The JP Special

This recipe combines two favorites of mine: chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and broccoli rabe. If you don’t care for broccoli rabe, another dark, bitter green like collards, mustards, chard, or kale would substitute in nicely. I just really *heart* the rabe. Similarly, if you don’t have garbanzo beans on hand, cannellini beans would also do nicely. Finally, if you don’t have shells (I like the way they hold the beans and veg), any chewier noodle will do— farfalle, penne, fusilli. This is just a quick stovetop, nutritionally complete meal that comes together in mere minutes on a weeknight. Cheap, too. Serves 4.

1/2 lb whole wheat** pasta shells

1 1/2 T olive oil, divided

pinch red pepper flake

1 medium-sized bundle of broccoli rabe, leaves and flowers trimmed and roughly chopped (stems discarded)

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1/2 c dry white wine

2 T golden raisins

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed thoroughly

salt and pepper to taste

Pecorino Romano

Bring pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta to al dente. Reserve 1/4 c cooking water, drain pasta.

While pasta cooks, add 1 T olive oil to large skillet over medium heat. Add red pepper flake and let heat for 30 seconds. Add broccoli rabe, small pinch of salt and let cook for about 3 minutes till wilted down, aromatic, and dark green (but don’t overcook!). Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add white wine, raisins, and chickpeas. Let simmer till white wine reduces and only a very little bit of liquid remains in the pan. Add additional salt and pepper, to taste.

Stir cooked pasta into vegetable mixture. If extra liquid needed, add in a bit of the reserved pasta cooking water. Finish with remaining olive oil and freshly grated Pecorino Romano.

** In defense of whole wheat pasta: I started eating whole wheat pasta before it was easy to find. When I stopped eating meat, I did some research and learned that whole wheat pasta had more protein per serving and starting have it for dinner with veg and sauce. It was not terribly pleasant pasta in 1993. However, whole grain pastas have come a very long way in the past 15 years. Their flavor, texture, price point, and nutritional profile have improved considerably. Whole wheat pasta is a staple in my pantry and while it’s partly due to nutrition, I have to say I really love the nuttiness and bite that you can’t get in white pasta (which, of course I also love). Anyway, if you’ve been put off such noodles in recent years, I encourage you to try them again. You won’t be disappointed.

Another original for folks to ponder. This is an easily adaptable whole grain salad that’s nutritionally complete.  If you aren’t a fan of hard-boiled egg, top with a little grilled tofu (or other lean protein) instead.  Use the veg you have on hand, as I did, or make a trip to the market (farmers or otherwise) for the asparagus and peas.  Either way, I highly recommend the use of grilled veg in this dish for the perfect crisp-tender degree and for some smokiness. I’ll break down this recipe in stages— you can easily pull it together at any time having prepped these items up to a day or two in advance.

Ingredients:

4 large eggs

1 cup quinoa

1 bundle asparagus

2/3 c. fresh peas

1 large shallot

1 tbls dijon mustard

2 tbls red or white wine vinegar

1 tbls sherry vinegar

1 teas honey

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 c chopped parsley (one good handful)

1 tlbs finely chopped dill

salt and pepper

Hard-cooked eggs, my way.

—> Prep:place 4 large eggs in a pot of cold water and place over heat.  Bring to a rolling, healthy boil.  Remove from heat, cover, let stand 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, submerge eggs in ice bath to stop cooking.

Quinoa: Quinoa keeps well once cooked and doesn’t stick together so feel free to prep as much as you like in advance and toss with salads or whatever for days.  It’s a staple in my pantry and at about… oh, 50 cents per pound is worth it for all of the fiber, protein, texture, and nuttiness you get. I think they’re only 2nd to lentils in nutritional bang for your vegetarian buck.

—> Prep:  Rinse and drain uncooked quinoa well as it’s often a bit dusty.  Bring 3 cups of water to a boil.  Add 1 cup quinoa, bring back up to a boil, then reduce to a nice simmer.  Let cook, uncovered about 10-12 minutes.      Quinoa should have a nice bite to it and you’ll see the tiny grains unfurl         into pretty little seeds.  When tender, drain and set aside (or store for         future use).

Vegetables: Asaparagus season is about over now, so you can sub in any favorite grillable like artichokes, squashes or eggplans, or even thinly sliced carrots.  English peas are tough to find and often expensive.  I picked up some, already shelled, and used 1/2 of that packet in this recipe (the other half went into a pasta dish).  Thawed frozen peas would work just great, too.

—> Prep:  Peas— simmer in water salted water till tender— about 10 minutes, which sounds like a long time but fresh peas are very different from their frozen cousins in this regard.  Drain and set aside.

—> Asparagus:  pre-heat your grillpan or grill to medium high, and coat grill         lightly with olive oil.  Trim aspargus ends and grill, whole until crisp-tender, rotating once.  8 minutes on each side should do nicely.  Set aside to cool.  Once cool, cut into bite size 1.5-2” pieces.

Vinaigrette: Make your favorite vinaigrette for this.  Stay away from creamy dressings and dark vinegars like balsamic, which will discolor the dish and is just too heady for the other ingredients.  Here’s my version.

—> Prep:  Whisk together one finely chopped shallot, 1 heaping tablespoon of dijon mustard, the vinegars, honey, salt and pepper.  Once mixed thoroughly, slowly whisk in about 1/4 c olive oil until emulsified.

Assembly: Toss together the quinoa, asparagus, peas, and dressing.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Gently fold in chopped parsley and dill.  Roughly chop 1 egg per person and sprinkle over salad.