Tag Archives: beans

Typical Nicaraguan Feast

Posted on by
2

The last few days I’ve been having serious cravings for Nicaraguan food. Carne asada, indio viejo, chancho con yucca…the list is endless. If I went back to live in Nicaragua I would definitely gorge on every food item in sight. And I would learn how to make my favourite dishes because I would have access to the right ingredients. No more substitutions!

But for now, I am happy to settle with what I can make with the ingredients found in Vancouver. For tonight’s meal I have made Mom-Style Chicken with Corn Flour Tortillas, Gallo Pinto and Salad.

I’m not exactly sure if the chicken I made is in fact a Nicaraguan specialty but it’s the way my Mom always cooked chicken when I was younger and I’ve tried to best of my ability to remember all the ingredients. Of course I probably should have called her to confirm the ingredients but I decided to take a risk.

For the chicken and marinade:

3 whole chicken legs

1/2 an onion, coarsely chopped

Yellow mustard, I didn’t measure but it was probably a tbsp and a bit

Worcestershire sauce, again I didn’t measure but was approx a tbsp

Salt to taste, I’m really bad at gauging the right amount of salt for food.

Fresh ground pepper

Juice of one orange. I used navel but if you can score naranja agria or sour orange, that would be best.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and add chicken pieces, making sure they’re all coated. Let it sit, covered, for a few hours. My Mom would always pan cook the chicken or when we lived in Nicaragua she would use a coal bbq. But because I don’t have a bbq and I’m not a big fan of the way meat turns out when I use my frying pans I chose to bake my chicken at about 400F for approx 40 minutes, flipping the chicken pieces every 10 minutes.

For the tortillas:

2 cups corn flour (Maseca)

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 tsp salt

I found this great video that helped me A LOT. Usually my tortilla shapes turn out looking like South America and pieces break and it’s a big mess. Not only that but I never know when to flip them. And without my Mom peering over my shoulder it makes the tortilla-making process even harder. I don’t have a tortilla press so I used the underside of a round cake pan.

For the Gallo Pinto:

Approx 1 cup white rice, rinsed

1/4 onion, coarsely chopped

1 can of black beans

Salt

Oil for cooking

Okay, this one is still a tough one for me. You would think that after several attempts I would have this one down pat but WOW do I ever know how to screw up a simple pan of gallo pinto. In an ideal world the rice would turn out perfectly fried, each grain separate from the rest, soft but firm. And upon adding the beans, a lovely mixture of colour would ensue. But instead I end up with mushy rice mixed with beans and no colour blending at all. So if anyone has tips on how to make a proper pot of gallo pinto, please share. To make the rice, first you have to fry the onions for a few minutes and then add the rice and continue to fry until toasted on medium-high heat. Next add enough water to cover the rice and once the water has come to a boil turn the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid. The rice is done when all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is somewhat dry-looking. In a larger frying pan, heat oil and add the beans and rice and fry together until well-blended.

For the salad:

Approx 1/3 head of cabbage, shredded

1 tomato, diced

White vinegar

Salt to taste

Simply toss all ingredients together and there’s your salad. If you have any limes kicking around feel free to squeeze some juice into the mix.

I like to eat my gallo pinto with sour cream and a dash of Tabasco sauce.

Bean and Veggie Stew

Posted on by
Reply

Oh it’s been such a long time since I last posted! I was away for the holidays and since coming back a week ago, I’ve had to fight the immense feeling of procrastination. It’s been a tough battle but I’ve finally come through.

The holidays were wonderful and delicious but oh so unforgiving to my figure. One of the most common things people put on their New Years resolutions is to lose weight. I am one of those people and every year I add it to my list of goals but every year I end up putting that goal back on the list because I was unsuccessful. This year I’ve altered that goal. Instead of writing “Lose Weight” at the top of my list I’ve written ”Eat healthier.” It’s realistic, it’s safe, and  I won’t feel pressured and later feel inclined to give up.

To start with my healthier lifestyle, I made this tasty, satisfying, and amazingly nutritious vegetarian stew.

