Spinach burgers

There have been so many variations on the spinach veggie burgers that I never consult the recipe anymore. The original recipe called for so much oil that I tweaked it many times to get a healthier version. I had two leeks sitting on top of the fridge, and the remnants of a several days old baguette which helped me incorporate the two in the dish.

First wash and drain the spinach several times (a baby or young spinach is ideal). I use a huge bowl and place half the spinach in it. I fill the bowl with cold water and gradually shake the spinach with my hands to loosen the grit or any dirt. I drain twice. Filling up a watering can is a good option to reuse the water e.g. houseplants or garden. 

While the spinach is cooking make some homemade breadcrumbs. Remember that big bowl? Give it a good rinse and dry it thoroughly. Get out a box grater and grate the baguette stump over it. You can use the wide holes or the super pointy scratchy ones.

Wash the leeks well. Cut them into 4" segments, cut them again lengthwise and fan the layers through water ensuring that you wash the grit out. Save the rest (prepped) as you can quickly make leeks in white wine with provencal herbs.

Spinach leek feta (veggie) burgers with Za'atar and homemade breadcrumbs
Adapted from Kate's Mainly Veggie Blog Greek spinach veggie burgers
Yield: 4 servings; 8 patties, 2 per person

Ingredients:

1 large bag young spinach
olive oil, enough for pan frying, and about 2 tbsp for the burger "batter"
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup of chopped leeks (white part only)

1/2 cup or less feta cheese, crumbled

1-1/2 cup breadcrumbs (see homemade breadcrumbs post below)

1-2 tbsp dried basil

1/2 tsp of red chili flakes (more or less to taste)

1-2 tbsp of prepared Za'atar (or use the recipe here)

1 tsp salt

1 egg, mixed roughly

Directions:
Take the washed spinach and place it a large pot (like the kind to boil pasta). Heat it up over medium-low heat and turn it several times until it wilts down. It will reduce in volume almost 4 x the amount. Once it is done, turn the heat off and remove to a plate (along with it's juices). Meanwhile, heat up a the large pot and make sure the water bakes off. Once hot, add in 1 tbsp of olive oil, add the leeks and saute 5 minutes. Once fragrant stir in garlic and spinach (along with it's juices). Let the water cook off and turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, to the breadcrumbs in a large bowl, add in 1-2 tbsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp or less of red chili flakes, 2 tbsp of za'atar, 1 tsp salt and stir everything together. Stop. Smell it, does it need anything else?  Honestly it smells like pepperoni. Don't ask me why.

To the breadcrumbs add some crumbled feta cheese, the spinach and leek mixture (make sure it's cool enough to handle) and stir to combine. I use my hands. When it's warm enough for your hands add in the egg and 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and combine everything until it becomes a wet mixture. It will hold up well enough to shape and place in a cast iron pan.

Heat up a cast iron pan over medium heat. To the pan pour in 1-2 tbsp of oil. Shape patties with your hand and place in the pan, cooking 5-6 minutes per side.  The patties are done when golden on each side. I suggest serving 2 patties with quinoa cooked in vegetable broth and leeks simmered in white wine.

Homemade bread crumbs
Shredding a stump of a dried out days-old baguette over a box grater is a fabulous, cheap, and resourceful way to obtain bread crumbs. If you buy bread everyday (such as is widely done in Europe) you'll know what I'm talking about with a day (or two) old very dry baguette.

Use at least a 5-7" stump of a dried out baguette to yield 1-1/2 cups bread crumbs. Shredding it over the wider holes gives the breadcrumbs a panko-like texture (hello awesome), and using those horrid spikes on the back gives you fine breadcrumbs and a decent arm workout. Season with a bit of salt or herbs. If not using that same day, store in a airtight container in the freezer.

Using a food processor would work as well. Someone comment below if you use a food processor to make breadcrumbs. You've never made breadcrumbs. Sheesh. Get to work. 

