During the summer I really don’t like to turn my oven on because it makes the entire house feel about 18 degrees warmer. I also do not want to spend the entire summer subsisting in salad. So, stove-top dinner is the solution, right!? This one-pan skillet is packed with veggies, but doesn’t feel like it’s packed with veggies; the combination of flavors are quite delicious. Topping it with a poached egg and a bit of paprika makes it feel fancy and taste even more delicious.
Dinner Skillet: Cauliflower-Sweet Potato and Spinach
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound ground turkey
3 or 4 shakes red pepper flakes
1/4-1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4-1/2 teaspoon herbs de Provence (or a mixture of oregano, basil, thyme, and whatever else looks good)
1/2 teaspoon salt
generous amount of fresh-ground black pepper
1 medium white sweet potato, peeled and diced into small cubes
1/4 head (about 1 1/2 or 2 cups) of cauliflower, diced into small pieces
5-6 oz. fresh spinach, rough chop
3-4 eggs
3-4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
pinch of paprika for each plate, to garnish
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet that has a lid over medium-high heat. Add onion, pepper, garlic and stir until softened, about 3 minutes. Add ground turkey and spices and cook until the turkey is almost browned, stirring occasionally. Add sweet potato and cauliflower and stir for about a minute, then reduce heat to medium, cover and let simmer for about 7 minutes until potato and cauliflower are softened. Add spinach and stir for about 2 minutes, when spinach is wilty turn off the heat and let sit, covered, until you are ready to serve (i.e. while you finish poaching your eggs).
I followed Alton Brown’s method for poaching eggs, because I feel one can never really go wrong with Alton Brown.
When you are read y to serve, scoop some of your skillet onto each plate, make a little well in the middle, top with a poached egg, a sprinkle of Parmesan and a pinch of paprika. (J-Mo added Sriracha to his plate because he adds Sriracha to everything he eats. You know, if you need more spice in your life.)
Cauliflower-Chickpea Curry with Kale
Several years ago I stumbled upon a magic elixir for a milky curry sauce that is easily spiced up or down and I have added it to several different versions of this recipe. This latest incarnation might be a favorite, though. You CAN have curry without coconut milk, and you CAN have curry without starchy rice, and you can have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. And by “table” I mean “spoon your own dinner into your own bowl directly from the pan on the stove.” This is officially my third time using kale, and while I am not yet sold on it completely, nor do I see myself buying kale chips anytime soon, I have so far been quite proud of my kale-y contributions to dinner.
Cauliflower-Chickpea Curry with Kale
Makes 2 generous (or 3 medium-sized) servings.
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 chicken breast or pork chop, diced
2 or 3 shakes of red pepper flakes
1 small yellow onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4-5 leaves kale, sliced into ribbons
1 cup chickpeas, rinsed and drained (half of a 15 oz. can)
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (more or less, to taste)
Sliced almonds, to garnish
Paprika, to garnish
Chop cauliflower and place in a large bowl and microwave without any water added for 7-8 minutes, until softish.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add cumin seeds and red pepper flakes and stir for a minute until fragrant. Add onion and garlic and stir for 2 or 3 minutes. If you are using raw meat, add that to your skillet now and cook until almost done. If your meat is already cooked, you’ll add it later. Ad the bell pepper, kale, chickpeas, peas, and cooked meat (if using). Simmer for 6-7 minutes until kale is soft, peas and meat are warm. Season with salt. Add steamed cauliflower florets. Remove from heat. Stir in the curry sauce, test for salt and spice–add more if necessary, cauliflower needs salt to be extra delicious–and if you’re feeling fancy put the whole thing BACK into the cauliflower bowl and serve it up on your fancy table. Or you know, just spoon it onto plates, garnish with sliced almonds and paprika. (The paprika mostly just makes it prettier, and if you have tastebuds of steel like J-Mo you can put cayenne and/or Sriracha on it instead. I stick with paprika.)
This recipe is so easy to adjust, eliminate the meat for a vegetarian option, or you can add just about anything to it: sliced up zucchini, chopped artichoke hearts, a tomato or a couple of diced up celery stalks would all be wonderful additions. Go forth and experiment!
Or, you know, make this exactly as written; it will be delicious.
