Black bean burgers

Black bean veggie burgers are among my favorites. These are easy to make, and the spices can be customized to your tastes. These veggie burgers are moist and hearty. Serve them hamburger style on a whole-grain bun, with lettuce, tomatoes, and other condiments, or serve over rice, a salad, or along with baked fries and veggies.

Once the ingredients have been combined, let the mixture rest for about 30 minutes in the fridge. This makes assembling the burgers easier. Once it's rested, form patties in a 1/2 cup measuring cup. To do this, use a 1/2 cup or 1/3 cup measuring cup lightly coated with a bit of olive oil. Add the patty mixture to the measuring cup and carefully dislodge the patty by lightly smacking the back of the measuring cup. I was a little bit overzealous in my smacking, as evidenced by the photos above. Once all the patties are assembled you can dredge the patties in a bit of corn meal, and pan-fry them in a cast iron pan (a non-stick skillet works fine). Store cooked patties in a warm oven on a plate or baking sheet.

The black bean burgers pictured above were served over quinoa and topped with an avocado cucumber salsa.

Black bean cheddar burgers
Yield: 6 patties if formed with a 1/2 cup measure*; 8 to 10 if using a 1/3 cup measure*. Serves 4. 

Ingredients:

3 cups black beans, cooked (or 2, 14 oz cans of black beans, rinsed and drained)

1 small onion, chopped fine

3 cloves garlic, chopped fine

a few tablespoons of water, divided 

1 tsp salt
1-2 tbsp tomato paste (optional)

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (can substitute monterrey jack or pepper jack)

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1-2 tbsp chili powder

1-2 tbsp chopped banana peppers (or canned jalapeños)
olive oil 

Optional add ins:

1/3 cup oats

1-2 small beets, shredded 

corn meal (for dredging, optional)

Directions:

Option 1: Use a large food processor.

1. Shred the cheese using the shredder attachment. Remove the shredded cheese from the food processor, and set aside in another bowl. If using the beet, shred. Leave the shredded beets in the work bowl of the food processor.

2. To the food processor, add the onion and garlic, and pulse until combined (about 10 seconds). 

3. Add the black beans, tomato paste, chili powder, salt, and oats. Pulse until combined, pausing every few seconds to scrape the sides of the food processor. You might need to add in a few tablespoons of water if the mixture appears dry. 

4. Add in the shredded cheese, cilantro, and banana peppers, and pulse until all is combined. Adjust for taste, and place the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Option 2: Use a large mixing bowl and a potato masher.

1. In a mixing bowl, combine black beans, tomato paste, onions, and garlic. With a potato masher, mash the ingredients together adding a tablespoon of water at a time if the mixture is too dry. 

2. Add in the spices, shredded cheese, cilantro, banana peppers, and any optional ingredients. 

3. Continue to mash everything until the mixture can hold on its own.  You can test this by forming a ball with your hand and seeing if it falls apart easily. 

4. Place the work bowl in the fridge, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Combining and shaping the patties:
Set a shallow bowl with corn meal. In a 1/2 cup or 1/3 cup measure*, spoon the bean mixture into the measuring cup and gently press down until a patty forms. Turn the measuring cup over, and lightly tap the top to dislodge the patty. Finish shaping the patty with your hands, and dredge in corn meal. Set on a plate until ready to cook.

Heat up a cast-iron skillet (non-stick skillet is fine too). Pour in about 2-3 tbsp of olive oil and once the oil is hot, add in the patties and cook on each side for about 5-6 minutes. Store cooked patties in a warm oven on a plate or baking sheet.

*Note: I find that shaping the patties with the 1/2 cup measure makes a hearty veggie burger that is perfect for a bun. In addition, I've made a few notes above on which ingredients can be subbed in and out. These can be made vegan by omitting the cheese; tomato paste can be omitted as well (thanks, Stephanie!)

Black bean galette with smoked sun-dried tomatoes and chipotle

The ever so agreeable Two Hearted

I have an unhealthy obsession with galette dough. It has all but five ingredients, and it just never fails. It's got bite, it's flaky without compromise, and it is remarkably forgiving when it's rolled out. It takes a bit of patience to get the technique down. I prefer hand mashing the ice cold butter in with my hand and a fork, but a stand mixer or hand mixer would make this convenient dough, ready much faster. If you make this and live in a hot climate, ice the counter down with ice or ice packs, before you roll it out. It'll help keep the butter in solid form.

