White Bean Stew with Kale (or Spinach)

I have been making this delightful hearty bean stew now for a while. It's about the simplest dish to make and can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the prosciutto. 

What you'll need:

2 cans of Cannellini Beans (Drained and rinsed)

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

*Optional, 3 slices of Prosciutto (Bacon or Pancetta) cut into small bite sized pieces 

Dry white wine and/or chicken broth (for vegetarian use vegetable broth) *Note: You'll need the broth if you use the kale which doesn't produce much water, if you use the spinach you won't need hardly any liquid since it will produce plenty of water in combination with the tomatoes.

Heavy cream

Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Kale or Spinach

Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper to taste

3 Servings

What to do:

Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a Dutch Oven (Or soup pot) over medium heat while you drain and rinse the beans. Once the oil is hot, add the prosciutto to the pot and begin to dice up the tomatoes. Once the prosciutto has cooked for about 2 minutes, add the white beans and salt and pepper to taste. Then add the tomatoes, lower the heat to medium-low and cover with the lid for about 10 minutes. 

After five minutes add in 1/4 cup of white wine (If you don't want to use wine, use chicken or vegetable broth) and let simmer for 5 more minutes, and then add either your kale or your spinach. (Spinach is photographed in the pot below). I add about four full handfuls of either green to the stew. 

If you are using kale, add an additional 1/2 cup of broth to the stew. Once you add the kale or spinach be sure to season again with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the green well so it can wilt. Let the greens cook for 5 more minutes on medium-low heat and then add 1/4 cup of heavy cream.

For the last five minutes of cooking, add freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste, (I use approximately 3 tablespoons) to the pot and let it melt into the stew. If it's too dry for your liking, simply add a bit more liquid. When it comes time to serve shave more Parmesan cheese on top and enjoy!

White bean stew with kale

Vegetarian Fiesta Salad

I adapted this recipe from The Garden Grazer , it's delicious and easy to prepare. Above you see all of the ingredients I used. Of course you can add red onion, bell peppers, and/or chili peppers if you like. Mine is served chunky-salsa style.

What you'll need:

Tortilla Chips

Fresh corn on the cob

Canned black beans (drained and rinsed)

Canned garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

Roma tomatoes

Avocados

Lime

Olive Oil

-Salt, pepper, cumin, onion & garlic powder, *Sazon (Optional)

What you need to do:
First shuck the corn and remove all of the kernels. Add one tablespoon of olive oil into a Dutch Oven or large soup pot over a stove-top set to medium and add the corn. Add salt, pepper, and some zest of a lime. Just cook for about 2 minutes and then add the black and garbanzo beans. Add the salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder, cumin (& Sazon) and more lime zest to the mixture and cook with the lid on for no more than 5 minutes.

Remove the mixture from the pot and drain any liquid, then place it in a large bowl and let it cool in the refrigerator for at least one hour. When you are ready to eat, dice up the tomatoes and the avocado. (If you are using onion & peppers, dice them now) and add to the mixture. Add the juice of 1/2 a lime and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the salad and combine gently.

You can either scoop the salad 'salsa' style onto chips, or just crunch up some chips to add some texture.

Lemon Scented Roasted Broccoli

To me the tastiest and simplest way to cook broccoli is to roast it. All you need is some olive oil, a ramekin, and a brush to start with.

Preheat your oven to 400 and place all of the broccoli on a baking sheet. In order to perfectly season the broccoli, add some olive oil to a ramekin and brush the oil onto each piece of broccoli. When each piece is evenly coated, season with salt and pepper.

Next, using a microplane, add the zest of a lemon. All you need is the zest to give the broccoli the appropriate amount of lemon flavor, there is no need to add any of the juice.

Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

*Useful tip, you can add the zest of a lemon to some olive oil and set aside in a container to use for salad dressing, marinades or to enhance chicken & fish dishes.