Asparagus, Pea, and Cannelloni Bean Pasta

I love creamy pasta sauces, but they're not the healthiest. Plus, they can be very rich to boot.

After watching a few cooking shows recently that featured pureed beans, I was inspired to try using them to create a thick, rich, and creamy sauce to use on pasta.

Last night I decided to see if my idea would work out as I hoped. I debated between mashing the beans and whizzing them up in the food processor with the garlic and cheese. I ended up opting for mashing, but next time I might try whizzing, just to see what the difference will be.

The good news is that the result was amazingly delicious. And, it is a good source of protein and minerals. Bonus!

It's a quick, simple recipe to put together. It also can be enjoyed without the pasta. I was originally going to add chicken but our vegetarian cousin was visiting so it got left out. You definitely could add it in, but you certainly do not need it.

Asparagus, Pea, and Cannelloni Bean Pasta

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz. peas (fresh or frozen)
• 1 bunch asparagus, diced into bite sized pieces (close in size to peas)
• 1 onion, diced
• 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 15.5 oz. can of cannelloni/white beans, roughly mashed with fork
• 1 package spaghetti or linguine
• 1 cup reserved pasta water
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 4 TBSP butter (more or less)
• 1 TBSP dried oregano
• 1 TBSP fresh basil (can also use dried)
• pinch red pepper flakes
• salt & pepper to taste
• OPTIONAL: <a href="http://www.fullmeasureofhappiness.com/2011/10/12/oven-roasted-tomatoes/">oven-dried tomatoes</a>, diced to garnish

METHOD:
1) In saute pan, add 1 TBSP of butter and let it melt. Once melted and starting to foam, add diced onion and saute on medium or medium high heat until softened and starting to get some good brown color - about 10 minutes.
2) Heat water in pot for pasta and bring to boil. Once boiling, follow package instructions. Be sure to salt your water.
3) Add diced asparagus and peas. Stir well.
4) Add oregano, basil, pepper flakes.
5) Add mashed beans 3 TBSP of butter, stir, then add garlic.
6) Add mozzarella and Romano or Parmesan cheeses. Stir well until incorporated evenly.
7) Slowly add pasta water bit by bit to thin out bean/cheese mixture to a consistency that will coat pasta. You might not need all 1 cup of it. Do this to your preference. Just go slow. You can always add more water, but you can't take it away.
8) Add salt and pepper to taste.
9) Serve over cooked pasta or eat it by itself.

Sadly there's not plated photo for you to see because we were hungry and devoured it before I got the chance. Oops. Maybe next time I make it I'll try to remember to snap a pic.

Recipe: Turkey & Bean Chili

On cool Spring evenings (and throughout the Fall and Winter), a nice pot of chili is perfect. It's great to make over the weekend and have it for the week ahead. It's great on its own (topped with cheese, guac, sour cream, or whatever you like), over egg noodles, in a baked potato, and on hot dogs (chili dogs) among other things. We've even once turned it almost into a tex-mex style Shepard's Pie.

Note below, that you can make this hotter or not at all hot, depending on how you like it.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey (or beef, or omit for veggie chili)
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can pink beans
1 onion, diced (can also add some leek)
2-5 cloves garlic, smashed/diced
1 bay leaf
4-5 carrots, peeled and diced into rounds
1 small bell pepper (green or red or any color)
1-2 jalapenos, diced (if don't like heat, remove seeds and white ribs inside)
1 little can tomato paste
1 15.5oz (or so) can tomato sauce
cumin
garlic powder
chili powder (add more or less to your taste. If you want it really hot you can add hot sauce or red pepper flakes)
salt
pepper

Directions:
1. Add a little olive oil or canola oil to a hot pan. Saute onions, and once starting to turn translucent, add garlic.
2. Add jalapeno and bell pepper. Add about 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 bay leaf and 2 tsp garlic powder. Stir to distribute spices evenly.
3. Add ground turkey (or beef, or skip this step if making veggie version) and saute until cooked through.
4. Add carrots and tomato paste and stir to mix in well.
5. Add tomato sauce, beans (including water...if would rather strain them, then use a LARGE can of tomato sauce).
6. Stir well, and add 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp chili powder and 2 tsp garlic powder again. Stir well to combine. Taste and add salt and pepper or adjust seasonings as desired.
7. Cook on low heat for at least 30 minutes but up to 2 hours. Allow steam to evaporate a little while cooking to thicken chili. If gets too thick, add a little water or stock.
8. Serve and enjoy! Good topped with a little mexican blend cheese, avocado, sour cream. Great alone, on pasta, on baked potato, etc.

If doing a veggie version, you can add whatever veggies you like to this. It's a very flexible dish and that makes it an easy way to make it chock-a-block full of veggies.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

One supermarket near where I work has a decently large take-out section for the working folk in the area. One item that I was drawn to try was their corn and black bean salsa. And I was glad for it as it was very tasty. So tasty in fact that it inspired me to try to make my own creation.

Since it's corn season, I decided to try this with fresh, sweet corn on the cob. It added a perfect sweet balance to the concoction. When corn is not in season, I'd think you could get the same results with canned or frozen corn.

I figured I'd start out simple and if that was successful, in the future I could experiment to make it more fancy. Although, sometimes simple is good enough on its own.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

1 15.5oz. can black beans
3 cobs of corn
1/2 red onion, diced
Canola oil
Olive oil
Vinegar
Oregano, dried
Kosher Salt
Pepper

1) Get a pot of water boiling. Add fresh corn cobs and cook for about 8-10 minutes.
2) When the corn is finished, take them out of the pot and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process, or you can place in an ice water bath.
3) Using a knife, cut off the corn kernels from the cob. (Be careful as they do have a tendency to bounce all over the place as you cut them from the cob.) Place in a mixing bowl.
4) Open can of black beans. Pour into colandar or something so you can rinse them off. (You don't want to have any of the liquid from the can on it as it's very starchy). Place in mixing bowl with the corn kernels.
5) Dice 1/2 a red onion and add to mixture.
6) Start by adding about 3 TBSP canola oil (this is approximate, I didn't measure the oil this time.) Stir to coat. Then add 1-2 TBSP olive oil until the entire mixture is well coated.
7) Add about 1 TBSP, or slightly less, vinegar. Stir to combine.
8) Season with about 1 TBSP dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
9) Mix to combine.
10) Use immediately or cover and put in fridge to allow flavors to mingle.



I ate this right away, but am looking forward to see how it tastes after the flavors have had chance to mingle together. I'm guessing it will be even more fantastic.

Another way to cook the corn would be to throw it on the grill for a bit. And I'm sure that would be fabulous too, giving it a bit of smokey flavor. Also try adding some fresh parsley and cilantro into the mix, which I would have done if I had some on hand. And perhaps a bit of garlic would be good, since that always makes things even more tasty.

Try this on tacos, on grilled meats, or alone as a side. Your imagination is the limit. :D