This galette has black beans, smoked sun-dried tomatoes, and queso quesadilla, but you can also just follow the fast and furious black beans empanada post for another version of this exact recipe. The smoked sun-dried tomatoes taste like bacon! I kid you not! They are so delicious! The queso quesadilla is similar to a medium white cheddar (or an oude gouda) and a mont jack or light cheddar could be used instead. Serve with a smoky hot salsa, and salad. Leftovers can last up to a week in the fridge.


Black bean galette with smoked sun-dried tomatoes and chipotle.  
Yield: 6 servings, large-ish wedges, but more likely to serve 4 hungry people.
Ingredients:
1 recipe galette dough
2-3 tbsp tomato chunks, or pizza sauce
2 cups cooked black beans, or 1 14 oz can black beans rinsed and drained
1 green onion, 2-3 green onions if small, chopped fine
handful cilantro chopped
zest of a lime
1 chipotle pepper, chopped fine plus 1 and 1/2 tbsp adobo sauce
1-2 tsp cumin
1-2 tbsp smoked sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
4 oz quesadilla cheese (queso quesadilla or mont jack and cheddar blend), sliced thinly or grated.


Directions:
If you have an hour or so, prep the galette dough and store it in the fridge until you've assembled the pie ingredients. It should take less than an hour to prep. This step can be assembled ahead of time.

Preheat the oven to 375º F/190º C. For the filling, place all ingredients, except the cheese, in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Adjust the seasonings for taste.

When ready, roll out the galette dough on the counter up to 14" in diameter, about 1/4" thick. Once rolled out, fold into quarters and place on the back of a baking sheet. Unfold the quarters, you want the edges to hang off the baking sheet. Spoon a few tomato chunks onto the rolled out galette dough, and make a circle about 10" wide. This should be a very thin layer. Spoon the black bean mixture on top, top with the cheese, and fold the galette onto itself making pleats as you fold up. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand a few minutes before cutting and serving.

Thank you Sara: A Bell's Two Hearted accompanies this quite well. I could nerd out on the acidity and the complimentary mouth feel of light hop presence matching the spiciness of the chipotle, but I had this along with a Victory Prima Pils, and while they were both delicious, the Two Hearted felt like it held up to the galette. Mmm Two Hearted. Mmmm.

5-bean chili with Leffe brown beer and chipotle peppers

I try to cook beans from scratch because I like that they aren't too processed, but I use canned beans too. To make it easier to use dried beans, I'll share how I normally prep them. I either soak the beans, in a huge bowl filled with lots of water, first thing in the morning, or I soak them overnight. If you soak them in the morning, you can cook the beans when you prep dinner; if you soak overnight, you can cook them first thing in the morning. They can cook, mostly ignored, in a large soup stockpot, or pressure cooker, or crock-pot (see this post on cooking beans and lentils). Once done cooking, you can store the cooled beans and broth in the fridge until ready to use. If you start doing this 2 days per week, you'll have lots of healthy beans to throw into random dishes. For example, stirring in a cup of mixed beans into a pasta dish, topping a salad, filling a burrito with them, or beans on toast. Or perhaps some spicy chili for a cool fall day?

I've used the Belgian Leffe brown beer for this because it has a balanced subtle sweetness, and I like the malty notes it left in the chili. Use any brown or amber beers (or really any beer you feel like dumping into a soup pot) with a nice body and aroma. Plus it's always cool to cook with beer. 

5-bean chili with Leffe brown beer and chipotle peppers

Ingredients: listed in order of use

Yield: 4 servings, about 1 and 1/2 cups

1 and 1/4 cup dried beans, (any mixture of dried black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, pinto beans, white beans) soaked and cooked; Canned beans are totally fine too. Use 2 or 3, 14 oz cans of different canned beans.

1 tsp olive oil

1 red onion

1 bay leaf

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup Leffe dark beer, slightly more if foamy at first (let it reduce by half), 

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

2 Tbsp chili powder (recipe below)

1 small canned chipotle pepper, about 1 tbsp chopped pepper, add more for extra heat

remainder of beer

1 cup canned diced tomatoes

1 cup corn, frozen or canned

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

cilantro to garnish

1/2 tsp salt (to taste if not enough)

yogurt and shredded cheese (optional for garnish)

Chili powder:

1 T of smoked paprika

1 T cumin

1 T oregano (or other mixed herbs such as thyme, mint,)

1/8 tsp cayenne powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

This is a variation that can be adjusted to your taste and preference. The smoked paprika is very delicious in this dish. I'd recommend adding a tsp to the chili just before serving. Mix all the spices together in a small bowl and set aside until ready to use.