Makes about 6 servings

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 onion, chopped

6oz mushrooms, chopped

1/2 red and green peppers, chopped

2 carrots, minced

14oz canned tomatoes, crushed or diced

4 or 5 pickled peppers, chopped

1 can mixed beans, drained

8oz red kidney beans, drained

1 can green lentils, drained

About 1 cup frozen corn

About 1 cup beer

Generous squeeze of mustard

Cayenne pepper to taste

1/4 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp cumin

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onion, celery, and garlic. Once the onion is soft, add the mushrooms, peppers, and carrot. Cook until mushrooms are soft and then add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil then lower heat, cover, and cook on low for about 20 minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook on low for another 20 minutes. Serve with a bit of shredded cheese and cilantro.

What I did with a Tex-Mex Mushroom Ragout

Posted on by
Reply

A few days ago I made a vegetarian dinner from the Weight Watchers Turn Around Program book. It’s called Tex-Mex Mushroom Ragout and this is how it’s made:

Makes 2 Servings:

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 lb fresh cremini or white button mushrooms, quartered

1/2 lb fresh portobello mushrooms, stems removed and diced

1 (15oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 fresh ground pepper

4 tsp fresh lime juice

In a pan, cook onion until soft, about a minute. Add the garlic and stir constantly for about 20 secs then add the mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms have released their liquid and then reabsorbed it, about 5 mins. Stir in the beans, chiles, spices, and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened (I’m not sure what they mean by this because I didn’t notice any “thickening”) for about 15 mins. Serve and squeeze some of the lime juice on top. I sprinkled some shredded Havarti cheese.

013 (5)

It was tasty and flavourful…but not as fantastic as I thought it could be. It’s more of a side dish than as a main meal as the book says it should be. It’s very good because it has lots of protein and fibre but if you’re eating a whole bowl of the stuff, it can be a little boring. Needless to say I didn’t eat a full serving and I put the rest away in a container.

Two days later my little sister came over and she was hungry. “You have food at your place right? I’m reeeeeaaaally hungry.” Unfortunately I hadn’t done any groceries yet and I didn’t have much in my fridge except the leftover ragout. I brought out the container and told my sister to try it but she didn’t seem too keen on it, “Hm, smells spicy…do you have anything else?” Sigh.

1/4 of a jar of Classico pasta sauce

3/4 of a can of diced tomatoes

generous splash of heavy cream

1 1/2 servings of leftover Tex-Mex Ragout

Make 2 servings of whatever pasta you like, I used angel hair. Heat the ragout in a pot along with the tomatoes and pasta sauce, stir. Once it’s heated, add the cream and stir until it’s all blended and heated through. Serve over noodles.

So very yummy! I think I’ll be making more pasta sauces like this one.

016 (5)

Bean Burger

Posted on by
Reply

I was flipping through my vegetarian cookbook, waiting for something to grab my attention. My eyes were drawn to a bean burger recipe I knew I had to try. Not only was I attracted to the photo, but I was also happy to note the cooking and prep time were minimal.

Bean Burgers

Makes four patties (so the book says)

1 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra for brushing

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

4 oz white mushrooms, finely chopped

15 oz canned pinto or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used cilantro)

salt and pepper

all-purpose flour, for dusting

hamburger buns

Preheat broiler to medium high. Heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, coriander and cumin and cook for another minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Mash the beans with a fork and then stir the beans into the mushroom mixture and add salt and pepper. Divide the mixture equally  into 4 portions, dust lightly with flour and shape into flat, round patties. Brush with oil and cook under broiler for 4-5 minutes on each side. I served the burgers with a side of McCain Xtra Crispy Superfries, which by the way are awesome.

Here’s what I did wrong:

1. When I tried to mash the beans with a fork I quickly realized it would take an hour to mash them that way so I brought out my magic bullet and put it to work. I may have pureed the beans a little too much though. They were too soft, like bean dip.

2. I made the patties too thick. I probably could have made 6 patties.

3. I forgot to grease the baking sheet.

What came out of the oven were a couple of very soft bean cakes. They looked nothing like the burger in the book; juicy and meat-like. However, they smelled incredible so I ignored the fact that they didn’t look amazing and I proceeded to scrape, slide and nudge the resistant patties onto burger buns. I dressed the burgers with cheese, tomato and pickled peppers. Essentially I was eating bean dip in a burger bun. Really, really amazing and delicious bean dip. Jay said they were more like Sloppy Joes. He has given me an idea for a future project to make these bean burgers again but they will be Sloppy Joes with pico de gallo. Mexican Sloppy Joes?

022 (7)