Chipotle Black Bean & Kale Soup
I get inspired from all sorts of places in my cooking adventures, but this was a new one for me. The other (rainy, wet, cold) day I was at the grocery store wandering aisles trying to find something that jumped out at me for dinner. I don’t often do this, but my meal plan called for salad, which just was not going to cut it with the buckets of rain. So, I wandered. I found a carton of organic soup, Spicy Black Bean and Kale, and it just sounded amazing. Mind you, I have never had kale before, so I’m not entirely sure what struck me about this particular soup. But, I took a picture of the front of the carton, picked up a bunch of kale (the cheapest to be had, if we’re being honest), and headed home; 45 minutes later I was completely delighted with my warm, spicy, kale-y dinner.
Some people can hear a complicated piano piece once and then play it perfectly. Some people can look at a page of text and then days or weeks later have perfect recal. My talent, apparently, is taking 5 words and a picture and turning it into dinner.
Chipotle Black Bean & Kale Soup
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 14 oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 4.5 oz can green chilies
1 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 14 oz. can vegetable stock
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup frozen corn
4-6 kale leaves, sliced into thin ribbons (I used Lacinato kale, because it was the cheapest)
Splash of whipping cream (maybe ¼ cup or less)
Heat olive oil in soup pot, sauté onions and garlic until soft, add beans, green chilies, tomatoes, chipotle peppers, and stock. Bring to a boil, add salt and spices, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat, de-chunkify with an immersion blender or in batches in the regular blender. Put back in pot and return to heat. Add bell peppers, corn, and kale. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the kale is softened, maybe 10 minutes? Add cream, remove from heat, and taste-test for salt. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream and some diced green onion.
Notes:
- This is pretty spicy. To de-spice a bit, use fewer chipotle peppers (maybe 1) and regular diced tomatoes instead of fire roasted.
- To make vegan, don’t add cream or sour cream.
- Any leftover chipotle peppers you can keep in a small glass jar in the fridge indefinitely, just make sure it has a tight lid.
Mushroom-Spinach Ravioli
Trader Joe’s has something that is similar to this and after having it once I decided I simply must recreate it. It’s pretty light without any heavy or creamy sauces (although, you could add some Alfredo or bechamel sauce if you wanted to), and the flavor of so many mushrooms was divine! I’ll definitely be making this again and again.
Mushroom-Spinach Ravioli
9-11 oz ravioli or tortellini, cooked according to package directions
1-2 tb olive oil
¼ yellow onion, sliced very thin
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tablespoons white wine
1 lb brown mushrooms, rough chop
6 oz spinach, sliced into ribbons
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan or Romano cheese, for garnish
Cook pasta. In sauté pan heat olive oil, add onion, garlic, and mushrooms, cook 3-5 minutes. Add wine, turn heat to medium-low and simmer 5-7 minutes, add spinach, salt, and pepper. When spinach is wilty, sauce is done. Spoon over pasta, top with cracked pepper and Parmesan cheese. Eat while hot.
Serves 2.
Chipotle Spaghetti Squash Taco-stacks
This recipe is partly inspired from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for spaghetti squash tacos (in the cook book, not on her blog), partly from Hawaiian haystacks, and the other part of inspiration came from a fridge packed with bits of leftovers that needed to be used up. These are a little spicy, but you can de-spice by using fewer chipotle peppers and regular tomatoes instead of fire-roasted.
Chipotle Spaghetti Squash Taco-Stacks
1 medium spaghetti squash, halved, seeds scooped out
Sauce:
1 15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce*
1/4 teaspoon salt
Toppings:
Black beans (heat with a generous sprinkling of garlic salt and a few red pepper flakes)
Diced cooked turkey, chicken, steak, or pork, warmed up
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
green onion, diced
1-2 cups napa cabbage, sliced thin
Tomato, diced
Sliced olives
Cilantro, diced
Salty or briney cheese like feta or cojita
Preheat oven to 375*. Roast the spaghetti squash cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet, add about 1 or 1 1/2 cups of water, and cook for 30-45 minutes. When cooled, scrape the insides with a fork to get your “noodles.”
In the blender or a food processor blend the fire roasted tomatoes, chipotle peppers, and salt until the chilies are completely chopped up. You can keep any remaining chipotle peppers in glass jar with a tight fitting lid in the fridge for months and months.
Chop up everything else and put in little piles or little bowls, depending on how many dishes you want to wash afterwards (should go without saying that I make piles and do not dirty cute little prep bowls).
When the squash is done, make a little pile on each plate, sprinkle with salt, and then add the chipotle salsa, beans, meat, cabbage, peppers, tomato, olives, whatever. Top with feta/cojita and cilantro and eat!
You can make this vegetarian by omitting the meat topping.
heidikins cooks 