Directions:

1. Saute onions and garlic in the olive oil. Once the onions turn a bit golden, add in 1 cup or more of the beer. It will foam and settle down, releasing a delicious smell. Let it reduce by half, then add in the green bell peppers.
2. Add in 2 T of the spice mixture and the chipotle peppers (a chopped chipotle pepper should be about 2 tbsp).
3. Add the cooked beans to the pot along with the about 1 cup of the bean broth. If using canned beans, rinse and drain them (it removes the salty brine taste), and use 1 cup water instead. Pour the rest of the beer into the chili, along with 1 cup of chopped tomatoes. Stir to combine, turn up heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Before serving add in 1 cup of canned corn (if using frozen corn add it in 10 minutes before the chili is done). Stir in rest of beer and 1tbsp of lime juice.

Top with a dollop of plain yogurt, shredded cheese and garlic bread.

Black bean salsa with avocado and cukes

This is a simple healthy fresh black bean salsa. It's perfect with chips or as a side. If using cucumbers, it stores up to 2 days. The cukes add a nice crunch, but can be omitted (I'm sneaking in more garden produce). The avocado hits the spot. This recipe changes with whatever I have on hand. Tomatoes, a combination of bell peppers, or corn can be used as well.

Ingredients:

Yield: approx. 2 cups

1/2 cup or more of dried black beans, soaked and cooked, or 1 can black beans rinsed and drained

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped fine, about 1/2 cup

1/2 of a small red onion, chopped, about 2 T

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

1 small lemon cucumber, seeds removed, chopped fine, or 1/2 red yellow bell pepper chopped

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 canned whole jalapenos, chopped, or 1 jalapeno seeded and diced.

chopped cilantro to taste

1 tbsp or more of fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 of a ripe avocado, small dice. I like to cut all the way around the avocado, peel apart the two sides and gently make dices in the avocado flesh. Then I use a spoon to scoop them all out. This works well with ripe avocados.

Directions:

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, add in cooked black beans, the chopped red peppers, onions, garlic and cukes (or yellow bell peppers if using). Stir to combine.
2. Add in apple cider vinegar, jalapenos, lime juice, salt, and cilantro. Stir together and adjust for lime juice, heat, and salt.
3. Gently stir in avocado cubes, and fold gently to combine all ingredients.  

Fast and Furious Black Bean Empanadas

Just when I was beginning to think chipotle peppers were so two years ago, I pulled some out of the freezer. Once opened, canned chipotle peppers can be frozen. When ready to use, just remove them and chop them into the dish you're preparing. These are spicy empanadas, use 1 pepper or 1/2 if you don't like spicy foods. The chipotle lends a subtle smokiness. Ready-made pastry dough and canned black beans make this a fast dish. These are easy to put together once you have all the ingredients ready.

Fast and Furious Black Bean Empanadas

Serves: 4 Yield: 1 large empanada

1 ready-made refrigerated pastry dough

1 cup dried black beans, soaked and cooked, or 1, 14 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

4 spring onions, chopped

1/2 cup or more cream cheese

2 chipotle peppers, chopped. Handle peppers with gloves.

1/3 cup tomato chunks, from canned tomato chunks

1/2 cup shredded cheese or queso quesadilla

Preheat oven to 400 °F on the broiler setting. Move the racks to the lowest setting. You will broil for the first 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 350 °F and bake for another 30 minutes.

Directions:

1. Add chopped green onions to a large mixing bowl. Add in cream cheese and chopped chipotle peppers. Stir to combine.

2. Add in black beans and continue to stir together until combined. The beans should be coated. Adjust for taste. I didn't add any salt, and found that the chipotle gave it enough smoke and salt.

3. Roll out the pastry on a large baking sheet or cold pizza stone. You should be able to unroll the pastry directly onto the baking sheet or stone. Add half of the prepared filling to one-half of the pastry. You'll fold it over on one side like a calzone, or the way you'd fold a sheet of paper in half. Spread the black beans in an even layer. Leave a 3/4" border.

