This is a tasty, vegan winter dish. Although I don’t care for fennel raw, I really love it roasted.
Warm White Beans with Roasted Fennel & Red Pepper
Adapted from Cooking Light
2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut in 1/2″ slices
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut in 1/2″ slices
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, sliced
2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, drained (or any white bean)
7 oz. package of fresh baby spinach, washed (about 4 c.)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450° F.
Toss fennel, red pepper, and half the oil on a baking sheet, and bake for about 20 minutes until vegetables soften and begin to brown.
While the fennel and pepper are in the oven, add remaining oil to a large skillet and saute the onions over medium-high heat. Cook for 10 minutes, until they caramelize. Add beans to the onions and cook for an additional 5 minutes; add the fennel mixture when ready. Stir in the spinach and continue cooking for a few minutes over medium heat until the leaves wilt slightly. Season and serve warm.
This is a protein-packed, high fiber side dish that keeps for days in the fridge. I made it Sunday night and J. and I have been eating it bit by bit since then. In the past, I have been lukewarm about quinoa — I felt it had a grassy overtone that took over whatever preparation I tried. I did not feel that way with this dish, probably because the dressing — though there is a very small amount of it — is very bold on its own. You could add some chili oil or sriracha if you wanted a spicy version of this salad.
1 c. quinoa
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1 c. shelled edamame, fresh or frozen & thawed
4 green onions, finely chopped
Prepare quinoa according to package directions, rinsing first if necessary. Make sure there is no water left in the bottom of your quinoa pot at the end of cooking. If there is, uncover the pot and continue cooking over a medium heat until the remaining water evaporates.
While the quinoa is cooking, whisk together the sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and ginger. Set aside. In a small pan, toast the sesame seeds for a few minutes over low heat, until they become fragrant and start to change color. Set aside.
Toss the dressing, toasted sesame seeds, edamame, and onions together with the cooked quinoa until they are well-combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours. Serve cold or room temperature.
The recipe this salad is based from, Mediterranean Barley with Chickpeas and Arugula from the April 2011 issue of Cooking Light, caught my eye as I was flipping through the magazine’s pages. I could identify all the ingredients just from looking at the photo, and they are all delicious. I had been looking for a light, high fiber dish that also had some protein in it that could keep in the fridge. J. often gets home late having not eaten since lunch, and a salad like this is the perfect small meal to tide him over until the next day.
I subbed wheat berries (the “berries” are really the entire kernel of wheat, with the hull removed) for the barley, since I had them in the house. You don’t have to soak them overnight, but they do take a long time to cook — about an hour. They have a similar texture and flavor to barley. I bought sun-dried tomatoes that were dry and reconstituted a handful in hot water before chopping them. I also added about three times the amount of arugula than the recipe called for, which made it more like grains in a green salad than greens in a grain dish. I forgot to sprinkle the pistachios on top the first time I ate this salad, and when I did add them the next day I didn’t think they added much. If you’re looking to save on cost or calories, you won’t miss them.
The heat from the drained wheat berries wilted the arugula just enough that it tasted blanched. I actually preferred the flavor of this meal the next day, once the arugula had soften even further. It is such a tough, hearty green that it easily holds up to several days in the fridge and still has some crunch to it. I think you could substitute kale with the same effect.
I really enjoyed this salad, and so did J. It felt like the kind of prepared salad you’d buy at a gourmet grocery. I’ll be making it again; it will be perfect for summer dinners.
8 c. water
16 oz. bag dried lentils, rinsed + picked through
4 carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
1 large onion, diced
6 whole cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Combine first 6 ingredients in the crock of a large slow cooker (mine is 6 quarts). Cook on HIGH for 6 hours.
Remove garlic cloves if you like (or eat them, or leave them in the soup). If you like a smoother soup, use an immersion blender in the crock for about 20 seconds until about a third of the soup is pureed, leaving some chunks. Season with remaining four ingredients, adjusting salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more about me and CITK, and keep in touch:
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Cheesy Kale Crisps: We rarely eat kale now that our farm share is over, and I want to fix that. I've wanted to try using nutritional yeast, and this recipe looks like a tasty way to do it.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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