Beans, Greens & Proteins Recipe Challenge

February 17, 2018thetipsyhousewife

A few months back I formed a virtual women’s group on Instagram with fellow recipe creating food bloggers. I sought out women from different states so that we created a well-rounded group with various culinary backgrounds and tastes. This group has been one of the most supportive group of women I have ever professionally worked with.

As I was creating my content calendar for January, recipes with a healthier twist, I had this great idea to bring a cooking challenge to my ladies group. The challenge was that you were to create a recipe using three components: beans, greens and a protein, and the entire recipe couldn’t exceed more than ten ingredients total. Salt, Pepper and One Cooking Oil did not count in the total.

We all posted about it on Instagram and soon we had other Instagram community members asking to participate, so we opened it up to everyone. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the recipes that the ladies all came up with. One was as creative and delicious as the next! I have gathered all the recipes in this blog post with links to each contributors individual blogs (if they have a blog). I also linked their Instagram Pages to their name. I hope you check them all out because these women are producing some amazing food in their kitchens.

@bonappeteach

Lauren made this lovely Pork and Pineapple Cauliflower Fried Rice. Don’t let the presentation scare you, the recipe is quite easy. You can find the recipe right HERE.

@sadiehill

Sadie made this gorgeous blackened fish bowl with a homemade green goddess dressing. For the recipe CLICK HERE.

@hungrytravelingmama

Lola is from Texas, land of the go big or go home. Well for this challenge she went big! Check out here Shrimp Dish by CLICKING HERE.

@whatmidgemakes

Midge came in HOT with this steak and homemade chimichurri sauce. You can find the recipe by clicking on here name, finding this picture on here instagram page and the recipe is in the caption!

@the_kitchen_wife

Mandee is one of my all time favorite food bloggers. She made this delicious looking soup by doing a fridge forage for ingredients. Can you imagine what she can make with specific ingredients?! Check out her recipes HERE!

@thesavvygourmand

Jo recently launched her new blog! You can find her blog here TheSavvyGourmand.com. She made this great and innovative Salad with a citrus vinaigrette. Here is Jo’s Recipe

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
1 bunch kale, torn into pieces
*Chicken – whatever you have in stock. If frozen, thaw first.
Pinch of Aleppo Chile Pepper flakes
1/2 cup Green (french) Lentil Beans
1 Bay Leaf
1/2 medium Red Onion, finely minced
2 Oranges
1 tsp Grain Mustard
1/2 tsp Honey
EVOO
Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 400^F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss cauliflower pieces with EVOO, salt & pepper and place on baking sheet. Roast for approx. 40- 50 minutes or until tender and golden brown on top. (At 40 minutes, I checked it and threw my kale on, see step 3.)
Prepare second baking sheet with parchment paper. Pat chicken dry. Toss with EVOO, salt & pepper and place on baking sheet. Roast for 1 hour or until cooked through. Turn halfway through. Once done, set aside to cool. Once cool enough to touch, chop or pull from bones and shred.
Remove kale from stems. Tear kale into small pieces. Separate kale in two parts. Reserve half for salad. Toss the other half with EVOO, salt & pepper and place on baking sheet with cauliflower or in place of cauliflower if it is done. This will save you some cleanup. Bake for 20 minutes. (I left my cauliflower on the pan and moved it over to the side as I felt it needed a few more minutes in the oven.)
While the cauliflower, kale and chicken are cooking… make the lentils and the salad dressing. Rinse the lentils and place in a pot with the bay leaf, a pinch of salt and about an inch of water to cover. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer for 20 minutes until tender. Drain lentils. Toss with about 1 tbsp of salad dressing.
**For salad dressing: Mix 5 tbsp EVOO, 2 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice, mustard, honey, salt & pepper to taste and 2 tbsp red onions. Segment the remaining orange(s) to toss in the salad.
Toss 2 tbsp dressing with reserved kale and let sit. This will break the kale down a bit. Then add the chicken, cauliflower, orange segments, crispy kale chips and green lentils and toss with the rest of the dressing & red onions if you like.
*Note: for the chicken, this can be breasts, legs, thighs, drumsticks, etc. and as little or as much as you have or want to add to your salad. For mine, I used drumsticks and pulled and shredded the meat from the bones.
**Add some white balsamic vinegar to the dressing for extra zing!

