Salisbury.Fake dinner, food

Basil Pesto Fettucine and White Beans

 

 

KIMG0865 (1)

Basil Pesto Fettucine with White Beans

For the beans:

1 12 oz can white beans (great northern, I think they’re called), drained and rinsed
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp olive oil

Heat the oil in a skillet.  Add the beans and cook for 2-3 minutes.  You’re looking to dry the beans out a bit.  They’ll start to brown and get crispy, which is completely fine.  Add the garlic and continue cooking on low heat till the beans are tender crisp, and then remove from heat.

For the pesto:

About a cup and a half of loosely packed fresh basil leaves
2 small cloves of garlic
1/2 cup walnuts
salt, pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

Blend in a food processor the basil, garlic, walnuts, and salt and pepper.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until a ball forms.  You don’t want it to be too loose.

Cook about a pound of fettucine to al dente.  Drain and set aside.

Add the beans to the pasta, then stir in the pesto.  Add about 1 1/2 cups of cashew milk, or other non dairy milk of your choice.  Or if you drink dairy milk, feel free to add that instead.  You’re going to stir everything together and then let it come to a simmer for 5-7 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly.  This is why you want your pasta almost cooked.  You’ll finish cooking it in the sauce.

Serve with salad, or just on its own.  This recipe makes four servings.

Salisbury.Fake dinner

Creole Lentils with Smoked Sausage

2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock
1/2 cup of lentils
1/2 of a green pepper, diced small
1/2 of a yellow or orange pepper, diced small
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup smoked sausage (I used beef sausage), chopped small
1 tablespoon of Creole seasoning (my recipe for this is below)
1/3 cup tomato sauce (plain sauce)

In a medium saucepan, bring the vegetable stock to a boil, and then add in the lentils.  Cook the lentils until they are nearly done. They’ll be somewhat chewy and you’ll still have quite a bit of liquid leftover.  This is okay!  When the lentils are about halfway done, heat a medium sized skillet over medium-high heat and add in the olive oil.  Add in the peppers, onion, and garlic, and cook till softened. Reduce the heat to low-medium, and continue to cook.  You might smell the garlic starting to burn, but that’s okay for this dish.  As long as the garlic doesn’t turn black, you are doing it right.  I know it sounds  weird to have burnt garlic in a recipe, but it really adds a nice flavor to everything.  Once the lentils have reached the nearly done stage, crank the heat to medium high and add the sausage to the skillet to heat through.  Pour off most of the liquid from the lentils into the pan with the onion, peppers, garlic, and now sausage. Sprinkle the seasoning on top and mix in.  Cook this until the liquid is reduced by half, about 1-2 minutes.  Add in the lentils and remaining stock, and bring to a boil.  Add the tomato sauce, and continue cooking until the liquid is mostly gone and you have the consistency of a thick sauce.

Serve with goat cheese crumbles, and maybe some hearty bread.
Creole Seasoning:
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp white pepper
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
5 tbsp paprika
3 tbsp salt
Mix all of these ingredients together and keep in an airtight container for up to a year.  If a spice blend doesn’t smell like anything, it’s probably no longer as potent, and you should get rid of it.

Note: The reason why this is called Creole and not Cajun is because I read recently that Creole food uses tomatoes, while Cajun food does not usually use them.  I am happy to be corrected if that’s incorrect, however, because I am always willing to learn!