Vegetarian Brazilian Feijoada-Black Bean Stew

Brazilian Feijoada is a recipe for black bean stew originally developed by slaves to use lesser cuts of meat. This is a vegan version. Serve this dish with brown rice or quinoa and greens. I made this for my book club meeting yesterday and it was a hit. Instead of adding the habanero hot sauce into the stew, I took the bottle along so that anyone who wanted to add some heat was free to do so.

Ingredients:

2 16 0z cans black beans, rinsed under cold running water

• 1 clove garlic, chopped fine
• 1 can stewed italian tomatoes, chopped
• 1 can (19 oz) black beans
• 3 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrot, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tsp habanero hot sauce (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• Chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Directions:

• Heat olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan.
• Sauté the onion, carrot, garlic and celery for five minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
• Add the zest, cumin and oregano and cook two minutes.
• Add the beans, water and tomatoes to the vegetable mixture.
• Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and stir in the tomato paste. Salt & pepper to taste.
• Stir in the hot sauce if using. Add more water to desired consistency, if necessary.
• Reduce heat to low and stir in the parsley.
• Allow to simmer at low heat, partially covered, for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  

Flat Roasted Chicken

This is a great recipe to roast a whole chicken in much less time and it is juicy and delicious! Sometimes you can buy the whole flattened chicken in the regular poultry section of your grocery store. Otherwise, ask your butcher to prepare one for you. It is simply a matter of breaking the backbone & breastbone and flattening the chicken down. I served this with roasted potatoes and roasted asparagus.

Ingredients:

One 3 to 4 lb flattened whole chicken
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup dried parsley
2 tsps habanero hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

Place chicken in a roasting pan
Combine oil, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley and hot sauce in a small bowl & mix well.
Brush over chicken to coat well. Cover with foil and allow to sit in fridge for a few hours.
Preheat oven to 4ooF & place chicken in oven uncovered.
Roast for about 50 to 60 minutes until juices run clear, tenting the foil over the chicken once it is browned to your liking.
Allow to sit for 5 minutes before separating.