Black Bean Frittata

This is one of my favorite quick and simple dinners that I often make on a weeknight when I’m pressed for time. It’s similar to a classic frittata, except that black beans are used instead of eggs.

Black beans are high in fiber and an excellent choice for feeding the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Did you know that inhabitants of the Blue Zones eat (on average) one cup of legumes a day? More and more research is showing that gut health is linked to nearly every aspect of our physical health and meals like this are a great way to boost your fiber intake.

This dish pairs well with salad (particularly a salad that includes cabbage and cilantro), avocado, mango, and heirloom tomatoes. I also like to serve it with some salsa and/or hot sauce. It makes for a flavorful taco filling as well, along with some guacamole or sliced avocado.

However you serve it, I hope you enjoy :)

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Black Bean Frittata

Notes: You can certainly use a different color of bell pepper depending on what you have, but I do think that red/orange/yellow ones taste better in this recipe than green because they’re a bit sweeter. Also please note that you do NOT drain the beans here. You will pour in the entire can, liquid and all. For the cheese, I usually do a combination of cheddar and mozzarella. Also, I never measure it - just grate or slice a bit and throw it on.

Good glug of olive oil
One medium yellow onion, chopped
One red bell pepper, diced
29-oz can black beans, do NOT drain
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 cup (approximately) shredded or sliced mozzarella and/or cheddar cheese (or whatever you prefer)

To serve:
Chopped cilantro

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. I use my 12-inch cast iron skillet for this. Add the onion and sauté for 8-10 minutes until softened, stirring every minute or so. Add the diced bell pepper and sauté for another minute or two. Then pour in the entire can of black beans, liquid and all, plus add the sea salt, ground cumin and granulated garlic. Stir and let the mixture come to a simmer. Once simmering, cook for approximately another 10 minutes (maybe a bit more) to let the black beans thicken, stirring occasionally. I like to scrape the bottom of the pan with my spatula during this step.

When the beans have thickened, I use the flat part of my spatula to level the top before adding the cheese. Once flat, grate your cheese over the top, or place some slices in a nice pattern to mostly cover the beans.

Scatter some chopped cilantro over the top just before serving to make it pretty :)

Serves 6-8

Quinoa Patties

These patties can be eaten anytime of the day and are one of my most requested recipes.

Most patties and fritters (including the recipe these are adapted from) have a good amount of breadcrumbs, but I make mine without them. For one, I haven't found a gluten-free source I'm happy with and baking a loaf of bread only to stale it for crumbs is too much even for me. So instead I use a bit more quinoa (this keeps the starch content lower) and a small amount of sprouted sorghum flour.

As long as you already have cooked quinoa in the fridge, this mixture comes together quickly and can be stored - refrigerated - for the better part of a week. I wouldn't use freshly cooked (read: hot) quinoa to make these as it could start to cook the egg a little. When you are ready to cook, they take about 20 minutes, which is mostly hands-off.

These are great for a to-go lunch. At home I usually serve them with a bit of mashed avocado, sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Salad, cultured or roasted vegetables on the side make them a complete meal.

Enjoy!! :)

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Quinoa Patties
Adapted from these Kale Quinoa Bites on 101Cookbooks.com.

Notes: I start with unsalted quinoa in this recipe. If your quinoa is salted, decrease the added salt a bit. As fas as onion goes, if I have a very large yellow onion, I use about 1/4 of it. For a medium one I’ll use about 1/2, and for a quite small yellow onion I’ll use the majority of it. Also, this recipe was originally written using brown rice flour. I’ve since moved to using sorghum flour as I find the patties stay together a bit better in the pan and stick less. Either one will work just fine. If you are not GF and use all-purpose flour, please leave a note in the comments about how it worked!

One last comment, this recipe was last updated to make a slightly larger batch using 3 eggs instead of two and 2 cups of quinoa instead of 1 1/2. The slightly higher egg to quinoa ratio makes them stay together better in the pan and it also makes 8 full patties.

Recipe updated 7/23/2020

3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups cooked, unsalted quinoa (I gently pack it into the measuring cup)
1/2 cup sorghum flour (I use sprouted)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 - 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped (see note)
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
3-4 kale leaves, chopped into small-ish pieces
Olive oil, for cooking

Combine the eggs, quinoa, flour and sea salt in a medium/large mixing bowl and stir well. Add the chopped onion, garlic, kale and crumbled feta and stir again. You can either cook the patties right away or keep the mixture in the fridge until you need it.

To cook, you'll need a nonstick pan. I use my well-seasoned cast-iron pans. The small ones are perfect for making one patty at a time, or I make four patties in the big one. You will also need a lid to cover whichever pan you're using.

Preheat your pan at medium-low heat. When it's warm, add olive oil and heat for another few moments. Then, for each patty, plop some mixture onto the pan and use your spoon to shape each one so it's round and flat on top (see pictures). I generally make them about 3.5-4 inches in diameter. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes one one side, flip, cover again, and cook for another 8-10 minutes on the other side. You'll quickly get a good sense of how long you need to cook them on your particular stove.

This recipe makes 8 round patties that are about 4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick.

Lentils with Delicata Squash, Garam Masala & Cilantro

When I was pregnant, I claimed I didn't mind what my son's interests would become, as long as he found his passion in life. And that's still mostly true. But now that we cook together almost every day, I get so excited that he loves being in the kitchen, and I really want to nurture his interest in food and cooking. So I guess I do mind a little bit.

The day before yesterday we made pesto together and he diligently worked for 20 whole minutes(!) putting chopped parsley and garlic into the food processor, pouring olive oil without spilling it and trying to juice a lemon. It was the best.

One of the side benefits that I hope comes from our time in the kitchen is a more adventurous spirit on his part to try the foods we cook together. Like most babies starting solids, he would eat just about anything when he was around a year old - pureed steamed kale, pureed steamed broccoli, pureed kale AND broccoli! At the time, I didn't know any better and thought he would always be a perfect little eater. Foolish, I know.

We made this dish together a few nights ago and I feel like you're expecting to hear that it was SO good that he not only tried it, but ate an entire serving. Sorry! He wouldn't even taste it, despite the facts that (1) he thoroughly enjoyed pouring unseemly amounts of garam masala into the pan, and (2) I tried to make my best yummy noises as I was eating it. But, it was so good. My husband and I loved it, doesn't that count for something?

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Lentils with Delicata Squash, Garam Masala & Cilantro

Notes: You can find garam masala in the spice section of most grocery stores. Also, since making this recipe, roasted delicata squash has become one of my favorite things to make.  It's buttery, caramelizes really well, and doesn't require peeling. You might want to make extra to have for a snack.

1 1/2 cups cooked brown lentils (1/2 cup dry)
1 delicata squash, halved, and sliced into 1/4 inch half or quarter moons
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbsp garam masala spice blend
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Small bunch of cilantro, chopped

Cook the lentils. There's a great tutorial here.

Roast the delicata squash. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half length-wise and spoon out the seeds. Slice each half into 1/4 inch half moons - or quarter moons if your squash is on the larger side, as mine was for these pictures - and toss the pieces with some olive oil and sea salt on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes on the middle rack, tossing once half-way through. The pieces should be browned and a bit caramelized when done.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over somewhere between medium and medium-low heat (depending on how your stove cooks) and add the onions and garam masala. Let the onions slowly cook in the garam masala until softened, stirring regularly. It should take between 10 and 20 minutes for the onions to soften. Don't turn the heat up too high because spices can burn. When the onions are soft, turn off the heat and add the lentils, delicata squash and most of the cilantro. Toss together. Salt to taste. Serve garnished with the remainder of the cilantro.

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a side