tomato

Recipe: Giant Beans in Tomato Oregano Sauce

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Last week during my Eating for Energy workshop a few participants got to talking about their favorite beans and one gentleman said how much he loved to make his beans in his slow cooker.  I thought that this sounded like a really great idea and decided to try it out myself.  I picked up these giant organic dried fava beans at the market on Saturday and decided to make a dish inspired by this dish Neil and I had a few years ago at a tasty Greek restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  The dish was made with giant white fava beans and had a tomato sauce with spices.  My recreation may not have been authentic but it sure was tasty!

Giant Beans in Tomato Oregano Sauce

Ingredients

Yields 6-8 Servings

  • 1.5 cups dried fava beans
  • 2 cups water plus more for soaking
  • 1-28oz can of crushed tomatoes
  • 2-3 garlic, sliced
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste
Soak the fava beans for 8-12 hours, changing the water once. Once they a finished soaking drain and rinse; place in a slow cooker with the 2 cups of water and the crushed tomatoes.  Cover and turn onto low for 6 hours.  After 6 hours, add the garlic, onion, oregano, salt and pepper; stir and cover and allow to slow cook for 2 more hours or until the beans are tender.  Serve with your favorite whole grain or with whole wheat pita.

Eggplant Lasagna

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Preheat oven to 375F

For the Eggplant:

  • 1 large eggplant, thinly slice
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Heat a 1/2 T in large skillet over medium-high heat and saute the eggplant on each side for 2-3 minutes. Repeat until all the eggplant has been sauteed, adding olive oil as needed. 

For the Sauce:

  • 1 small onion, minced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1T olive oil
  • 1-15oz can no-salt added diced tomatoes
  • 1-8oz can tomato paste
  • salt and pepper

In a small sauce pan heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes until soft; stir in the garlic- cook one minute.  Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer on low until ready to use. 

For the Nutty-Bean Parsley Cheeze:

  • 1-15oz can white beans
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, chopped
  • 2T each of macadamia nuts & cashews
  • 2T nutritional yeast (optional)
  • 1t salt
  • 1/2t pepper

Place everything in a food processor and process until smooth. 

1 large tomato, sliced into 4 rounds

Assembly: 
You will need an 8×8 baking dish.

  1. Spoon in 1/3 of the sauce and evenly distribute across the bottom of the baking dish.
  2. Place one single layer of eggplant over the sauce, some of the eggplant will over lap-that is fine.
  3. On top of the eggplant spread 1/3 of the cheeze mixture in one even layer.
  4. Top the cheeze layer with sauce.
  5. Repeat steps 2-4.
  6. Repeat steps 2 & 3.
  7. Top with the slices of tomato and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Recipe: Tex Mex Avocado Pasta

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I came across Angela of Oh She Glows recipe for 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta and I thought it sounded really great. Since I had a bunch of avocados to use up this week I decided to create this recipe with a twist; I really wanted to add more veggies and protein to the dish and spice it up a little.

The first thing I did was weigh out four portions of pasta, two for this dish and two for a dish I made for our lunches. I love using a kitchen scale for things like pasta and snacks because it gives a much more accurate portion than just counting how many crackers are in a serving or approximate measurement.

Tex Mex Avocado Pasta

Inspired by Oh She Glows

Serves 2


Ingredients:

  • 1 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 12 oz grape tomatoes
  • 1 large avocado, pitted and diced
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 tbsp basil infused olive oil
  • 1 tsp hot smoked paprika
  • 2 cups baby spinach leaves
  • 2 servings of pasta (I used Jovial Whole Grain Fusilli)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400F.  Place the chickpeas and tomatoes in a medium oven safe bowl and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set to the side.
  2. Cook your pasta according to the directions on the package.
  3. In a mini chopper or food processor add the avocado, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, basil olive oil, and smoked paprika and blend until smooth.
  4. To a large bowl add the baby spinach, tomatoes & chickpeas and sauce and top with the cooked pasta; mix to combine.  Serve immediately.