In search of the perfect macaroni and cheese: February 2012

Monday, February 13, 2012

Beans 'n Greens Burritos

So, I've made kind of a major dietary choice in the past few weeks. After looking over my pictures for the last few years really brought it home how much weight I have gained lately. It can be blamed directly on my cooking for myself (and eating too much of my good cooking!) and a lack of exercise. I figured that the exercise would come in time (since I am naturalizing a lot lately so hiking a lot), but I could directly control what I ate, now. A lot of this comes from Food Matters a cookbook by (guess who), Mark Bittman. I could kiss that man! Anyways, this cookbook emphasizes a lot more vegetables, a lot less dairy and meat and the use of whole grains over white. I've been eating like this (more or less) for a few weeks and have already noticed a difference! I feel a lot healthier and I am losing weight. I'm not perfect yet; I've fallen off the wagon a few times, but I really feel it is making a difference! So, what follows is one of my favorite recipes from my new dietary regime: Beans 'n Greens burritos

Beans ‘n Greens Burritos

Ingredients:

-4 large or 8 small whole wheat flour tortillas
-2 tbsp. olive oil
-1 onion, chopped
-1 tbsp. minced garlic (3-4 cloves)
-1 tbsp. chili powder
-salt and black pepper
-1 bunch of kale (about 1 pound), roughly chopped
-2 cups cooked or canned black beans, drained, liquid reserved
-1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese, optional

Procedure:

1)Preheat oven 300F. Stack tortillas and roll them up in a sheet of aluminum foil. Place them in the oven to warm while you cook the filling.
2)Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it's hot, add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and beginning to color, 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with chili powder and salt and pepper. Add the kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until leaves wilt and release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Stir in beans, and mash them with a fork or potato masher, adding a spoonful of the reserved liquid if the mixture seems dry.
3) To roll each burrito, lay a tortilla on a flat surface and put 1/4 of mixture (or 1/8 if using the small tortillas) on the third closest to you. Sprinkle with some of the cheese. Fold the tortilla over from the bottom to cover the beans and greens, then fold in the 2 sides to fully enclose them finish rolling and put the burrito seam side down on a plate.

Note: These freeze well. Just wrap them individually in foil or wax paper and freeze in a tightly sealed container. Reheat in the microwave or oven.

The first time I made these, I made homemade whole wheat tortillas to go along with them. Between the homemade tortillas and the feta cheese, they were amazing! I kept going back for more! Normally, I don't like kale (unless it is in the form of kale chips), but this was a really good combination. I've made it quite a few times since then and have found that this mixture is good for all kinds of things: burritos, sandwiches, on rice, etc.

Homemade whole wheat tortillas

Kale and black bean mixture

Deliciousness!

French Onion soup

     Aaahhh!! Somehow, life has run away with me and I haven't had the opportunity to blog in about a month! Between getting sick, working five days a week and cooking like a crazy maniac, the time has slipped by! I just tallied up all the recipes that I would like to blog about and they total 17! Yeah, I don't think that I am going to really have the opportunity to blog about all of them! So, I'll just put up a few select favorites. Including, of course, French Onion soup.
     I had to blog about this recipe as I mentioned making the stock in my last blog. However, that is not the only reason. No, it is not the only reason at all. I can honestly say that this recipe was so amazing and delicious that it ruined having French onion soup anywhere else except at home. I mean, it just can't be beat! The rich flavor, the crunchiness of the bread, the cheese floating through out. Deliciousness in a bowl. AMAZING deliciousness. Did I mention it was delicious?

French Onion Soup (from Julia Child's The Way to Cook)

Timing: For the most delicious results, you want a slow simmer of 2 3/4 to 3 hrs.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. light olive oil or fresh peanut oil
8 cups thinly sliced onions (2.5 lbs)
1/2 tsp each salt and sugar
2 tbsp. flour
2 1/2 quarts homemade beef stock, at least 2 cups of which should be hot
4-5 tbsp. Cognac, Armagnac, or other good brandy
1 cup dry white French vermouth

Special equipment suggested: A flood processor with slicing blade or a hand slice is useful for the onions; a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan with cover for onion cooking and simmering.

Procedure:

Browning the onions- 40 minutes. Set the saucepan over moderate heat with the butter and oil; when the butter has melted, stir in the onions, cover the pan, and cook slowly until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes. Blend in the slat and sugar, raise heat to moderately high, and let the onions brown, stirring frequently until they are a dark walnut color, 25 to 30 minutes.

Simmering the soup: Sprinkle in the flour and cook slowly, stirring, for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool a moment, then whisk in 2 cups of hot stock. When well blended, bring to the simmer, adding the rest of the stock, the Cognac or brandy, and the vermouth. Cover loosely, and simmer very slowly 1 1/2 hours, adding a little water if the liquid reduces too much. Correct seasoning.

Ahead-of-time note: may be prepared in advance; chill uncovered, then cover and refrigerate or freeze.

Variation: Onion Soup Gratineed

Manufacturing note: Be sure you have a homemade type of bread with body here because flimsy loaves will disintegrate into a slimy mass.

Ingredients:
12 or more Hard-Toasted French Bread rounds
1-2 oz Swiss cheese, very thickly sliced
Ingredients for the preceding French Onion soup, heated
3/4-1 cup finely grated Swiss or Parmesan cheese

Procedure:

Assembling and baking- about 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 425 F and set the rack in the lower middle level. Line to bottom of the casserole with half the slices of toasted French bread, and spread over them the sliced cheese. Ladle on the hot onion soup and float over them a layer of toasted bread, topping with the grated cheese. At once set in the preheated oven and bake 20 to 30 minutes, until the cheese has melted and browned nicely. Serve as soon as possible- if you dally too long, the toast topping may sink into the soup.

Katie's note:

Hard-toasted french bread rounds (croutes) are simply french bread cut 3/4 inch thick basted with olive oil on both sides and baked through for 25-30 minutes in a 325 F oven. I made them while the french onion soup was cooking.

     Well, I don't think I really need to say much more about how this soup came out. It was definitely a time commitment, but the results were well worth it! I very much loved my food processor that day. Oh, I should mention that I found that one large onion yields about 3 cups of sliced onion. Delicious!!

     A big thanks to my Steve and Sarah Gentile, my siblings-in-law, without whom the soup would not have been made! Thanks for the baguette pans and the soup crocks!