Oswald Rivera

Author, Warrior, and Teacher

Category: vegetables (page 1 of 11)

INDIAN CAULIFOWER AND PEAS

This is a great meal to have on a cold winter’s day. Yes, it’s a vegetarian dish—but don’t hold that against us, This is an Indian dish that takes cauliflower and peas to a new level, mainly because of the seasonings involved. It has chilis as an ingredient. If you don’t like it spicy, then you can  omit the chilis or cut  the amount in half.

The normal accompaniment to this dish is plain boiled rice.  That’s it.  This is a perfect  repast for when the weather outside is frosty, snowy or icy rain.  Enjoy this one—and make winter go away.

INDIAN CAULIFOWER AND PEAS

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 or more died red chilis, broken in half
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 whole cauliflower, cut into small flowerets, including stalks and base, chopped
1 (16 oz.) package  frozen peas
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
¼ teaspoon sugar
Water

Instructions:

  1. In a large cast-iron frying pan, heat olive oil. Add cumin seeds and 1 red chili. When cumin seeds darken in color, add turmeric and stir. Keep stirring until turmeric burns easily.
  2.  As soon as the turmeric browns, add cauliflower and stir until  pieces are coated with oil and spices. Add peas, salt, coriander, cumin powder and sugar. Add a couple of tablespoons of water, reduce heat, cover and cook mixture in its own steam, stirring occasionally and sprinkling with water as needed. The cauliflower will cook in 10 to  12 minutes. Uncover and cook another 5 minutes or so until the vegetables dry out. If needed, add more salt or chilis to taste.
    Yield: 4-6 servings.

STEWED PEAS

My beloved wife has this thing for green peas, fresh or frozen she loves the suckers. Thus we are always on the lookout for a good green peas recipe.  Stewed peas is a favorite of ours. And the dish given today gives peas a delicious embellishment. These are not simply just peas stewed in a pot. These are peas that are combined with salt pork, or what we call tocino or, if preferred, bacon strips. Then the thing is stewed, along with pimento slices, in a sauce. The result is a dish that goes well over rice, pasta, or your favorite grain.

SREWED PEAS

Ingredients:

1 six-ounce piece salt pork or slab bacon, cut into half-inch slices and then into half-inch wide strips
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced into thin rings
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon flour
1½ cups water
1 medium red pimento (red  pepper) cut into julienne strips
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon sugar
1½ pounds fresh peas, shelled, or 10-ounce package frozen small, young peas

Instructions:

  1. Place the pieces of pork or bacon in a pot and fill with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, Drain, cool under running water and pat dry with paper towels.
  2.  Place pieces in a large skillet or frypan and cook on medium heat (no oil needed) for 8 minutes or until they have  rendered all their fat and are well browned.
  3.  Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is soft and translucent.. Mix in the flour, stir in the water and bring to a  boil, stirring.  Cook until thickened into a sauce.
  4.  Add pimento, salt, pepper, oregano and peas. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and cook 15 minutes if peas are fresh, five minutes if they are frozen. Transfer to a serving platter and serve. Or serve from the pot, if desired (in the Rivera family we don’t stand on formality—unless we want to impress company).
    Yield: 4-6 servings.

SPINACH OMELET

This is just your basic Spinach Omelet recipe. No cheese, no cream,  no ham, nothing from what is known as the French Canon (in terms of Continental cooking). Pair it with a crusty loaf of bread, some good light red wine (like a Beaujolais, Gamay or Bardolino), and it makes for a great brunch or dinner.

Note that you can use fresh spinach, if desired. This time around we couldn’t find it fresh, so we went with frozen and it was just as good.

SPINACH OMELET

Ingredients:

1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 medium tomato, washed and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley
4 eggs lightly beaten
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Cook spinach  in a medium-sized pan per package instructions.. Drain well, add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, garlic, tomato and parsley. Heat, stirring constantly, over medium heat for 5 minutes.
  2.  Add eggs, salt and pepper, Stir to combine.
  3.  Heat, to a sizzling point, the reaming 3 tablespoons olive oil in a 9-inch skillet or frypan (we prefer cast iron, but a nonstick pan will do). Pour in omelet mixture, spreading evenly.
  4.  Cook, covered, over medium heat for 10 minutes. Mixture should be fairly firm when done.
  5.  While omelet is cooking, heat broiler. Place skillet under broiler for 1-2 minutes to set top of omelet. Cut into wedges and serve
    Yield: 4 servings.

BROCCOLI IN A LEMON-BUTTER SAUCE

This is a great vegetarian dinner for any occasion. It’s full of flavor and healthy ingredients, a wonderful combination. As noted, all you need is fresh broccoli, a little bit of flour, butter, olive oil, onion, garlic and, as a  final touch, capers. Can’t get better than that. This time around, we served the dish over Spanish yellow rice. You Can also pair it with pasta or your favorite grain. You can’t go wrong with this one.

