RECIPES
MEXICAN PASTA SURPRISE
By Heather McDougall
We don’t very often think of pasta as a Mexican meal, but this
combination of beans, pasta and sauce has a wonderful flavor. It is
also very quick to make and almost everyone loves it. The shape of the
pasta may be changed for variety.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6
8
ounces uncooked bow-tie pasta
¼ cup vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh garlic
½ teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1 14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes
1 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 ¼ cups enchilada sauce
1/3 cup shredded soy cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ cup tofu sour cream
Place a large pot of water on to boil and cook pasta according to
package directions. Drain and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place the broth in a large non-stick pan. Add the onion, jalapenos and
garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the chipotle powder. Add the tomatoes, beans and enchilada
sauce. Mix well, breaking up the tomatoes slightly. Cook, stirring
occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the cooked pasta and mix well. Ladle
mixture into a covered casserole dish. Sprinkle with the soy cheese.
Bake covered for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 minutes longer.
Serve with the cilantro and sour cream to spoon over each individual
serving.
Hints: Cook the pasta until it is just tender. Do not overcook. This
may be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until baking. You will
need to add about 10-15 minutes to the baking time. Chipotle chili
powder is quite spicy. If you can’t find it or would like a less spicy
version, use regular chili powder instead. Recipes for enchilada sauce
and sour cream may be found in the May 2003 and the June 2002
newsletters or in The Quick & Easy Cookbook. If you have any leftovers,
this is great reheated for lunch the following day.
CORNBREAD
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 9
1
cup cornmeal
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup unbleached white flour
2 tablespoons organic sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk
½ cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
½ cup Wonderslim fat replacer
1 tablespoon egg replacer mixed in 4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons chopped green chilies (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Mix the soy milk, corn kernels and fat replacer together in another
bowl. Combine the egg replacer and water and mix with a whisk until
frothy. Add to wet ingredients and mix. Stir in the chilies, if
desired.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just
moistened. Do not over-mix. Pour into a non-stick square baking pan
and bake for 20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
POLENTA WITH BLACK BEANS AND MANGO SALSA
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 6-8
1 24 ounce package San Gennaro precooked polenta
½ cup vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
2 15 ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
1 15 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
dash or two Tabasco
sauce
freshly ground pepper to taste
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Slice polenta ½ inch thick. Place on a nonstick baking sheet and bake
for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the broth, onion, bell peppers and garlic in a large
saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add remaining
ingredients, except cilantro, and cook an additional 10 minutes. Stir
in cilantro and remove from heat.
Serve over the polenta and top with Mango salsa (recipe follows).
Hint: There are many kinds and flavors of precooked polenta on the
market. They will all work in this recipe. Check ingredients carefully
before buying these products. These products work well as a base for
many bean and vegetable dishes. The sliced polenta may also be cooked
on a non-stick griddle until browned on both sides. If you prefer to
cook your polenta from scratch, there are a variety of products to
choose from, and most only take a few minutes of cooking time. A good
test for the proper thickness of the polenta is to cook it until the
mixing spoon stands up in the pan.
MANGO SALSA
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Servings: makes 2 cups
2
cups peeled, chopped, ripe mango
½ cup finely chopped onion
½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
¼ teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon warm water
several twists freshly ground black pepper
dash salt
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Cover and chill at
least 1 hour before serving. This will keep in the refrigerator for
about a week.
Hint: Prepared Mango salsa is available in some markets and will cut
down on the preparation time.
EASY TACO CASSEROLE
As I have mentioned
many times before, my family really likes spicy, Mexican flavored
foods. We like to come up with variations, such as the previous
recipes for Mexican Pasta Surprise and Polenta with Black Beans, and
this is another one that is so simple anyone can prepare it in
almost no time at all. We like to roll this up in a tortilla, but
it can also be served over rice or a baked potato.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4-6
1
onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 ½ cups salsa, mild, medium or hot
1 package Bearitos Taco Seasoning
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish. Cover and bake for 30
minutes, uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Hints: Some grated soy cheese may be sprinkled over the top of the
casserole for the final 15 minutes of baking, if desired.
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