh, and the toppings! Caramelized onions, walnuts, and a bit of sour cream add even more flavor to what already is a fantastic soup. You really need to give this one a try.

New Year Noodle Soup (adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
8.5 cups vegetable broth
3.5 oz yellow split peas or lentils (about 1/2 cup)
1.5 cups cooked chickpeas, rinsed if using canned
2 cups cooked borlotti or pinto beans
Salt to taste
4.25 oz whole wheat spaghetti noodles, broken in half
3.5 oz Swiss chard, finely shredded (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Juice of one lime

Toppings:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
Sour cream or creme fraiche
Toasted, chopped walnuts

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and the pepper flakes and cook until they soften, a few minutes. Add the spices and cook for another thirty seconds, just long enough for them to toast a bit, then stir in the stock. Bring to a boil and add the split peas/lentils and chard to the pot. Cook until the peas are just tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the cooked chickpeas and borlotti beans. Once the beans have heated up, season with salt to taste.

Add the noodles to the simmering soup and return to a boil. Reduce the heat back to a simmer and cook until the spaghetti is al dente, about 11 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and dill. Squeeze in the lime juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

While the lentils are cooking, prepare the toppings. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium heat along with a few pinches of salt. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until golden and caramelized, 8 -10 minutes. Set aside.

Serve right away, each bowl topped with a big spoonful of caramelized onions, some sour cream, and a sprinkling of walnuts.