BORCCOLI  IN A LEMON-BUTTER SAUCE

Ingredients:

1 large head of broccoli, about 1 ¼ pounds
Flour
½ stick butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and cut into thin rounds
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Salt (optional)
Ground black pepper to taste
Juice from one lemon
1 teaspoon capers
1¼ cup water

Instructions:

  1. Wash broccoli under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut florets into medium florets and chop stems into small pieces. Sprinkle lightly with flour
  2. Heat butter and olive oil in skillet or sauce pan over medium heat. Add broccoli and onion, and stir-fry until onion is soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt (optional) and pepper. Note that the next ingredient, lemon juice, is sometimes used as a substitute for salt. That’s why the salt is optional. If desired you can sprinkle a dash of salt over the broccoli or leave as is if you want the dish less salty.
  3. Stir in lemon juice and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
  4. Add water and stir until the liquid is thickened to your liking. Some like it very thick, some do not. Your choice. Stir in capers and cook until heated, about 2 minutes. Serve over rice, pasta or favorite grain (i.e. couscous, quinoa or farro).
    Yield: 4-6 servings.

WHITE BEANS WITH SPINACH

This is a marvelous vegetarian dinner that came about through sheer coincidence and necessity. Friends of ours gave us a whole bunch of fresh grown carrots. Some we cooked with maple syrup. And that was a good dish; but we still had a lot of carrots left. So, the idea came about: why not cook them with beans? In this case, white beans, which we keep in stock. Let me add, this dish was prepared with said dried beans. I guess you could do it with canned beans and, yes, it wouldn’t be as time consuming. But the natural taste would not be there. In the Rivera family, we still like beans made from scratch. You could call it a Nuyorican thing.

Now, cooking dried beans takes patience. The cooking time will depend on the size and type of bean. On the internet, it states that you can prepare white beans in 20-30 minutes.  In practice, this is not so. Beans take time to cook. It can be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour or longer. The beans must be cooked till they are tender but not mushy. You  just have to keep on testing them until done. Vegetable, like carrots, take less time. What we did was cook the beans for 45 minutes. If, perchance, the beans are still too crunchy for your taste, then cook them  longer. Finally, we added the carrots and cook for 15 minutes more. Again, it may take longer, depending upon how tender you want the beans and/or the carrots. Just use common sense.

For seasoning of this dish, we stir-fried onions and garlic in olive oil. Then added salt, pepper, and oregano. Then we added the carrots to the beans with some tomato paste for more flavor. That’s it. Yes, it’s not a quicky meal. But the results, despite the time invested, will be heavenly. In Puerto Rican cuisine the usual partner to beans is rice. This time around we combined the beans with Spanish yellow rice, and it was perfect. In fact, you can also combine the beans with pasta, say spaghetti or linguini, and you’ll have a new take on pasta fazool.

WHITE BEANS WITH CARROTS

Ingredients:

1 cup dried white beans (cannellini or great northern)
2 cups carrots, peeled and cut into diagonal 1/4-inch thick pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced into rings
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon fresh chopped oregano or ½ teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon tomato paste

Instructions:

  1. Rinse the dried beans in water and put them in a large bowl. Cover with water by at least 2 inches and leave to soak overnight.
  2. Drain and rinse the beans and put them into a pot with a heavy lid. Add just enough cold water to cover them. Bring the beans to a boil,  cover and simmer them gently for 45 minutes or until the beans are tender. The cooking time will depend on the size and age of the beans.
  3. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet or frypan. Add onions and cook  until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Season with salt, pepper and oregano. Add to beans in pot along with the carrots. Cover and cook 15 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook about 2 minutes more. Serve over rice.
    Yield: 4-6 servings.

 

FETUCCINI WITH OLIVE SPREAD,TOMATOES AND ZUCCHINI

One of my favorite meals is pasta with olive spread and assorted vegetables. In most cases, I prefer Kalamata olive spread, which you can find in the supermarket aisles with all the jarred olives, peppers and pickles; or in the refrigerated section. Some folks prefer green or black olive spread, or tapenade, a blend of black and green olives. Choose what your palate dictates. In terms of pasta, this time around we went with fettuccini, what I term a “hearty-man pasta,” just like bucatini or perciatelli. I like big, thick stringed pasta. If desired, you can substitute linguini or spaghetti. For the vegetables, I added two summer favorites: tomatoes and zucchini.

Ingredients:

1 pound package fettuccini
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving.
¾ pounds cherry tomatoes, halved
3 medium zucchini or 2 large ones
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Kalamata spread
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
¾ cup feta cheese crumbled (about 1½ ounces)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions: 

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions, and drain.
  2. In same pot that you cooked pasta, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add tomatoes and zucchini, and cook, starring, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes,
  3.  Return pasta to pot. Stir in Kalamata spread and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among 4 large bowls, drizzle with additional olive oil, sprinkle with parsley and feta, and serve.
    Yield: 4 servings.