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

This is a simple, straightforward vegetarian spinach and mushroom lasagna. It takes just over an hour to prepare. I don't mind this time, since I usually just crank up some music and open a few beers. The lasagna can be prepared in advance, and baked later. This recipe is really dedicated to two people whose lasagna recipes I absolutely adore. Kathy and Sara, I hope my version makes you proud.

I make the lasagna sauce from scratch. Egg-based lasagna noodles hold up well, and the lightly sauteéd spinach, mushrooms, and cheese make a good dish, excellent. Any mixture of mushrooms will do, such as white button, cremini, or oyster mushrooms.

This serves 4-6 people; the lasagna is cooked in a 7” x 10” casserole dish. Yes, in Europe servings sizes are smaller, including common cooking dishes, something I have come to appreciate. I will post a picture of my fridge at the bottom of this post.

First, prepare the marinara sauce. It will need about 20-25 minutes to cook. While it cooks, begin heating water for the pasta (omit if using no-boil lasagna noodles), and then prep the mushroom and spinach. Finally, get the ricotta and mozzarella out. I undercook the noodles so that they will remain firm while layering. They will get cooked anyways.

Some ingredients for the marinara sauce (above and below)

Tomato chunks for the marinara sauce

Vegetable Marinara Sauce:

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
½ cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup bell pepper or carrot, chopped, such as 1 small red bell pepper or carrot,
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp fresh parsley or 1 tbsp dried
2 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red chili flakes, optional
1/2 tsp salt
2 14 oz cans, diced low-sodium tomatoes
1/2 cup water or more (rinse out can with water to get the rest of the tomato sauce in the can)
juice of half a lemon or generous pour red wine (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat up olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium pan. Once hot, add in garlic and sauté 3 minutes.
2. Next, add in onions and bay leaf and sauté 5 minutes.
3. Add in bell peppers or carrots, herbs, and sprinkle with red chili flakes.
4. Add in tomato chunks and water. Stir in salt.
5. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan so the sauce doesn’t spurt out of the pan.
6. Once sauce is thickened, stir in lemon juice, adjust to taste. Heat through and remove bay leaf, and then turn off heat and begin assembling the rest of lasagna ingredients.

Now for the lasagna...

Noodles, mozzarella and ricotta (above)

2 very large handfuls of fresh spinach (above)

Half the spinach, cooked down (above)

Mushrooms (above)

Wilted spinach and chopped mushrooms (above)

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 batch of marinara sauce

2 generous handfuls of fresh spinach (about 4 loosely packed cups of spinach), washed and drained.

2 cups of fresh whole mushrooms (white button, cremini, or oyster)

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp white wine vinegar

1 8 oz serving of ricotta cheese

1 8 oz block of fresh mozzarella (I used 6 oz), shredded or cut into thin slices.

salt and pepper to taste

8 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions. You'll make 4 layers.

See note below.

Directions:

1. Heat up olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot add in whole mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium and continue to cook another 5 minutes. It is not essential to cook them down all the way. Drizzle 2 tsp of white wine vinegar over the mushrooms, let it sizzle and make that nice sound, then remove mushrooms to a cutting board or plate. Turn heat down to low.
2. Preheat oven to 400 F.
3. Add in spinach. Let it wilt down and then add in more. It will completely cook down. Should take between 5-7 minutes to cook it all the way down. Meanwhile, chop up the mushrooms coarsely. Set the chopped mushrooms and wilted spinach in bowl or plate.
4. Stir the ricotta in its own container to make it fluffy; shred or thinly slice the mozzarella and set aside.
5. To assemble the lasagna, lightly oil the bottom of a casserole dish and spread about 1 cup of marinara sauce along the bottom. Put 2 lasagna noodles down side by side, but not overlapping. On top of these noodles, make a layer of spinach and mushrooms, top with a few slices of mozzarella. It'll melt and spread, so a little bit of cheese goes a long way. Spoon about ½ cup to ¾ cup marinara sauce over it.
6. Place 2 more lasagna noodles down side by side so it goes on top of the previous layer. Take spoonfuls of the ricotta and spread it around making a nice even layer. You can use half the ricotta.
7. Place 2 more lasagna noodles down on top of the previous layer. Top this layer with ricotta first, then place mushrooms, spinach, and mozzarella on top. Lightly spoon ½ cup to ¾ cup marinara sauce on top.
8. Place the last 2 noodles on top and spoon about 1-1/2 cups of marinara on top. Spread the sauce evenly. You might need to add a bit more sauce on top. Once done, cover the pan with foil and place in the oven for 40 minutes.
9. Remove foil, top with remaining mozzarella cheese and bake until the cheese is golden brown on top (about another 10-12 minutes). Let stand 10 minutes once out of oven, then cut into squares with a sharp knife and serve.

