Kale Braised with Carmelized Onions and Rutabagas

One thing I've learned about cooking is that you can never have too many carmelized onions! They are so very delicious that sometimes I eat them as a vegetable. I should have gone food shopping yesterday, but didn't want to brave the Saturday crowds, so I had a look in the fridge to see what I could put together. I had a lovely bunch of curly kale and a medium-sized rutabaga as well as a few onions, so this dish was born. Its really a riff on Italian minestra, which is garlicky greens and beans, and southern-style turnip greens with turnips. Whatever it is, it certainly is delicious - so delicious that I ate half of it in one sitting. Luckily, its pretty healthy, so no problem. The rest was packaged up for work lunches this coming week.

Kale Braised with Carmelized Onions and Rutabagas
2 Tbs butter or margerine
4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 onions halved and sliced very thin
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium rutabaga, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 Tbs smoked paprika
1 Tbs garlic salt/Adobo seasoning
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 bunch curly kale
2 Tbs water

In a large pot with a tight fitting lid, melt half the butter and 1 Tbs of oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute, stirring often, for about 10 minutes until starting to carmelize and brown. Add the remaining oil, minced garlic, rutabaga, paprika, salt and pepper, stir well so that everything is coated with oil and spices. Turn heat down to medium, cover tightly, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring twice, until rutabagas are just barely tender. Add water to keep from sticking if necessary - this should not be necessary if your pot is nonstick. Uncover, add the kale and stir well. Cover again and let steam for about 4 - 5 minutes, until kale is wilted. Stir well and adjust for salt and pepper.

The onions continued to carmelize as the other veggies were cooking and ended up sweet and almost sticky, as did the rutabagas, which also were beginning to carmelize. This would be yummy with a spritz of lemon juice, or even balsamic vinegar to cut the buttery richness of the oil. I used Earth Balance spread rather than butter, since that's what I had in the house (Lent is upon us, you know), and it was yummy. I think this would be a fabulous base for a pasta salad - just stir in about a half pound of pasta, cooked al dente.

Again, I have no photo, and I apologize. I've unpacked the camera, but haven't found the charger yet, so photos will have to wait. Suffice it to say that this was a very pretty dish, with the small orange cubes peeking out from the dark green of the kale. In the meantime, I'll continue posting vegan recipes with photos from the archives of my omni cooking blog.

In the Orthodox Church, the Rite of Forgiveness at vespers this Sunday afternoon is the official beginning of the fast, of Great Lent. Every person in the parish, from the youngest to the oldest, will line up and ask forgiveness of each other for what they have done and what they have failed to do during the past year. There is always much hugging and many tears as hurts are forgiven. It never fails to move me, and humble me as well. So, in the spirit of Forgiveness Sunday, dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to forgive me for my sins and offenses, for what I have done and what I have failed to do, for how I have consistently missed the mark and fallen short of Christ's example.

Caponata and Muffaletta

Caponata and Muffaletta....... Don't be afraid of the odd sounding names or the long list of ingredients. These are quick and easy to make, and so very delicious that they will become favorites in your house.

What is the difference, anyway? They are both delicious vegetable mixtures that are used as either a salad or a pickle, with Caponata being the Italian version and Muffaletta being the Cajun version. Caponata is cooked and always contains eggplant; muffaletta is marinated and always contains olives. I love them both and have two killer recipes.

This will be a splurge for us, but we haven't gone out to eat, not even to get McDonalds fries in weeks! We've been sooooo good about our food budget that I think we can handle the specialty items like artichoke hearts.... I'll decide which one I make after I go food shopping later on today, and will post a photo then.

So, what do you DO with these two zesty vegetable mixtures anyway? Well, certainly you can use them as a garnish for burgers and patties... I've put them on pizza! My daughter eats them as a dip, scooping huge mouthfuls out with pretzels.

But my favorite is as a sandwich filling. What you do is take a round loaf of bread and cut the top off. Pull out the insides so you have a bread bowl. Layer some caponata, then sliced vegan provolone cheese, sliced tomatoes, vegan cold cuts and baked tofu or seitan, then repeat. Put the lid on the bowl, wrap in aluminum foil, and bake in a slow oven for about 15 minutes so that everything is nice and hot and melty. Let sit for another 15 minutes (or until it reaches room temp, even). Then cut wedges and enjoy. Yum! Its also great mixed with pasta for a nice pasta salad.

Muffaletta
1 C chopped green olives
1 C chopped celery
1 carrot, peeled and sliced very, very thin
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
1/2 C chopped artichoke hearts
3 green onions sliced or 1/2 C minced sweet onion (like Vidalia)
1/4 C lemon juice or white wine vinegar
1 C chopped black olives
1/2 C chopped pimentos
1/2 C chopped cauliflower florets
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
3 - 4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs capers
1 tsp Herbes de Provence, or equal parts of oregano, basil and thyme
1 tsp hot cajun seasoning like Tony Chachere's (E's favorite spice)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together well, cover tightly, and let marinate in the fridge at least overnight.

