Monday, March 12, 2012

Beany Meal!

Yesterday evening was a success!!

Cheers to a healthy start necessary to help us last through the whole cooking process: Homemade  hummus, Homemade mustard dip, Homemade Greek yogurt dip, veggies, and multigrain low fat chips and wheat thins. - and wine of course… And as ironic as it is – New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc! :)
The Healthy Start

So here it is our awesome recipe:
        Bean Stew with Grilled Snapper


The ingredients:

-          1 Cup Organic black beans (Rec: 2 cups)
-          3 Tbsp Olive oil
-          2 Red onions
-          3 Garlic Cloves
-          ½ Tsp Ground turmeric
-          1 Tsp Ground ginger
-          2 Plantains (peeled, cut in ½ inch squares)
-          4 Organic tomatoes
-          2 Cups baby spinach
-          1 Tsp salt (Rec: To taste / optional)
-          1 Tsp Paprika
-          1 Tsp Fennel seeds
-          1 Tsp Coriander seeds
-          1 Tsp Red curry paste (we made our own! See below)
-          2 Lbs Fresh whole snappers (Rec: 4 lbs just as good!)
-          2 Jalapeno chiles
-          2 Limes (cut into quartered to taste - delicious on top of the fish)
 

“Our” Process:
-   Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, turmeric, and ginger and sauté until the onions are translucent (~4 mins). Add the beans and 4 cups of water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 30 mins or until the delicious smell catches your attention!
-    Add the plantains and 1 cup of water and simmer for another 20 mins (or so... if you want to skip, go ahead!). Add the tomatoes and simmer until the tomatoes are softened (~ 20 mins). Add spinach (the recipe said fold the spinach… go ahead one by one fold the spinach… Ah! Not sure what this means either), simmer until wilted.
-   While the stew is simmering, combine salt, paprika, fennel seeds, coriander seeds in a blender and crush to fine powder. Transfer to a small bowl and add the red curry paste (yes, we made our own and it was amazing! Definitely recommend to live on the edge and try it – see below). Add the olive oil and mix until well combined

Are you hungry yet?
-   Prepare grill (or oven at 350F if you don’t have a grill)
-   Spread the spice mixture over both sides of the snapper. Brush Jalapenos. Place the snappers on the grill (or baking sheet) and cook through for about 10 mins on each side on the grill or 15 minutes in the oven. Turn Jalapenos every 2 mins for 6 mins. Remove jalapenos and thinly cut (remove the seeds if you don’t want too much spice)
-   Ready to serve! Spread the bean stew on the bottom of a serving platter. Lay the snapper on the top of the stew with sliced jalapeno to garnish.
-   Ready set go… Which triathlete will finish first?
(We were so hungry that we forgot to take pictures of the final product! Promise I'll get better!)


This was the perfect recipe for a great evening: Healthy Meal Fun Crazy Friends to share it with!!! :)

Shame on you Beto!! We have to swim in a few hours!!! :)