Note: Cook the lasagna noodles halfway. Leave them in the pot with their cooking water. During each round of layering, I like to use a spatula or cooking spoon that is wider and longer than the pot to carefully pick up one noodle at a time. I set the utensil over the pot, and let it hang and drain over the pot the way laundry might hang on an Ikea clothes rack. This ensures that the noodles won't tear, and that I won't scald my fingers. This is also the point where I became to engrossed it how excited I was to eat the lasagna, that I forgot to take pictures. It never occurred to me to take a few final shots once it came out of the oven. Ah well.


And now, the fridge:

Doesn't look too tiny yet? Note shoebox size freezer.

Perspective fridge shot. Enjoy.

Tartiflette for Vegetarians

I have a backlog of blog posts, which means more recipes will be up in the next few days/weeks.  We ate a tartiflette this week. It seemed logical since it has been snowing all week and has been absolutely freezing.

I first tried this dish and my friend, Nico, clued me into what it was. Tartiflette is supposed to be a French dish from the Savoie region, and can be enjoyed after a day of skiing, as Nico has enjoyed on many occasions. I read somewhere that the tartiflette dish was a marketing ploy to increase the sales of reblochon cheese.

I used Raclette cheese (a Swiss cheese), omitted the lardons or bacon, and added spinach. Because I incorrectly recalled the name of the cheese at the cheese shop, I came away with Raclette instead of Reblochon. Simple, but delicious, mistake.

The recipe for this tartiflette came from the French Cooking for Dummies blog, with the substitutions I mention above.


Lightly boiled potatoes are cut up. I leave the skin on the potatoes.


Making layers.


Sauteed onions get topped above a layer of potatoes. Spinach is a nice addition.


Almost ready to hit the oven.


Raclette cheese




Tartiflette ready to go into the oven, topped with green onions and the cream-wine sauce.


Tartiflette out of the oven.

Here is what I did, although I followed the original instructions pretty closely, I did find myself altering it  and have made my adjustments below. Because the bacon would make the dish saltier, you can add in more salt, or pass the salt at the table. I added less cheese, and found it to be tasty enough.

Tartiflette for vegetarians
Yield: 6-8 servings, huge ladleful.


Ingredients:
8-10 small to medium potatoes, scrubbed and washed clean, leave them whole as they will be easier to cut into slices once partially cooked.
1 tbsp butter
1 onion, diced
1 tsp or more smoked paprika, or hot paprika
1 cup fresh cream (creme fraiche)
1 cup dry white wine
3 tbsp green onions with chives, chopped
2 cups washed fresh spinach leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 Reblochon wheel, see below

Now for the cheese, if you find a reblochon wheel, you can slice it in half and put each half (cheese side down) on top of the potatoes once the dish has been layered. Since I had raclette (which is an easily meltable cheese, I cut it into chucks and covered the top). If you cannot find any of these cheeses, I would use a 2 cups of shredded gruyere cheese, because it will also be delicious, although not authentic. Seriously, who cares? You will have an awesome dish either way.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F, and lightly grease a casserole dish.  
2. Boil water in a large pot for the potatoes. Add the potatoes whole and cook until they are soft (about 20-30 minutes). Once cooked, take off the heat and drain. 
3. Meanwhile, heat butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in onions and saute for 5-7 minutes. Stir in paprika and turn off heat. 
4. In a medium bowl combine, cream, green onions, wine and salt and pepper. Stir to combine. 
5. Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice them into rounds 1/4" thick. 
6. In a greased casserole dish, layer potatoes, onions and spinach, finishing with potatoes or onions. Pour the cream mixture on top, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. 
7. Place the cheese on top and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until golden. 
8. Serve with a salad, and pass extra salt and pepper at the table. 

