Butternut Squash in Black Bean Sauce

A rich and flavorful meatless meal of butternut squash and greens in a black bean sauce served over rice.

I have had this recipe for a while, but it got pushed to the back of the queue and I forgot about it until now.  I may have forgotten to post this recipe, but I did not forget how awesome it tasted.  I found this recipe idea on Gourmet Traveller 88 and I had to try it.  I happened to have some black bean paste in my refrigerator and some butternut squash in my freezer.  The frozen butternut squash was more soft than if I had used fresh, but it still tasted great and I plan to make this recipe again.  It should also work with pumpkin and I'm curious to try sweet potato as well.  I expanded on the original recipe by adding choi sum (an asian green that could be replaced with spinach or maybe kale).

Ingredients:

2 cups butternut squash, chopped
4-5 cups choi sum, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp chopped thai bird chillies, optional
2 Tbsps black bean sauce
Cracked Szechuan peppercorns
Chicken broth, vegetable stock, or water
1 cup sliced green onions

 Heat a large skillet over Medium heat and add about 1-2 Tbsp oil.  Add the aromatics (this is the garlic, ginger and chillies) cook, while stirring until fragrant.

Then add the onions and squash and stirring for a couple of minutes until the onions soften.

Add the choi sum and about 1 cup of broth (I used chicken broth, but you can use vegetable or water to make this vegetarian).  Cover and allow the greens to cook down until you can easily stir (the greens will mound over the top of the skillet, but once they begin to wilt and cook down it will be much more manageable), then uncover and let boil, while stirring until the liquid is reduced by at least half (about 10-15 minutes).

Add black bean paste stirring to combine and let continue to simmer until the sauce is as thick as you prefer.

Serve over rice garnished with green onions, makes 2 servings.  Enjoy.

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Penne with Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Choi Sum

A vegetarian pasta dish to help us recover from Thanksgiving overload.  This dish uses up leftover grape tomatoes, while adding mushrooms and choi sum (or you could use spinach).

For those of you who do not know what choi sum is here is a picture.  I see this all of the time in Chinatown, and it's relatively inexpensive.  I have used it before in stir-fries, soups and just boiled or stir-fried as a side. I originally planned to use spinach in this recipe but, when I got to Chinatown, the spinach looked wilted and the choi sum looked fresh and crisp.  So choi sum it was, it was also $0.89/lb where as spinach was at least $1.50/lb.  I like the choi sum because it is a hardier green than spinach, maybe a good substitute in this recipe would be kale or something similarly bold and green.  Choi sum does have a distinct flavor, but it did not seem bitter, it melded nicely with the other flavors and added a little crunch and lots of nutrition.  For more information on choi sum click here.

Ingredients:

2 small onions, chopped
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp oregano
1 cup grape  tomatoes (leftover)
4-5 cups chopped choi sum
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup Thai basil, torn (leftover)
Few dashes red chilli flakes, optional
Salt and pepper
Penne

I started by cutting and preparing all of my ingredients.  Then, when I was ready to start dinner I started a big pot of, salted, water to boil for the pasta.  While the water was heating, I heated a frying pan, about medium-medium low, with  about 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  To this I added the onions and cooked until tender.  Then I added the mushrooms, minced garlic, and spices stirring until the mushrooms became tender and started to shrink.  Next I added the whole grape tomatoes and covered the pan for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes became soft and wrinkled.  By this time the water was boiling and I added the pasta (enough for two) and let it boil for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, I mashed the tomatoes with a potato masher to break them up, and added the choi sum.  The choi sum crested well above the pan, but I covered it and let it cook for a couple of minutes before I began to stir.  I added the balsamic vinegar and gently stirred while the choi sum began to wilt.  In no time it wilted to less than half of its original size and I added the basil and red chilli flakes (if the sauce seems too thick add some pasta water) then turned off the heat.  You can stir in some Parmesan if you like and add salt and pepper to taste.  When the pasta was done  I drained it and tossed it with the sauce.  Makes 2 servings.  Serve topped with Parmesan. 

It turned out great.  For a meatless dish it was incredibly filling and all of the flavors tasted great together.  Best of all I feel healthy, and full, after eating it.  Pastas are a great way to experiment with different foods and flavors.  Be creative and enjoy.

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