Spiced Bean Stew (V)

This is from my second community kitchen, which is actually a weekly after-school program at the Miller Community Center for kids attending the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center. It's so much fun!

Spiced Saute

This is from my second community kitchen, which is actually a weekly after-school program at the Miller Community Center for kids attending the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center. It's so much fun!

Caramelized Onion Hummus (V)

Cooking skills focus: Sautéing, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
2 T cooking oil

2 yellow onions, diced

½ head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced

Salt and pepper

6 cans garbanzo beans

½ can tahini

2 lemons, juiced

½ head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced

2 ¼ C water

Salt and pepper

1 bu parsley, minced finely

Olive oil for serving

Instructions:
1. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the cooking oil, then add the onions and cook for 5 minutes.

2. Add the garlic, lower the temperature to medium-high heat, season with some salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes more. Then add about ¼ C water, and stir. Wait until the water evaporates, then do it again. When that water evaporates, turn off the heat and set the onions aside to cool slightly.

3. Put all the ingredients except the parsley and olive oil in a food processor, in batches if necessary, and puree until very smooth and creamy.

4. Transfer to a bowl, mix in the parsley and serve topped with a little olive oil.

March Crazy Salad (V)

Cooking skills focus: Roasting, sautéing, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
2 # baby red potatoes, cut in half

2 T cooking oil

Salt & pepper

2 t Ras El Hanout spice blend

2 # crimini (brown) mushrooms, quartered

4 T cooking oil

Salt and pepper

1 grapefruit, juiced

1 lemon, juiced

1-2 T olive oil

1 T Ras El Hanout

Salt and pepper

2 bu lacinato kale, sliced ½” thick

2 honeycrisp apples, medium diced (1/2” on a side)

3 bell peppers, julienned then cut in half

1 bu spring onion, sliced thinly

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Toss the potatoes with the first 2 T cooking oil, salt, pepper, and 2 t Ras El Hanout. Put on a sheet pan and roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Heat a large sate pan over high heat, then add the 3 T cooking oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté until browned, then set aside in a large bowl.

4. In a medium bowl, whish together the citrus juice, the olive oil, the last of the Ras El Hanout and season with salt and pepper.

5. Add everything to the large bowl, toss together, then toss with the dressing and serve.

Braised Chicken with Spiced Polenta

Cooking skills focus: Braising, sautéing, simmering, balancing flavors

Ingredients:

1 gal MINUS 1 C water

   (Note: For creamy polenta it’s a 5:1 water to polenta ratio; for firm polenta it’s 4:1. There are 16 C in 1 gal.)

Light salt for the water

   (Note: taste the water; it should be slightly salty.)

1 T cooking oil

9-10 chicken thighs (or 5 whole legs), scored with a knife

1 onion, julienned

½ head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced thickly

3 C polenta

4 T unsalted butter

2-3 T (spice blend) (whatever you want to experiment with!)

1 T cooking oil

1 bu broccoli rabe, sliced ½” thick

½ head garlic, cloves peeled and sliced thickly

3 lemons, juiced

1 bu green onion, sliced thinly

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Start heating the salted water to a boil in a large pot.

3. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the first 1T oil, then add the chicken, in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan. Brown them well and set them aside in a deep dish to braise.

4. Heat the sauté pan again over medium-high heat, then add the onions and the first part of the garlic. Cook for 5 minutes then add to the chicken. Cover the braising dish and cook in the oven for 45 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, when the water is boiling, add the polenta and begin to stir immediately. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook and stir until the polenta is done (taste it). Then melt the butter in it and add the 2-3 T spices.

6. Heat a new large sauté pan over high heat and add the last 1 T oil. Add the last of the garlic and the broccoli rabe, reduce the heat to medium-high and sauté for 5 minutes. Set aside.

7. When the chicken is done and cool enough, pull the meat off the bones and mix it with the onions and garlic it braised with.