Recipe: Spice Market Sweet Potato and Lentil Packets

I came across this recipe in an attempt to work through the abundance of sweet potatoes I recently accumulated after the fourth of july. My mom and I grilled a bunch of veggies, and she bought too many sweet potatoes so she gave the extras to me (on a related note, grilled sweet potatoes are ridiculously good. Slice them 1/4" thick, brush them with sesame oil, and grill 10 minutes on each side. They have the consistency of sweet potato fries, but the taste is incredible).

The most difficult part of the recipe was the lentil part. First, you pretty much have free range over which kind of lentil you want to use. I went with French green lentils, but yellow or regular green lentils would work just fine. To make 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils, boil 1/2 cup dry lentils in 1 cup water. When the water begins boiling, reduce heat and simmer for roughly 20-25 minutes. To speed up the cooking time, I recommend soaking the 1/2 cup of lentils in the 1 cup of water overnight (or even for a few hours) before cooking.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced sweet potatoes
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup fresh green beans, sliced
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 2 Tbs sesame oil
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 Tbs minced fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Place 4 16-inch lengths of foil on work surface. Fold foil in half from short side. Unfold. Shape corners and edges of one half into semicircular “bowl” with 1/2-inch sides. Coat insides of foil with cooking spray
• Combine sweet potato, bell pepper, green beans, and raisins in medium bowl. Add sesame oil, and toss to coat.
• Whisk together broth, ginger, garlic, and curry powder in small bowl.
• Divide sweet potato mixture among packets; top with 1/3 cup lentils. Pour 1/4 cup broth mixture over lentils, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Fold other half of foil over ingredients, and crimp edges in overlapping folds until packets are sealed. Transfer packets to baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes.
• Open carefully - escaping air will be hot!

There's many ways to serve this dish. I recommend serving it over couscous, quinoa, or rice, depending on whether or not you eat gluten. I'm trying to lower my carb intake a little, so I'm eating it over wilted spinach.

I chose to use a mild curry powder for this recipe, and it think it worked perfectly. It didn't overpower the other flavors, so the ginger still has a strong presence. I would consider putting some cloves in there next time.

New Project

After making dinner last night, I didn't have the energy to post the recipe I made. Instead, I snapped a picture on Instagram and shared it on Facebook. This got me thinking that even though I repeat recipes that I feature on here occasionally, there's no reason why I can't provide some food amusement. From now on, I will take pictures of my dinner every time I make something - regardless of whether or not it's a new recipe - and share it on Instagram.

I can be followed on Instagram at foodiefotos.

New recipe tomorrow!

Recipe: Crispy Quinoa Cakes

As the sun stays out longer and the temperature gets warmer, I like to eat foods with a lighter taste. Ideally, I'd be out grilling pretty much every day, but I'm still in an apartment that doesn't allow legitimate grills. I have a Panini press that doubles as a grill, but it blew half the outlets in my kitchen the last time I tried to use it - most of which are still out of commission. My mom and I used her griddle yesterday to grill veggies and tofu indoors (she does have barbecues in the courtyard in her apartment, but it was just too hot out). Today, I decided to go for something different.

I like this recipe because it can be modified in so many ways. The feta cheese and pine nuts I included are completely optional. You can substitute the feta with goat cheese, the pine nuts with a different kind of toasted, chopped nuts, or just omit them altogether. I included them to give a more Mediterranean taste to the cakes.

As for topping, there's plenty of options for that, too! The original recipe suggests roasted red pepper sauce, but I opted to drizzle lemon juice over it to keep the flavors light.

Ingredients:
1 large egg
2 Tbs all-purpose flour (to make gluten free, substitute with almond flour)
1 1/2 Tbs tahini (can be substituted with nut butter)
1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa* (see note if you're unfamiliar with cooking quinoa)
1/2 cup finely grated sweet potato
6 ounces spinach, wilted and drained
1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (oil packed sun-dried tomatoes are best)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
2 ounces feta cheese
2 Tbs finely diced onion
1 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro (can be substituted with parsley)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F and coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Combine egg, flour, tahini, and vinegar in bowl.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients, then mash together until mixture is firm enough to shape into cakes. 4. Shape mixture into 1/4-cup patties with wet hands.
5. Bake on prepared baking sheet 25 minutes, turning once, or until cakes are browned.

This yields about six servings, with one serving being two cakes. Serve with grilled zucchini or squash, or steamed broccoli.

What I like the most about this recipe is how easily it can be modified! You can add a variety of spices to your taste, change the cheese and nuts or omit them, or use one cup of lentils instead of one cup of quinoa. If you make this recipe with modifications, please let me know how you modify it and how it works out!

Bon Appetit!

* note on quinoa: to yield 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, boil 1 cup water, then add 1/2 cup quinoa. Once the water returns to a boil, set it to simmer, cover the saucepan, and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the majority of the water has been absorbed. Let the saucepan sit, covered, for 3-5 minutes before using in recipe.