Updated again with recipes & photos below!
Okay. I am late on this one! I wanted to get started today with my very first MEATLESS MONDAY post. My PLAN was to present this week’s featured recipes and an interview with my featured plant-based chef, Bryant Terry. Keyword being “PLAN.” Okay, so I present to you Plan B!
Later today I will be cooking from Bryant’s first cookbook, “Vegan Soul Kitchen.” I decided to start with the recipe that Bryant says he started with, Citrus Collards with Raisins Redux. He called this first recipe the seed of his Vegan Soul Kitchen cookbook, dedicated to his home city of Memphis Tennessee. If you’re anything like me, you heard the city Memphis and your mouth started watering at the thought of some Memphis style barbecue. But, we are going to step away from the pig, the chicken or the cow, whichever your preference, and work with some vegetables and grains today.
A music lover with a rich musical history, Bryant’s cookbooks also come with recommended soundtracks. For the Citrix Collards recipe, he recommended the song “Sankofa” by Cassandra Wilson from her “Blue Light ’til Dawn recording.”
Also from Vegan Soul, I’m going to be trying out Bryant‘s recipe for Creole Hoppin’ Jean. (Jon) In an effort to utilize these two giant red peppers sitting on my counter, I’m going to put my spin on it by stuffing this traditionally Carolina’s dish eaten especially on New Years Day, into one of these beautiful peppers. (This dish is supposed to bring good luck and who can’t use a little of that right now?)
I’m thinking I may use some additional Black Eyed Peas to try this black-eyed pea hummus recipe that caught my eye. If I have to make the beans, may as well! We will see how ambitious I am feeling later today!
In the next day or so, I will also be posting next week’s featured recipes, so you can shop ahead of time. The plan (which I intend to stick to next week) is going to be cooking some recipes from Bryant’s new book, “Vegetable Kingdom,” starting with his Panko-Crusted Cauliflower, Green Rice and possibly a green salad with a nice coconut dressing.
Please stay tuned for my interview with Bryant Terry, as well as the recipes I’m cooking later today! If I can pull off this food styling thing, some photos of the results!
I’m late and wrong and I am by no means a food stylists, but here are my photos of the dishes below. I used golden raisins. I have to say, I have never eaten collards that were still green!
CITRUS COLLARDS WITH RAISINS REDUX
Yield: 4 servings
Coarse sea salt
2 large bunches collard greens (ribs removed, rinsed, drained and cut into *chiffonade – see below)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
In a large pot over high heat, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt.
Add the collards and cook, uncovered, 8-10 minutes until softened. Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl of ice water to cool the collards.
Remove the collards from the heat, drain and plunge into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking and set the color. Drain by gently pressing the greens again the colander.
In a medium-size saute’ pan, combined the olive oil and the garlic and raise the heat to medium. Saute for 1 minute. Add the collards, raisins, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Saute for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the orange juice and cook an additional 15 seconds. Do not overcook. (Collards should be bright green!)
Season with additional salt to taste and serve immediately. (This also makes a tasty filling for quesadillas)
*Chiffonade – Remove tough stems. Stack several leaves and roll them lengthwise into a tight cylinder. Slice crosswise cutting the leaves into thin strips.
CREOLE HOPPIN’-JEAN (JON)
Yield: 4 – 6 Servings
3/4 cup black-eyed peas, sorted, soaked over night, drained and rinsed (Or cheat and use organic canned)
1/2 cup long-grain brown rice, rinsed and soaked overnight
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced shallots
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups vegetable stock
1 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Some of your favorite hot sauce to serve with it if you so desire!
DAY BEFORE: Combine the black-eyed peas with enough water to cover them by 2 inches, in a medium-sized saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer partially covered until tender. (50 minutes to an hour) Removed from heat and drain. (Or again, cheat and use some quality canned organic!)
DAY OF: Drain the rice and add to a medium-sized saucepan. Turn the heat to medium and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often until the water has evaporated and the rice starts smelling nutty. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and continue cooking until the rice starts browning, about 2 minutes.
Add the shallots, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, red pepper flakes, cayenne, thyme, oregano and 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Continue cooking, stirring frequently until the shallots are soft. (3 minutes or so) Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Over medium heat in the saucepan the rice was cooked in, combine the stock, tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Add the rice and the black-eyed peas to the stock. Stir well. Bring back to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 50 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Remove from heat and leave covered for about 10 minutes.
*For my version of this dish, I am going to cut the cooking time by about 10 minutes, spoon some of this rice and bean mixture into a huge red pepper I cut the top off and seeded. Return the top of the pepper and bake in the oven for a half hour or so.