Greens 'n' beans patties

Here is another recipe from my sister. Green vegetables and beans, especially black-eyed beans or peas, are a classic combination from the Southern United States. The dish Hoppin’ John is a stew made of beans and greens that is supposed to bring good fortune in the coming year if eaten on New Year’s Day.  This recipe gives the ingredients an Italian spin with the addition of olives and herbs and they are made into patties instead of a stew. New Year may be two weeks past but that is no reason not to eat this medley of creamy beans, zesty herbs and olives, and hearty greens. 

Servings: 3 (about 6 patties each)

Ingredients

About 2-1/2 cups cooked black eyed beans

Two handfuls of finely chopped kale

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon dried mixed Italian herbs

10 green olives, finely chopped

Salt and black pepper to taste

Toasted bread, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Mash the beans until they reach a consistency like roughly mashed potatoes so that they can be formed into patties with your hands.

2. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté the garlic and onion and add the dried herbs.

3. Add the kale and cook until kale is tender and add salt and pepper.

4. Add the parsley and olives and the mashed beans, combine well and take off the heat.

5. Heat a flat frying pan/skillet/griddle. Shape the mixture into approximately 18 round patties and cook 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. Serve hot on their own, or with bread and/or desired sauces or garnishes.

Pittza

My sister created this recipe with pitta bread as a base for a quick but authentic-tasting version of pizza. Amounts for the ingredients are not given nor is serving size since it is a very flexible recipe that you can adapt and scale based on taste and availability.

 

Ingredients

Pitta Breads

Tomato puree

Tomatoes

Red onion

Orange pepper

Garlic

Dried mixed herbs

Black pepper

Salt

Chilli flakes or sauce (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200ᵒC/400ᵒF. Toast the Pitta breads in the oven for 5 minutes. While they are toasting, slice the tomato, and onion into very thin rings and the pepper into thin strips. Chop the garlic finely. Remove the pittas from the oven, spread thickly with tomato puree (add a few drops of chilli sauce for extra heat if required). Sprinkle over the chopped garlic and mixed herbs, and layer the sliced vegetables on top. Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked and starting to brown at the edges. Sprinkle with more mixed herbs, a small pinch of salt, and chilli flakes or chilli sauce if desired.

Chickpea and pasta soup

A hearty one-pot meal, this Italian inspired soup has a multitude of flavours from herbs, onion, garlic, celery and lemon juice.

Servings: 2

Ingredients
300 g/ 12 oz cooked chickpeas (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups)
75 g pasta (I used whole-wheat fusilli)
2 sticks of celery, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 a medium onion, thinly sliced
2 spring onions, sliced with green and white parts separated
3-4 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon olive oil
about 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper (more or less to taste)
1/2 a lime or lemon for freshly squeezed juice for garnish

Method
Place the olive oil in a large pan, mix in the garlic and dried herbs and place over a low heat. Saute the garlic and herbs for about a minute, then add the onion, celery and white parts of the spring onion and cook for about 7-8 minutes. Add the cooked chickpeas and 1 tablespoon of the parsley and mix to coat well with the other vegetables. Add the pasta, salt, pepper and 3 cups/750 ml water (to save time use boiling water from a kettle or pan). Increase the heat and bring it to the boil, then lower the heat to medium and let it simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add a little water and heat through. Stir in a generous squeeze of fresh lime or lemon soup into each serving and serve hot sprinkled with the remaining fresh parsley and the spring onion greens.

Quinostrone

2013 has been declared the International Year of Quinoa so here is a quinoa based recipe for the New Year. The first time I made this version of the traditional Italian soup minestrone. The vegetables did not cook properly, the broth lacked flavour, the greens were bitter and the quinoa gave it an unpleasant texture. The next time I did not have all the vegetables needed for the common version of minestrone. I substituted some parsnip for the celery and used a larger amount of onion since I only had little garlic. I also cooked the quinoa separately and added it afterwards to the soup and also added the greens towards the end to avoid a bitter taste. The result was a tasty and satisfying stew, which is a meal in itself.

Ingredients
1/3 cup quinoa
400 g tomatoes, finely chopped (it is better to use canned tomatoes or add 3-4 tablespoons of tomato puree if you cannot find sweet, juicy tomatoes since tomatoes are an integral part of the soup)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 parsnip, finely chopped (if you prefer substitute two sticks of celery)
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Two handfuls of green leaves of your choice, finely shredded (I used half each of kale and spinach)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 crushed dried red chilli (or a pinch of dried chilli flakes)
1 teaspoon each:
Dried mixed italian herbs
Dried rosemary
Dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Cook the quinoa according to directions on the packaging. Drain if necessary when cooked and keep aside. Usually you need to add the quinoa to twice its volume (here 2/3 cup) of boiling water in a pan, allow it to return to the boil, lower the heat and cover and simmer for about 15 mins.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the onion, garlic, parsnip carrot, dried chilli and half of the dried herbs. Saute for about 10 minutes until the onions soften. Add the tomatoes and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes are soft and juicy. Add about 750ml/3 cups of water, bring to the boil and simmer, covered for about 10 mins. Add the quinoa and the rest of the dried herbs and cook for another 5-10 minutes until the  vegetables, particularly the carrot and parsnip, are soft. If you are using any tough greens like kale, chard, collards or cabbage, add them now and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the greens are tender. Then stir in tender greens like spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes, until they have wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.