4. Fold the pastry on top of the black bean mixture and fold up the edges slightly. Take the tines of a fork and push the rolled edges down to seal in the stuffing.

5. Bake at 400 °F on broil for the first 8-10 minutes. Turn heat down to 350 °F and bake another 30 minutes.  

Black Bean Empanadas

Black bean empanadas with chipotle salsa

Empanadas on a baking stone

Serve these baked black bean empanadas with a fiery hot salsa and sour cream. A green and red cabbage salad with radish and lime would be a nice side. The black bean filling can be prepared several days in advance. Frozen defrosted tofu adds a meatier texture. You won't miss fried empanadas after trying this.

Black Bean Empanadas

Yield: 8 Empanadas

1 recipe samosa dough (below)

2 tsp peanut oil or olive oil, divided

½ block of frozen tofu, defrosted, and chopped fine (optional)

2 cloves garlic, minced fine

½ onion, diced

½ cup bell pepper, diced

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 cup dried black beans, soaked and cooked)

salt to taste

½ cup cilantro, chopped

½ cup - 1 cup of decent mild melting cheese (use queso Oaxaca or queso quesadilla if you can find it)

¼ cup flour for rolling the dough

1 egg, plus 1 tbsp milk, beaten together (optional)

Salsa and sour cream for serving

Directions

1. Prepare the samosa dough (or you could purchase ready-prepared empanada dough).
2. Heat up 1 tsp oil in a wide skillet. Once hot add in tofu and stir-fry over medium-high heat. Once tofu is golden-brown (should take 7-9 minutes) stir in garlic until fragrant (about 1 minute). Remove tofu-garlic mixture from pan.
3. Heat up the remaining 1 tsp of oil in the same wide skillet over medium-high heat. If the pan is hot you won't have to wait long for the oil to heat up. Add in onions and after 2 minutes add in diced bell peppers (if you are omitting the tofu, add the garlic at this step). Stir fry for 5 minutes until the mixture is sweating. Stir in oregano, cumin, and paprika. Add ½ tsp of salt.
4. Stir in black beans and tofu mixture and adjust for salt. I found ½ tsp adequate for salt. Stir in cilantro and set aside.
5. Set out cheese in another bowl.
6. Preheat oven to 425° F.
7. Lightly roll the balls in a small bit of flour, and roll out the dough balls on a lightly floured surface. Roll the balls into a 7-8” circle about the thickness of a corn tortilla. The dough will shrink back slightly.
8. Place 1 tbsp of cheese (or less) and about 2 tbsp of black bean stuffing on one side of the circle. Keep about a 1/2” border from the sides.
9. Fold the samosa over on the borders. If you lose some beans tuck them back in, or remove. Flatten the edges together with the tines of a fork. Make sure the empanada is sealed. Brush with egg mixture and place on a baking sheet. Repeat for the remaining empanadas.
10. When ready, bake at 425° F for 10 minutes, and then turn heat down to 375° F and bake another 15 minutes (or until golden brown).

Samosa Empanada Dough

(Recipe adapted from Aarti Paarti's samosa dough recipe)

I must say that I have used and reused Aarti Paarti's dough in many baked savory pastries. It's really simple to make, and can be prepared in the time it takes you to buy ready made dough from the grocery store. You could also make a galette dough, but this is a no-fuss pastry dough.

Yield: enough dough for 8 empanadas

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup pastry-flour

½ cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, add ¼ tsp of apple cider vinegar to ½ cup milk or soymilk, and let rest for 5-10 minutes – and if you don't have those, use ¼ cup yogurt thinned with ¼ cup water)

¼ cup vegetable oil

pinch salt

Directions:

1. Stir together flours and salt.
2. Add in buttermilk and vegetable oil to the flour mixture and stir together. Begin to knead the dough with your hands and once it starts to come together, turn it out on a floured surface and continue to knead for about 5 minutes until it comes together. The dough will be slightly oily but shouldn't stick to the counter.
3. Roll or form it into a ball and let it rest for 15 minutes.
4. Once ready to use, roll out the dough into a 12” log. Cut the dough in half, and cut each half into 4 equal pieces.
5. Roll the 8 pieces into balls and let rest on the counter until ready to use.

Five Bean Chipotle Chili

This American in Belgium found canned chipotle in adobo sauce at Exotic World (get ‘jer mind out the gutter - it is an international food market). Where I also stocked up on over-priced hot sauce, pinto beans (my god do I love pinto beans), papadums, phyllo dough, Turkish feta cheese, and cilantro. 

