A quick no-cook side dish salad with fennel as the star of the story and collard greens and ripe pears in the background. I eat a big plate of these for lunch or just add a simple protein for a full meal. Enjoy
Ingredients
I'm having way too much fun with my new InstaPot. I'm still learning, but have been to churn out some good recipes, mostly traditional classics that I've converted for pressure cooking. This Southern classic black-eyed peas recipe is made vegan, so I had to do a little extra to replicate the smoke from what would have been smoked meat. I think I figured it out. I went deep into the classic rock vault for some inspiration. Enjoy.
A few years ago my family got invited to the premiere of the movie "The Hundred-Foot Journey," which is a movie produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey about an Indian family seeking asylum in France. The son becomes a famous chef introducing the French to Indian spices and cooking techniques. I remember thinking at the time how similar Indian cooking was to "soul food" in terms of the use of spices and seasonings to take humble ingredients to extraordinary. I was reminded again during our Thanksgiving trip to Dubai when we ate a Masala based fried cabbage dish which was very similar to the southern fried cabbage I grew up. I bought a lot of spices from the local Souk including the garam masala I used in this dish. This dish tastes as great as it smells so be prepared.
Celery Root is definitely not the prettiest vegetable at the market, but what it lacks in good looks it more than compensates with inner beauty, dynamite taste and ease of prep/cooking. If you're not familiar with celery root or celeriac as it's known, it's beyond worthy of your consideration. This celery root steak recipe is a great introduction. We enjoy it in our house as one of our many meatless nights. It also presents well enough to be on your holiday menu. Don't worry it's tastes nothing like celery, is easier to handle than it looks, and is low calorie and low carb.
A quick, fun and delicious way to get your veggies in without really thinking about it. I'm a kitchen gadgets guy. I don't have a lot of them (not sure my wife would agree), because I'm picky. I need my gadgets to be simple with high utility. This handheld spiralizer came into my Amazon feed …
Sundays mean meal prep for me, which pretty much always means making 2-3 sauces for the week. As I tend to keep things on the simple end during my always busy week, having reliable, delicious and versatile sauce on hand allow me to elevate any basic dish whether its pasta, grilled chicken, or roasted potatoes. This collard green salsa verde qualifies as one of those do it all type sauces. It definitely skews on the healthier side, but in no way skimps on flavor. Besides the taste and versatility I find it's an easy way to get the nutritional benefits provided by collard greens on a daily basis without the labor of cooking up a big ole pot of collards. JUST keep things simple with the recipe and you'll love it as a condiment/meal enhancer.
For a nice change-up to sweet potato Thanksgiving recipes try this simple, low prep hasselback sweet potatoes dish. This doesn't have to be a special occasion dish, as it easily works for a weeknight side. I've been experimenting more with ghee (claried butter) lately in some of my dishes. Ghee is a great cooking oil that I jokingly refer to as super butter since its both lactose and casein free, has a high smoke point (aka you can cook it at high heat levels without it browning/burning), and is rich and complex in flavor. Celebrate the life of the great Roy Hargrove with me by cooking to my favorite track "Strasbourg/St. Denis" which is my favorite song by his quintet.
A big green salad just in time for Thanksgiving side dish plans. It's a unique salad featuring an unlikely mix of ingredients that work magic together. Collard greens, baby lima beans, smashed cucumbers, and lemongrass-coconut pickled celery make for soul food meets Asian cuisine mash-up. Requires little cooking to free you up to focus on other things. The recipe is powered by a soulful hip hop track "Greeny Green" from Atlanta's finest Goodie Mob featuring Ceelo Green.
Chow Chow Relish - tangy Southern relish that is good on everything as a condiment. Sunday is my cook day. The rest of the week is just a matter of assembling meals that I've prepped. I keep things pretty simple, reserving all my food fussing for the sauces and dressings. I typically make 2-3 per …
Vegan pozole - Mexican meets soul food in this fusion soup recipe featuring cabbage poblano, and collard greens. It's a delicious and warming soup that comes together fast and can be included as part of your 30-minute meals repertoire. I've heard all the chatter about a cabbage soup diet being this miracle weight loss regimen. …
This comforting skillet cabbage recipe is a great weeknight meal. It's delicious and perfect for all types of customization. I know how much you guys love quick and easy meals, so today I am sharing my grandma's quick and easy beef cabbage stir. Add this to your collection of 30-minute meals. There are only a …
Delicious 10 minute take on a soul food staple featuring no slime okra and tomatoes prepared with one of the most simple cooking methods to allow the okra's natural flavor to shine augmented with lime and fresh mint. We eat okra in so many different ways in my house. But I understand not everyone is …
Crispy smashed sweet potato recipe featuring crispy, rich exterior with a sweet soft, and moist tender center for a perfect way to enjoy one of my favorite vegetables. MOOD MUSIC Duck fat and sweet potatoes are a perfect pairing. I buy duck fat from my local farmers' market from time to time, and then promptly …
Badass collards shouldn't be reserved for just Sunday soul food dinners and holidays. These silky-smooth meatless braised collard greens were meant to be enjoyed on weeknights as well. Musical Inspiration for Wine Braised Collard Greens If I could only eat one food, it'd likely be collard greens. My love affair with this dark cruciferous aphrodisiac …
This Salmon Poke Bowl recipe is not traditional in the true Hawaiian sense by any means, but it is damn good and more in line with versions you'll see as part of the craze that's going on currently. I used the toppings to put my personal spin on it which skews more towards soul food …
These Mexican sweet potatoes in their rich and complex spiced syrup make for a very indulgent dessert either for a weeknight or special occasions. I had a version of these Mexican sweet potatoes (camote enmielado) some time ago at an old school Mexican restaurant during my Chicago years. At first bite, I knew I was …
It's grilling season so I decided to update a family favorite hit - smoked cabbage wedges with an equally delicious pear-lime sauce.
For your next meatless meal try this sweet potato salad recipe or hockey pucks as my son calls the rounds. Cut them round, square, lengthwise or simply nice and fat. These oven-roasted steaks are enhanced by your choice of toppings. You can be as creative or plain as you want but this recipe strives for …
Delicious and simple Napa Cabbage Salad with Asian-Caribbean fusion dressing that takes all of about 5 minutes to have a sophisticated and brag-worthy dish on the table. This is a recipe that I adapted from a recipe from Marcus Samuelson's book exploring cuisine from across Africa. The dressing combines Scotch bonnet chilis with peanuts, ginger, …
Sweet potatoes and collard greens can make the best leftovers, especially in this delicious and super easy Soba Noodle Bowl recipe. This is a vegan dish with odd combinations of vegetables that surprisingly work in great harmony together. Traditional "soul food" ingredients are paired with Japanese flavors for a satisfying and interesting meal. I recently …
Nothing like some raw collard greens chiffonade to get me off that slide! Simply prepared, a tasty way to get collard greens in your life any day of the week. We eat collard greens in one form or another at least once a week in our household. This collard greens recipe made chiffonade style is …
Stewed Okra and Tomatoes - fresh summer ingredients slowly simmered with a flavorful sofrito sauce for a balanced yet Southern classic stew-like side dish. It's prepared the Southern way, but with a Caribbean twist. The best part about cooking stewed okra is the aroma that is produced via the slow cooking of the ingredients which …
This Peruvian Lima bean recipe (ensalada de pallares) is a highly underrated bean salad. It's got flavor and texture. Growing up in Texas I've had my share of blackeyed pea salads aka "Texas Caviar" and this Lima bean salad is very similar in taste profile and technique. Lima or butter beans are common to soul …