VeganMoFo: Mushroom and White Bean Tart

After making the recent batch of mushroom soup for the holidays, I was left with over a pound of assorted mushrooms in the fridge. I had to use them up. I love mushrooms and would never want to waste them.

I wanted the mushrooms to be a part of a main dish, so I came up with this recipe – using ingredients I had on hand.


Mushroom and White Bean Tart (serves 4)
Ingredients:

For the White Bean Puree
1 can small white beans, rinsed and drained
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
juice of one lemon
1 tbsp. fresh thyme
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper

For the Mushroom Mixture
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound assorted mushrooms, sliced (baby bella, shitake, white button)
1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground pepper

1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted
1/4 cup Daiya Cheese (I used Cheddar)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Process the white bean puree ingredients in a Cuisinart or other food processor. Set to the side.

Heat up some olive oil in a large saute pan. Add in the sliced onion and cook for a few minutes.

Add in the chopped garlic, mushrooms and spices and cook for another 5-7 minutes, until soft.

Roll out your puff pastry dough. Lay on a parchment paper lined baking tray.

Prick the dough with a fork along the inside of the edges. Leave about 1/2 – inch of clearance. This will form your crust.

Spread the white bean puree on the inside area of the puff pastry. You don’t need to use all of it. I ended up using about 3/4 of the mixture and set aside the rest to use as a dip for later.

Layer the mushroom mixture over the bean mixture and sprinkle some Daiya Cheese on top.

Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and puffed up.

This tart is great when served with a salad.

Enjoy!

Mushroom and White Bean Tart
veganmofo

Garlic Scapes and White Bean Hummus with Pita Chips

I had some scapes leftover from the pesto I made the other day. As I ate the pesto with the pasta and white beans, I thought about how this flavor combo would make a good hummus. I had some leftover pita sitting in the freezer from a few weeks ago that was begging to be turned in to some pita chips. I figured it would be a good after-school snack for the kids when they got home from school.

I was right – it turned out to be perfect.


Garlic Scapes and White Bean Hummus
Ingredients:

5-6 garlic scapes
1 can white beans
1-2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. thyme
ground pepper
1.5 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil

Place everything in a food processor and go to town! It’s that easy! Seriously!

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Pita Chips
Ingredients:

Pita (I used around 10)
1/2 cup olive oil (approx.  – depends on amount of pita)
1 tsp. sea salt
fresh ground pepper
assorted herbs (half of mine were zaatar, half had a garlic/thyme mixture)

Preaheat oven to 400.

Cut pita in to wedges.

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil with the spices of your choosing.

Brush the pita triangles with the oil mixture. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet

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Bake for around 7-8 minutes or so.

Cool pita chips for a few minutes and serve. Enjoy!

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Mushroom, Spinach, and White Bean Casserole

Recently, I have been on this casserole kick. Don’t know where it came from. I didn’t grow up with casseroles. When I hear the word “casserole,” I think of Paula Deen and her twang as she talks about adding mayonaisse and cream of mushroom soup to cans of green beans. Definitely not my kind of cooking. The other kind of casserole I kind of know are the hotdishes of the tater tot variety that I use to see at various Minnesota potluck dinners. Again, not my taste. Though I do love tater tots. One day I will turn tater tot hotdish in to a healthier me kind of dish.

This morning I cooked up some brown rice, and had a nice vegetable market haul sitting in my fridge. I decided to elevate the casserole and the brown rice in to a mighty tasty dinner. Behold, the healthy and hearty casserole!

Mushroom, Spinach, and White Bean Casserole (adapted from 101 Cookbooks)
Ingredients:

10 oz. chopped mushrooms (I used a mixture of crimini and white)
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1.5 cups chopped spinach
1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups cooked brown rice
2 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1-2 handfuls of shredded cheese (I used cheddar and monterey jack)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup parmesean cheese
2 tsp. tarragon
2 tsp. thyme
ground black pepper
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tsp. Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

In a large pan saute the mushrooms in some olive oil. Add a bit of salt. Stir.

Add in the onions and garlic. Saute a few minutes. Add in the spinach and the beans. Let some of the liquid evaporate. Add in the rice mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, and spices. 
Combine the rice mixture and cottage cheese mixture in a large bowl. Stir until well combined.

Pour mixture in to baking dish. I used a 9×13 and a 9×9. Sprinkle with 2/3 of the Parmesan cheese, cover with foil and place in oven for 30 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for another 20 or 30 minutes more or hot throughout and golden along the edges. Sprinkle some of the chopped tarragon, and the remaining Parmesan.

Enoy!

Couscous and White Bean Salad

When shabbat comes, I like making a variety of salads. I love looking at the assorted colors on my table. It’s just pretty, and it tastes good too. I had the chance to get to the vegetable market during the day this week. It’s a rare opportunity. With the crazy weather around the world, the vegetables and pricing have been all over the place. Green peppers are $2/lb, while the usually expensive colorful peppers are now .99/lb. My favorite veggies were all pretty cheap this week. Love when that happens.

One of the salads we enjoyed with this past shabbat lunch was a couscous and white bean salad. It’s an easy salad to make. I prepare the couscous on Friday before shabbat starts and then add the rest of the ingredients Saturday morning when everybody is in shul. Like all of my dishes, it can be tweaked. Use the veggies that make the most sense to you.

Couscous and White Bean Salad
Ingredients:
1.5 cups whole wheat couscous
1.75 cups boiling water
2 tsp. olive oil 1 can of white beans, drained
1/2 cup orange pepper, chopped
1/2 cup yellow pepper, chopped
3/4 cup seedless cucumber, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1 shallot, minced

Dressing Ingredients:
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
3 cloves of garlic, mashed
2 tsp. honey
a couple of squeezes of fresh lemon juice
salt
fresh ground pepper

In a bowl, pour the boiling water over the couscous and cover for 5-8 minutes. Uncover the couscous and fluff with a fork.

Sprinkle in the two teaspoons of the olive oil.

Mix in the various chopped veggies.

In a separate bowl, whisk up the dressing ingredients. Mix the dressing into the salad and let the salad sit for about an hour before serving. Enjoy!

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Call it Hummus or Call it Sauce

I regret not making more of this tasty dish. Today was another day where I came home later than expected. Rainy day, bad traffic, made for Late Mom. When I got home, I needed to come up with someone fast for dinner. Those dinner alarm bells were ringing in my kids heads, smoke pouring out their ears. I had to come up with something that would take mere minutes. I had to restrain myself from running to the nearest pizza store on the way home.

I put some water on to boil…I literally threw it on the stove, water puddling on the floor. I always have some type of pasta in the pantry. What to serve with the pasta to up the healthy factor. Chopped up salad veggies are fine on the side. What to put on the pasta though. I wanted some protein for them, and had no time to cook up some chicken.

As I was eyeing my mini cuisinart, I decided on a white bean puree. This puree would also be good turned into a Hummus. Just omit the vegetable broth if you want to serve it as a dip.


White Bean Puree or Hummus

1 can of white beans
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
5 cloves of garlic

salt
pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup shredded parmesean (optional)


Process the entire mixture in a food processor. Toss with warm pasta.

Enjoy!

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