This chili is perfect for cold weather. It comes together easily, and although the recipe calls for home-cooked beans, canned beans are a fine substitute. Chipotle peppers and pinto beans are among some of my favorite foods. This turns out to be a spicy chili which carries a lot of heat. Serve with some sour cream or yogurt, green onions, shredded cheese, and cilantro.  I made a quick chili powder out of some pantry spices. It's posted below the recipe.

Yield: 4 servings, 1 and 1/2 cups each

Ingredients:
1/3 cup pinto beans, dried
1/3 cup black beans, dried
1/3 cup kidney beans, dried
1/3 cup garbanzo beans, dried
1/3 cup navy or cannelini beans, dried
2 quarts of fresh water or enough to cover and soak the beans so that the beans can expand.
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup red onions or regular onions diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
2 T chili powder (recipe below)
2-3 cups water or vegetable broth (or 1 vegetarian bouillon cube)
1 chipotle pepper, chopped (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
2 T of adobo sauce
1 cooked, diced potato, optional
large handful cilantro, chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped into chives.


Chili powder
Yield: 2 tbsp
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Prepare the beans using the soak and cook method or by using a pressure cooker.  Cook the beans with 1/8 tsp asafoetida powder and 1 bay leaf.  Asafoetida powder is meant to reduce the gas-causing effects of bean consumption. Set aside the cooked beans, until ready to use. Alternatively, you could use different varieties (kidney, pinto, black beans, chickpeas) of canned beans (14 oz cans).
2. In a large soup stockpot heat up olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add in garlic and onions and saute for 3-5 minutes.  Add in chili powder and stir to combine.
3. Add in tomato chunks with their sauce and stir together.  Add in beans, water or broth if using, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, and stir to combine.
4. Cook uncovered until the chili begins to boil, then cover the pot with a lid, turn down heat to medium, and simmer the beans for 30 minutes. Stir it often, and adjust for taste. You can add more chili powder or chipotle peppers if you want it spicier.
5.  If using the cooked potato, add it in the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
6.  Garnish the chili with sour cream, chives, cilantro, and shredded cheese if desired.

Potato and Black Bean Burritos with Fresh Salsa

Belgian Burritos! So not really, but I'm really missing Mexican and Tex-Mex foods. I even bought a casserole dish just for this. Well the casserole was advertised as being on sale, but I couldn't understand the Dutch well enough to read that I needed to have 8 Carrefour (the local grocery chain) stamp/tickets to get the "sale" price. Sara - You would LOVE this dish. Miss you lots.  Make the salsa first so the flavors can steep.

Ingredients:

For the burritos

1 large baking potato (or 2 medium sized ones, or 4-6 small ones), diced and cooked. Sweet potatoes are even better in this dish than regular potatoes.
2 cups black beans cooked, or 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 package 8" tortillas (this made enough for 8 burritos)
1 cup shredded cheddar, you can use more or less if cheese is your thing (use monterey jack or whatever yummy US mexican cheese blend you can find)
1/2 cup onion, chopped (you can use the other half in the salsa)
2 cloves garlic, chopped and divided (1 clove in the potatoes, the other in the black beans)
2 tsp cumin, divided (1 tsp in the potatoes and the other in the black beans)
1 tsp ancho chili powder or regular chili powder, divided (yep, same as above)
pinch cayenne
salt to taste
1/2 of a lime (probably one of the halves used to make salsa)

Ingredients for the salsa

3 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 T chopped onion
1 large garlic clove chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and deveined, and chopped
juice of 2 limes
salt to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 F, and oil a casserole dish.
2. Cook potatoes either in microwave or boil them. Once done cooking, add in 1 tsp cumin, salt, pinch cayenne, 1/2 tsp of ancho chili powder, and 1 garlic clove. Mash together and set aside. Adjust seasonings if necessary. You can reserve some of the cooking water to make the mashing easier. 
3. In a saucepan, heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat and add onion and the other garlic clove. After 5 minutes, add in cumin, salt, and ancho chili powder. 
4. Next, add in black beans and stir to combine, adding water if it gets too dry. Squeeze 1/2 a lime over the black beans, stir and set aside. Adjust with salt and pepper if necessary.
5. Meanwhile, set out tortillas to warm in the oven to soften them up. Once warm, like a burrito, layer the tortilla with potatoes, cheddar cheese, and black beans. Roll up and place in casserole dish. Bake for 10-15 minutes. 