Spinach Veggie Burgers

Quick update: the spinach veggie burgers were talked about for at least several days after the first batch, so they were made again. This makes it on the list of faves for future lists of weekly meals. Nico, this time around, I got some pics. 



Served alongside some garlic-chive mashed potatoes



Spinach Veggie Burgers



Patties ready to hit the frying pan. The extra oil helps the patties not stick to the pan.



Yum





Karl, the ever discerning food critic, made the following statements after a few bites of these spinach veggie burgers:

OMFG! These are ridiculous!

What is in these? Ice cream?!

These could win over a meat addict.

To me, these tasted like spanakopita veggie patties - all the yum of spanakopita, without all the work.  I was excited to try these when I saw them on Kate's Mainly Veggie blog.  I found myself nodding in agreement with her love for spinach and feta and how they were meant to be together.  I enjoyed these because they have everything that I would want in a veggie burger: texture that is more like vegetables and less like meat, a hearty patty that is packed with flavor, but doesn't dry out when cooked, a patty that can stand alone, or get served on a bun.
These turned out awesome.  Below, I have written out my version of the recipe with ingredients I had or could find easily here. I threw together some breadcrumbs to mimic stuffing, so I have incorporated the spices below.  I really liked the way the fresh spinach turned out.


Ingredients:
Yield: 4 large patties, or 6-8 medium ones. 
1 large bag fresh spinach (baby spinach is fine), washed and drained OR 1 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed.
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil
2 slices hearty whole-grain bread, cut into 1 cm chunks, plus
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (you can use 1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing instead) see note below
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp green zatar (optional)
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dill
1 tsp oregano
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
fresh pepper
1/4 cup flour (optional)
Note: the breadcrumbs plus Panko should total 1 and 1/2 cups


Directions:
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Place the bread crumbs plus Panko in an oven-safe pan. Mix in the salt, green zatar, onion flakes, garlic powder, dill and oregano.  Stir to combine and set under broiler until lightly toasted and dried out (about 5-10 minutes).  Watch carefully to avoid burning. 
3. Wash the spinach and set in a large colander to drain. 
4. Heat up a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in spinach (you may need to do this in batches). Cook the spinach until wilted, and most of the water has evaporated.
5. Remove the cooked spinach, allowing it to drain in a colander. Once cool, squeeze out extra water.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add in 1/4 cup olive oil, breadcrumbs, spinach, eggs, and feta. Top with fresh cracked black pepper.  Stir to combine everything. If the mixture is too dry, you can add in extra breadcrumbs. The right consistency is when you can make a patty without it falling apart.
7. Heat up the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
8. Carefully, place the patties in the pan and cook 3-5 minutes per side.


Serve immediately.

Chickpeas Curry with Spinach and Wild Rice

Recipe (from Manjula's Kitchen) here.

Manjula's Kitchen is one of my favorite South Asian cooking sites.  Her recipes and accompanying video instructions make her recipes easy to follow, and preparing Indian meals accessible. Most cooks of Indian origin estimate measurements without really knowing whether they used 1 tablesoon or 1 teaspoon.  This becomes a problem if you are using say red chili powder, or you end up turning a dish neon yellow with too much turmeric.  Her site is wonderful.

I've been toying with the idea of only cooking Indian foods for a month, where my main goal would be to try and cook the foods that I grew up with.  I don't even prepare the foods I grew up with, and I miss them terribly.