Caponata
1 eggplant cut in 1/2 inch cubes (about 1.5 - 2 lbs)
3 med zucchini in 1/2 inch cubes
2 onions finely chopped
1 Tbs chopped garlic
3 stalks celery, sliced fine
2 green peppers, chopped
1/4 C olive oil
1/2 C chopped parsley, or 1 heaping Tbs dried
2 tsp dried basil
4 oz sliced mushrooms
1 lb Italian plum tomatoes or 1 lb crushed canned
3 Tbs red wine vinegar (or more to taste, up to 1/2 C even)
1 Tbs brown sugar
1/4 C raisins
1/4 C chopped green olives
1 tsp salt (more if you don't use anchovies)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 C chopped black olives
2 Tbs capers (optional, but I love them)
1/4 C browned pine nuts or sunflower seeds

Saute first 12 ingredients together in the olive oil until soft and limp, about 15 minutes. Add in tomatoes and saute over med heat another 10-15 minutes. Stir in vinegar and remainder of ingredients except nuts and saute for 5 more minutes. Take off heat and let sit for several hours or overnight in the fridge to blend flavors. Stir nuts in last.

To cook in crockpot: Combine all ingredients up to and including the raisins in the crockpot and cook on low for 5 - 6 hours. Stir in the remaining ingredients and let sit for several hours or overnight in the fridge to blend flavors. Stir in nuts last.

Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta Fazool)

This is real comfort food for me. I went home last Thanksgiving, and my cousin made this one evening since her future daughter-in-law is a vegetarian. It was delicious, because Roseanne is a wonderful cook, but I had such a feeling of "home" as I ate it in that kitchen where I had eaten it so many times as a child. There are many recipes for this; you can make it with canned beans or dried, garbanzos (chick peas) or cannellini beans - they are all delicious.

One quick observation about Italian food here in America. American home cooks seem to LOVE to use something called Italian herbs. Now, just because it has the word "Italian" on the label does not mean that it is Italian in any way, you know. Italian herbs are delicious and have their uses, but they are too heavy on the oregano to be truly Italian. Real Italians use a lot of basil and lot of rosemary, but very little oregano. In fact, I think that Greek cooks use much more oregano than Italians, and so do Mexican cooks. So, refrain from using Italian herbs in this dish because it will be to heavily and sharply spiced with oregano.

Pasta e Fagioli

1 1/2 C dry beans, soaked overnight, or 2 - 15 oz cans, drained
3 Tbs olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 Tbs chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 tsp dried
1 tsp dry basil
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 - 15 oz can of diced tomatoes in juice
3 C vegetable broth
1 1/2 C pasta of your choice: try elbows, ditalini, small penne or rotini
salt and pepper to taste

To pressure cook: In pressure cooker, saute the celery, onion, carrot, and garlic in the olive oil till the onions begin to brown. Stir in the beans, herbs, tomatoes and broth. Place cover on the pressure, bring to high pressure, and cook for 15 minutes at 15 lbs. Let the pressure drop naturally. Check beans for doneness and pressure cook two or three minutes more if necessary. Don't overcook beans - they should retain their shape and still be firm, but cooked all the way through. When beans are cooked, stir in the dry pasta and cook uncovered for 6 or 7 minutes until the pasta is al dente.

To cook in a crock pot: Saute the vegetables as above and place in crock pot, along with the beans. Use only 2 1/2 C broth. Cook on hi heat and cook as follows: cannellini - 3 hours; great northern - 2 1/2 hours; navy - 3 hours, garbanzos - 4 hours. Cook the pasta separately and add to the mixture when beans are done, unless you have a metal crockpot liner that can go onto a burner as I do.

To cook on top of the stove: Proceed as for the pressure cooker, but gently simmer the beans, covered, as follows: cannellini - 60 minutes ; great northern - 45 minutes; navy - 60 minutes; garbanzos - 20 minutes.

To use canned or previously cooked beans: Saute the vegetables and proceed as for the pressure cooker, but leaving the beans out. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes to let the flavors meld. Add the drained beans and the pasta at the same time, and simmer long enough for the pasta to be cooked al dente.

Serve garnished with a pinch of red pepper flakes and drizzle of your best cold pressed virgin olive oil. Serve a green salad and crusty bread on the side, along with a nice fruity wine. Fruit makes the perfect dessert.

Note: Occasionally when I'm too lazy to measure out three herbs, I use an equal amount of Herbes de Provence which is very yummy in this dish. You can also pressure cook beans without presoaking them, which I've done many, many times. It takes about 45 - 60 minutes for them to cook. Don't be afraid of the pressure cooker - I received one as a wedding present in 1979 and have used them ever since. Since then, I've replaced that old one with a modern Fagor, which is not only perfectly safe, but foolproof! In all these years, I've never, ever had any problems using a pressure cooker. You'll be amazed at quickly you can make dishes that used to take forever to cook, and how you can decide at the last minute to make a dish that tastes like its been simmering all day. Try it!

Serves four hungry Italians. Maybe it will serve 6, but it never has in my house.

Five stars PLUS!