For the Salsa

1. Combine the tomatoes, garlic, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, lime juice and salt. Mix well. You may need more or less lime juice, so squeeze in 1 lime, then taste and adjust. 
2. Stir in cilantro and avocado. Adjust seasoning with salt if needed.
3. Serve with burritos.

And one last pica:

Luggage Duds:

Rice Noodle Soup

This is clear soup that is meant to resemble a vegetarian pho Vietnamese-style rice noodle soup. Topped with mint, basil, tomatoes and chives. The broth has been flavored with crushed anise seeds and ginger.


Serves 4 to 6

Broth:
1-2 qts water
4-5 anise pods, crushed in a mortar and pestle
2 T ginger, minced fine
juice of 2 medium limes or lemons
1/4 cup Bragg's liquid aminos or soy sauce
1 larch bunch scallions, white parts only, reserve green parts, chop and set aside.
2 carrots, sliced into coins

1. Boil water and add in anise seeds, ginger, lime juice, and Bragg's simmer for 10-12 minutes.
2. Add scallions and carrots, cook 10 minutes longer. Adjust for salt.
3. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Alternatively place anise seeds and ginger in a tea bag and remove once done. Omit straining step.
4. Return broth, carrots and scallion to pot and keep hot.


Soup:
1 package rice noodles or other pasta noodle, cooked according to directions and set aside
1-2 cups black beans, if by can, drained and rinsed
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup each, basil, mint, bean sprouts
1/4 cup chives
Toasted sesame seed oil, set aside
Soy sauce, set aside
Sriracha sauce, set aside
Lime wedges, quartered, set aside

1. Place 1/2 cup noodles and 1/3 cup black beans in large soup bowl. Pour 2 large ladlefuls of broth over noodles.
2. Top with fresh herbs, tomatoes, 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil, Sriracha, and soy sauce. If serving family-style place herbs, tomatoes, bean sprouts, oils and sauces in a large platter and allow folks to serve themselves.

Creamy Feta Quinoa

Creamy Feta Quinoa

This is one of those lazy cooking recipes that is suited for spring or summer days, even though you could readily make this anytime of the year. Quinoa is quick-cooking grain and is packed full of good nutrients including calcium, protein, iron and fiber. The rest of the salad ingredients kick up the nutrition in this dish. Use whichever salad vegetables you have around that need to get used up.

For salad
1 cup quinoa, uncooked
1-2 cups water
1/2 cucumber, quartered
1-2 cups mixed salad greens (spinach, mesclun, & arugula)
1 cup green or red cabbage, finely chopped to give consistency of shredded cabbage
1 tomato, diced.
1/2 cup black beans, drained
1/2 cup feta cheese
2 T parmesan cheese or other hard grated salty cheese

For dressing:
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, or 1 large clove, minced fine
1 spring onion (green onion), chopped fine or shallot if you have that instead
1 tsp oregano, or any dried or fresh herbs (if fresh 1 T)
1-2 tsp dijon mustard
pinch cayenne
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place quinoa in a bowl and cover with water to remove the saponins and then make the dressing so it has time to marinade while you prep the other items. The saponins are found on the outside of the quinoa and can be removed by rinsing. They aren't particularly harmful although the quinoa (I've never noticed) may taste bitter if you skip this step.
2. In a small mixing bowl, place lemon juice through salt and pepper, and mix well. Set aside.
3. Drain quinoa and place in a saucepan and cover with 1.5 cups water. Cook over medium heat and add more water if needed. The quinoa should take between 10-15 minutes to cook.
4. Prep and cut up vegetables. Place cabbage, mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, black beans and cheeses in a bowl. Check on quinoa. If it looks light and fluffy, it is done. Set aside the cooked quinoa and turn out into a bowl to cool. It doesn't have to be cold, just not steaming.
5. Gently, mix in the quinoa with the rest of the ingredients. The warmth of the fresh-cooked quinoa will melt the feta and parmesan cheese into a creamy coating.
6. Mix up the salad dressing before pouring into the feta-quinoa-salad mixture. Gently toss and mix everything together and turn out into salad bowls or plates to serve.

Stores nicely in the fridge (good weekday meals) although I think it tastes best when just mixed and served.