This week we ate chole or channa (chickpeas) with spinach and I served it with some parathas and wild rice. The chole turned out delicious. The leftovers were devoured the next day.  This took under 30 minutes to prepare. I reduced the oil to 1 T from 3 T,  found the ginger essential, increased the salt, and used canned diced tomatoes.  Boil-in-the-bag wild rice mix was a nice addition, and parathas heated up from the freezer (you can buy frozen parathas from a South Asian grocery store) rounded out the meal. Serve the chole with a side of yogurt.

Recipe (from Manjula's Kitchen) here.

Saag Tofu and Onion Garlic Naan

A healthier and skimmed down version of Saag Paneer, the ubiquitous creamed spinach and cheese dish that you can find at every Indian restaurant from the US to India.  South Asians are a group of people that could eat a lot healthier.  They have some of the highest case loads of type 2 diabetes and dysmetabolic disorders in the world - and yet they also have some of the largest micronutrient deficiencies in the developing world (iodine, vitamin A, and iron).  The burden of the nutrition transition.

This saag paneer dish has been transitioned to a healthier version.  Extra-firm tofu has been used in place of the paneer, and their is no cream (the oil for pan-frying the tofu lends itself quite well to the rest of the dish).  I served this with some whole-wheat onion-garlic naan.  Prep the onion-garlic naan ahead of time, including the onion-garlic topping. The naan takes 4-5 hours to rise, and about 30 minutes to cook and prep.  You can cook the naan while you make the saag and both will be done around the same time.

Saag Tofu
Ingredients:
1 block tofu, quick-drained, and then prepared like this (except see directions below)
3 T oil (use the leftover oil from the tofu prep) - it may be more
1 and 1/2 cups tomato chunks, either from fresh tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes
1 T Thai curry paste (I used green curry paste)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 T cumin
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 10 oz packages frozen chopped spinach or one 16 oz package
salt as needed

Directions

1. In a non-stick skillet prepare tofu with the soy-cumin pan-roasted tofu recipe - you will have some of the oil leftover. Carefully remove the tofu with a slotted spoon, and reserve the oil. Add the tofu back to the pan and add 1 T soy sauce and stir together quickly. Remove tofu and add oil back to pan. Continue to heat over medium heat. 
2. In a mixing bowl add tomatoes, Thai curry paste, turmeric and cumin and stir together well. 
3. Once oil in pan is hot (it won't take long) add in cumin seeds until they sizzle and crackle. Stir in the tomato mixture and continue to heat for about 5-6 minutes over medium heat. 
4. Add in the 2 packages of frozen chopped spinach and cover, stirring every 5-10 minutes.
5. Adjust salt as necessary, tasting before it is served. If you wanted a creamy version, you could stir in 1/2 cup of coconut milk or heavy cream just before you serve it. 
6. Add in tofu and stir to combine.

Whole-wheat onion garlic naan
Ingredients:
1 tsp yeast
3/4 cup warm water
2 T oil
3 T yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour (mine was flecked with bran) plus 1/2 cup extra for kneading
1/2 cup pastry flour (you could do reverse proportions with all-purpose instead so 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose with 1/2 cup whole wheat, but I like the whole wheat instead)
oil for oiling bowl

For naan cooking time:

melted butter (about 2 T, melted)

Squirt bottle with water

Onion-garlic topping
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 tsp chopped dill
1 tsp oregano (or cilantro, chopped)
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
squeeze of lemon juice
salt to taste

Directions for onion-garlic topping:

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and adjust for flavor and salt. This can be prepared in advance and chilled in the fridge until ready to use. 