 

CREAMED SPINACH

In  past posts I’ve given cream spinach recipes in conjunction with other dishes, such as Creamed Spinach with Couscous (05/06/22) and Creamed Spinach with Summer Squash (07/20/21). For this posting, I’ll let spinach shine on it’s own. Crema de Espinaca is what we called this dish back on the block. Even as a kid I loved it, and would scarf it up when ever it was served at the family apartment. It made for a great side dish, but we would have it for dinner combined with rice. It made for a cheapie nutritious meal. In the recipe given below we combine it with farro, that ancient grain cultivated in the Middle east and also very popular in Italy. It’s chewy texture and nutty flavor make it a perfect companion to the spinach.

Note that in this recipe we use no heavy or light cream. This is an old family family favorite  where whole milk thickens the mixture. If you want to substitute cream, go right ahead. Either way it’s a winner.

CREAMER SPINACH
(Crema de Espinaca)

Ingredients:

3 (5oz.) packages of spinach or 1 large bunch
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions:

  1. Pick over spinach and wash thoroughly under cold running water. Add salt,  and place in a skillet or saucepan. Cook until tender. Do not add water. Remove to a cutting board and chop very fine.
  2.  Melt butter in the same saucepan or skillet. Whisk in flour and blend. Slowly add milk and stir constantly until mixture thickens. Add chopped spinach and stir to combine. Add pepper and nutmeg, and serve.
    Yield: 4 servings.

RATATOUILLE NIÇOİSE

Ratatouille is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables that originated in Nice and is sometimes referred to as Ratatouille Niçoise. This version is very popular in the Riviera and be be served hot or cold. It can be served as an appetizer or, as we did this time, as a meal with Spanish yellow rice. It makes for a great vegetarian dish that even carnivores will love.

Note that in the recipe below I like to add a yellow bell pepper. If desired, you can substitute a green or red one.

RATATOUILLE NIÇOÍSE

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
2 zucchini, well scrubbed and sliced
1 small eggplant, peeled and cubed
3 tablespoons flour
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut in strips
1 (15-oz) can Italian plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon capers

Instructions:

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet or frypan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, and sauté until the onion is transparent.
  2.  Add zucchini, eggplant and bell pepper. Cover and cook slowly about 1 hour.
  3.  Add the tomatoes and simmer, uncovered, until the mixture is thick. Season with salt and pepper. Add capers during the last 15 minutes of cooking. Serve hot or cold.
    Yield: 4 servings.

PORK AND BROCCOLI TOSS

 

This was a recipe of convenience. I happen to have some ground pork on hand, as well as a head of broccoli. So, I decided to make a pork and broccoli toss. Simple enough, Except that I gave it an Asian flavor, adding soy sauce, sherry and gingerroot. I’ve discovered that ground beef and ground pork are almost always interchangeable. This recipe can work with both or, if preferred, you can substitute ground chicken or turkey for the meat. You can even do it with frozen broccoli if the fresh stuff is not available. Also, I included some sliced almonds for an added touch.

This dish goes good with plain boiled  rice. This time around, we coupled it with soba noodles; and it was just as good.

PORK AND BROCCOLI TOSS.

Ingredients:

1 medium head broccoli
2 tablespoon peanut oil
1 pound ground pork
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
½ teaspoon peeled and finely chopped ginger
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
¼ cup sliced almonds

Instructions:

  1. Rinse broccoli under cold running water. Remove stems and cut into small pieces; and cut florets into medium pieces.
  2.  In a wok or saucepan, heat peanut oil. Add ground pork over medium-high heat and stir fry until browned. Add broccoli and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes.
  3.  Add water. soy sauce,  sherry and ginger. Cover and cook over moderate heat for 15 minutes.
  4.  Combine cornstarch and water. Add  pork mixture. Add almonds and cook, stirring constantly until mixture is thick and bubbly. Cook 1 minute more and serve.
    Yield: 4 servings.

 

SPINACH SOUFFLE

I’m going to issue a challenge to all you folks out there who hate spinach, whether a child or adult. Try this spinach recipe and, if after tasting it, and you still don’t like spinach, you can call me a jackass. Lord knows I’ve  been called worse. But I’m certain that, after all the preparation, which is minimal, and savoring this dish, you’ll come to love the suckers. Yes, I am deadly sure that this Spinach Soufflé will win you over.

This recipe can be savored as an appetizer with some good ole chips, or as dinner with a crusty loaf of bread, or with a grain, be it rice or other. This time around we served it with  farro,  that chewy, nutty tasting type of wheat that’s been cultivated in the Middle East and Mediterranean for thousands of years. This dish will also go great with pasta. So, your recalcitrant kids can have a whale of fun stringing it with spaghetti and swinging it around.

SPINACH SOUFFLÉ

Ingredients:

2 packages frozen chopped spinach
1 cup sour cream
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 dashes nutmeg
½ teaspoon lemon juice
Dash of Tabasco sauce ( or to taste)
½ cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Cook spinach according to package directions, and drain.
  3.  In a small bowl, blend well with remaining ingredients except bread crumbs
  4.  Pour into buttered, shallow 1-quart casserole or baking pan (we prefer cast iron). Sprinkled with bread crumbs. Top with butter in small pieces over top and bake 30 minutes. Serve hot.

 

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