@themeltingplate

This was one of the big winners! Sarah really outdid herself on this recipe. She was a fan favorite and was one of the two winners! Sarah doesn’t have her blog yet so here is here recipe!

Lobster Ravioli with Arugula and Basil puree topped with English peas and Meyer Lemon

For the Pasta Dough:
130 grams 00 flour
50 grams egg (about 1 large egg)
45 grams egg yolk
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 gram extra virgin olive oil
For the filling:
140 grams ricotta cheese
80 grams lobster claw meat (cooked & finely diced)
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp red pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
(egg wash prepared & set aside for assembly)
For the Puree:
Zest and juice of one meyer lemon
1 tsp crushed red pepper
30 grams arugula
15 grams fresh basil
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
9 grams olive oil
Topping:
2 cups english or sweet peas
1 tsp lemon zest
a handful of small fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove, pressed

Tools needed:

Pasta Roller

Ravioli folder/Dumpling folder

Immersion Blender/Vitamix/Bullet

Digital scale

For the Pasta:

1. Make a mound on your counter top with the flour & kosher salt combined, create a well in the center of the flour with your fist without going all the way to the counter (it should look like a nest).

2. In a bowl combine the egg & yolk, pour into the center of the well of flour. With a fork slowly begin to combine the egdes of the flour “nest” with the egg, without breaking through any one side as to not spill the egg out onto the counter.

3. When the egg is starting to look lumpy & more paste like, begin to incorperate the rest of the flour to create a dough.

4. Lightly flour a surface and with your hands begin to knead the dough, it will feel super sticky at first (keeping a bowl of water handy to keep your fingers moist will prevent your hands from sticking to the dough). Knead for a total of 15 minutes. Note: you can NEVER over knead a pasta dough, but if you under knead it, it will be super tough! You will know when the dough is ready when it is smooth, elastic & resembles the consistency of play-dough.

5. Wrap ball of dough tightly with plastic & let rest for 20 minutes at room temp.

(Meanwhile make the filling & puree)

6. Take the rested dough and put it through your pasta roller at the largest setting 7-9 times. Each time folding your dough into thirds before running it through again. This will increase the elasticity of your dough and “knead” it one last time before rolling it thin.

7. Then consecutively turn down the roller thickness until you have reached a thickness that begins to look transparent. (for me it was #6 on a kitchenaid attachment)

8. Lay your pasta sheets flat & use a 4 inch diameter pasta cutter to cut the pasta into circles. (you can save the remnants of pasta & use them for a “scraps” pasta dish later!).

9. Use your ravioli folder, place on circle in the center, place about a tbsp of filling in the center. Brush the outside of the circle with egg wash, fold in half & repeat until all the circles have been filled!

10. Place completed raviolis on a lightly floured parchment lined, baking sheet.

For the Filling:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix until smooth and entirely combined.

For the Puree:

1. In a large wide mouthed jar combine all ingredients. With an immersion blender start to blend by placing wand at the bottom of the jar and slowly pulling upwards until a deep green color & a pourable consistency. (if you do not have an immersion blender, a vitamix or bullet will do the trick!)

For the topping:

1. In a small skillet, pour 1 tbsp olive oil, when hot add the garlic, & the english peas and saute until cooked through & fragrant.

Cooking /plating instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Gently drop the raviolis in the water & cook 3-4 minutes or until al dente. You may need to cook them in 2 batches depending on the size of your pot (if you over fill the pot they will stick together while they cook).Remove cooked pasta with a slotted spoon.

2. Toss the cooked raviolis in the puree until thoroughly coated, remove with a slotted spoon, plate, top with english peas, sprinkle with salt, fresh basil & a pinch of lemon zest.