Directions for naan:

1. Mix together yeast and warm water until bubbly or foamy. 
2. In a large mixing bowl add flour, oil, yogurt, and salt. Mix together until crumbly. Stir in yeast mixture and combine until it comes together. 
3. Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and continue to knead for 5 minutes. 
4. Oil a large bowl (about 1 tsp) and place dough in bowl, turn once, and let rise in the oven for 4-5 hours.  Next you can prepare the onion-garlic topping
5. When ready to make the naan, remove the dough from the oven and preheat oven on broil setting. If you have a pizza stone, set it in the oven to preheat. If you don't have a pizza stone, just get out a jelly-roll pan or whatever you do have and set it on the side. 
6. Turn the risen dough out on a floured surface and gently knead it together and form 6 balls. Let the dough balls rest about 10 minutes. 
7. With your hands very carefully pull the dough out in a circular motion being careful not to tear the middle. You will be stretching it ever so slightly with your hands. If you roll the dough out, you will lose the air bubbles so just carefully pull it out. Flour your hands and the surface so you don't rip the dough. I promise it is easy, just take your time. 
8. You'll notice that the dough wants to shrink back, when you have a circle about 5" in diameter, give it a quick butter wash, and place 1 T of topping on the top of the naan, spreading it out over the naan.  You can pull it out a good inch or so more and it should stay. Now, if using a stone work quickly to get them on the stone. Pick up with your hands and set on stone. You should have 2-3 ready to go. Broil 3-4 minutes. It all depends on how hot your oven is, you may need more or less time. Now if you are using a baking pan, set out as many naans as will fit (2 or 3) and pop in the oven and set the timer for 2-3 minutes. Again, it may take longer or shorter depending on the heat. If using a baking pan, after 1 minute, you can pop open the oven and hit it up with some water misting. Your naan is ready when golden on top.

Kidney Bean Spinach Salad with Caramelized Onions and Mushroom Soup

A Turkish dish adapted to a Belgian kitchen. Essentially I made this with whatever was available from the corner grocery store (and the corner grocery store is basically like a Food Lion). Prepare the vinaigrette first. Then cook the onions. Give the onions enough time to caramelize - they need to be cooked over slow heat for 30-40 minutes. This should give you enough time to prep a simple mushroom soup.

Canned beans are mixed in with the vinaigrette then heated together with caramelized onions for like 2 minutes. The salad and bean-vinaigrette mixture can be mixed together if you'll serve all the salad; store separately if you have extra salad. Beans taste extra delicious the next day.

Vinaigrette:
5-6 T fruity olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes
3 T mixed herbs (mint, parsley, tarragon, thyme)
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 14 oz red kidney beans (or garbanzo beans) rinsed and drained.

Directions:

1. Mix the olive oil with the garlic and chili pepper flakes until combined. 
2. Stir in herbs, lemon juice, cumin, and beans. Mix together and adjust taste with salt and pepper. Set aside. 

For onions:
1 small or 1/2 of a medium yellow onion, cut into rings.
2 T olive oil or butter (probably 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil would be great)

Directions for onions:

1. Heat up the olive oil or butter in a sauté pan, (cast iron if you can) over medium-high heat.
2. Put the onions in, toss around until they are nice and covered with oil, and then turn the heat to low and stir occasionally until nice and golden (about 35-40 minutes). Prep other items, while the onions cook. 
3. Once the onions are done, toss in the vinaigrette to the sauté pan, just dump the salad dressing with beans into the already hot pan (this adds a charming sizzle and really wakes up the herbs in the vinaigrette). 
4. Warm for like 2-3 minutes and give it 2-3 quick fancy chef's tosses. Remove to a bowl. 

Mushroom Soup:

1 T butter or olive oil

1 small carrot, diced into 1/4" pieces

1 small onion or the other half of the medium onion you caramelized, diced into 1/4" pieces

1 small garlic cloved, minced fine

2 cups mixed mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed, and sliced

2 T red wine

1 vegetarian broth - no salt bouillon cube in 6 cups water OR 1 quart vegetable stock and 2 cups water

1 T thyme or Italian herbs

1 T parsley for garnish

pinch truffle salt or truffle oil

Directions for mushroom soup:

1. Heat up olive oil or butter in a medium to large stockpot. Once hot add in carrot through garlic. 
2. Pour in wine (this will give you a nice cooking show effect), broth, and the herbs, reserving the parsley for a garnish. 
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a slow simmer, and partially cook for 30 minutes. This is really undersalted so adjust salt as needed.  Add in parsley and truffle salt and stir to combine. 

Assemble salad ingredients

I just reserved some raw mushrooms, and carrots from what I cooked, and added in tomatoes and measured about 1.5 cups of  spinach greens per person (a large bag). You could use bell peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, or other lettuces.  Top with kidney bean caramelized onion vinaigrette and serve with a steaming bowl of mushroom soup.

Pesto Minestrone

Remember all that pesto left in the freezer? Come January, Khavanu is soon heading away to be Belgish - so she has many pesto cubes to go through. Nick - this one is for you - and for the fact that we cannot eat your AMAZING pizzas. buh.

(obviously I know it is not really Belgish)

Pesto Minestrone

Cooking spray
1 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
4 medium carrots, chopped
2 cups cooked kidney beans OR 1 can kidney beans rinsed and drained
4 qt water or broth (I used the broth from the beans + extra salt)
1/2 cup pesto
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved OR a 22 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dried macaroni
2 cups swiss chard, chopped OR spinach
1/2 cup pesto
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large pot big enough to hold soup, spray bottom of pot with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.
2. Add in onions, garlic and carrots. Cook 5 minutes.
3. Add in beans and water.
4. Stir in pesto.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
6. Add in tomatoes, macaroni, and chard.
7. Cook until macaroni is al dente.
8. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

Stuffed Shells

This stuff shelled dish has been streamlined from most of the cheese-laden dishes to a healthier tastier one. Spinach, mustard greens, and onions replace over half the cheese that is used in regular cheesey stuffed shell recipes. The stuffing can easily be used in lasagna or manicotti as well. Assemble ahead of time, and pop in the oven for a quick weeknight meal. While it cooks you can prepare a salad or other side dish. Serves 4. If preparing the entire box of shells, double the ingredient amounts below.

Stuffed Shells Recipe
1/2 of a package large shells
1 bottle marinara sauce (you'll use maybe 1-2 cups, I use the Trader Joe's low-salt marinara). If using regular marinara omit salt below, but adjust as needed.

The cheese mixture:
8 oz ricotta cheese
3/4 - 1 cup shredded cheese (Italian pre-shredded mix)
1-2 T shredded parmesan
1 egg
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
1 tsp dried basil (opt for fresh herbs if you have them)
salt and pepper to taste
pinch cayenne or 1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 carrot, shredded (set aside - it'll be one of the last things you'll do)

The veggies:
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped or diced fine.
10 oz frozen spinach
8 oz chopped mustard greens (8 oz frozen, or 1-2 cups fresh)
1-2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

Directions:
1. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add in garlic through mustard greens. Stir often, until cooked through.
2. While the veggies are cooking, combine the ricotta and egg, and gradually add in shredded cheeses, spices, and herbs. Adjust for salt and pepper and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, top with the shredded carrot and crushed fennel and mix into the ricotta.
3. Bring a 4 quart-sized pot to boil, and once the water is boiling, add in shells. Cook until halfway through. If you cook them to al dente, they tend to break apart when stuffing. I add in a little oil to the pot while everything is boiling. I also only bring it to a gentle boil. When done, drain and rinse with cool water. Reserve some of the water in the same pot with the shells so they don't stick to each other and break.
4. If cooking, preheat oven to 350. Oil a nonstick oven proof casserole dish and place 1/2 to 1 cup of the marinara at the bottom.
5. One by one, stuff shells with spoonfuls of the ricotta veggie mixture and place in the pan.

When finished, top the shells with a generous portion of marinara and garnish with some shredded parmesan and Italian cheese blend mix.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes. The foil keeps the marinara sauce from evaporating.

Note: If preparing to serve later in the week wrap casserole in airtight plastic wrap, and set in fridge until ready to use. Save your garnishes (marinara and cheese) for right before you put in the oven.

I hope you enjoy!