Tuscan Bean Salad #BloggerCLUE

Perfect picnic fare, this delicious salad of kale, cannellini beans, grape tomatoes and canned tuna can be made ahead because it gets better as all the tasty ingredients spend more time together.  Seriously, we had only the tiniest bowl of leftovers so it got lost but my daughter reclaimed it from the refrigerator four days later. Still delicious! How many salads can say that?!

It’s Blogger C.L.U.E. time again, where I am assigned another blog from our group in which to snoop and find a recipe to share that fits the current theme or “clue,” which is Picnic. My favorite part of this process is getting to know my fellow food bloggers because although we have a love of tasty food in common, it’s great to find other commonalities and learn about their interests, work, families and the cities in which they live. This month I spent time getting acquainted with Kate from Kate’s Kitchen.

Kate and her husband recently moved house and I’ve been following that story with interest because, you know, moving is kind of my thing. I know the drill only too well and it amuses me to read other people’s stories of the trials and tribulations of a move. Kate has done it with aplomb, still working in the field of finance, cooking deliciousness and recently posting a fabulous mushroom lasagna roll from under a pile of boxes with scant kitchen equipment. She’s an avid gardener so her recipes often take advantage of that fresh, homegrown bounty. I’m so jealous of the rich soil of Indiana!

So, I needed to hunt for picnic friendly recipes! I love taking salads along to picnics or potlucks so that’s where I started my search. I was spoiled for choice on Kate’s blog, bookmarking her Blueberry Watermelon Salad with mint and lemon, Lana’s Chicken Salad with roasted chicken, grapes and pecans, her Lemon Apricot Salad with lemon curd (!) stirred through it,  Green Bead Salad with Black Beluga Lentils made with tasty sun-dried tomatoes and salami, and Kate’s lovely Blue Cheese Potato Salad with bacon.  I simply couldn’t not make up my mind until I got to the Tuscan Beans with Tuna. Sold! We ate it for dinner with yesterday's Chickpea Moroccan Flatbread.

The couple of minor changes I made:
I was catering for one vegetarian (younger daughter) who isn’t so strict that meat or fish can’t touch her veggies but she didn’t want to eat the actual tuna so I just made little piles of it on top instead of mixing it in. If you want to make this strictly vegetarian, use olive oil instead of the tuna oil. And, obviously, leave off the tuna itself. Kate’s salad called for normal kale, which was on my shopping list, but I couldn’t resist the gorgeous purple kale I came across in my nearby supermarket. Kate adapted this recipe herself from Food Network where they used garlic and cooked the kale. I liked her easy no-cook method but decided to keep the original garlic since we are fans and I totally forgot to buy Italian dressing. Massaging the kale with the oil and vinegar softens it nicely without cooking if you want to serve immediately. Otherwise just mixing everything and leaving it for a while works great too, especially if you are taking it along to a picnic.

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons white balsamic
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cans (5 oz or 151g each) tuna packed in olive oil
1/2 lb or 225g purple kale (I medium head – bigger or smaller will still work.)
1 15.5 oz or 439g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup or 170g grape tomatoes
3 inner stalks celery with some leaves
3/4 cup or 100g pitted ripe black olives
3.5 oz or 100g roasted red peppers
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Chop your garlic and put it in a big salad bowl with the vinegar and a sprinkle of salt and pepper while you get on with the rest of the salad. This takes a little of the sharpness off of the garlic.

Cut your little tomatoes in half. Pull the strings off of the celery and chop it into pieces.

Remove the hard stems from your kale and cut the bigger leaves into smaller pieces. Small leaves can be left intact. If you are using thicker dark green kale, slice it finely.

How could I resist?!

Squeeze the tuna oil into the salad bowl with the garlic and vinegar and give it a stir and a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set the tuna aside for later.

Add in the kale and use your hands to massage the dressing into the leaves.

Slice your olives and roasted peppers.

Put everything, including the rinsed cannellini beans, into the bowl with the garlic, vinegar and oil. Toss to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the tuna and toss again. (Or set it on the top of the salad.)

Enjoy!

• (Almost) Nancy's Chopped Salad w/ Oregano Vinaigrette by Heather from girlichef
• Apple Chips by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Barbecue Chicken Salad w/ Smoky Barbecue Vinaigrette by Kate from Kate's Kitchen
• California Quinoa Greek Salad by Christiane from Taking on Magazines
• Carrot Cake Cookies by Kathy from Bakeaway with Me
• Chicken Salad w/ Peanut Dressing by Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch
• Chicken Waldorf Salad by Aly from Cooking in Stilettos
• Duck with Pear Wraps + Limeade with Chia Seeds by Kelli from Kelli's Kitchen
• Fried Apple Pies by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Frozen Minty Cardinal Punch by Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Green Bean & Corn Salad by Alice from A Mama, Baby and Shar-pei in the Kitchen
• Loaded Baked Potato Salad by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
• Mushroom Parmesan Muffins by Kate from Kate's Kitchen
• Oatmeal Peanut Butter Date Cookies by Rebekah from Making Miracles
• Olive Sables by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
• Puff Pastry Antipasto Squares by Anna from annaDishes
• Smoky Pimento Cheese Spread by Debra from Eliot's Eats
• Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Baked Beans + Chickenburger Roll-in-a-Basket by Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme
• Thomas Keller's Chocolate Chip Cookies by Kim from Liv Life
• Tuscan Bean Salad by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
• Watermelon Feta Salad by Jean from Lemons and Anchovies
• White Bean, Bacon and Rosemary Salad by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm

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Chickpea Veggie Soup #FoodieExtravaganza

This hearty chickpea veggie soup, full of vegetables and flavor, is thickened by a combination of nutritional yeast and steel-cut oats. It will stick to your ribs and keep you warm and your stomach satisfied for hours.

Soup is good food
Nothing warms a body more than a bowl of rich, thick soup filled with good stuff to scoop up with your spoon. Don’t get me wrong. I am also a fan of creamed soups and broths and consommés. In fact, in general, I am a fan of soup. But there is something special, and certainly more filling, about a chunky soup with stuff in it.

This lovely recipe comes from one of my favorite new cookbooks that has been mentioned in this space before: OATrageous Oatmeals: Delicious & Surprising Plant-Based Dishes From This Humble, Heart-Healthy Grain by +Kathy Hester. I gave away one copy a couple of months back when I was transformed into a lover of oats by all of the savory recipes in Kathy’s great book. I had always thought of oats as something to eat for breakfast or use in sweet baked treats, like our family's favorite chewy chocolate chip cookies. Kathy’s Mushroom Ginger Congee was truly a mind changer for me when it comes to oats.

National Oatmeal Month - Who knew?
This month my Foodie Extravaganza group is celebrating National Oatmeal month and Kathy and Page Street Publishing have generously agreed to supply a copy of her book for a giveaway. Make sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post to enter the drawing. You will not be sorry!

Recipe ©Kathy Hester from OATrageous Oatmeals: Delicious & Surprising Plant-Based Dishes From This Humble, Heart-Healthy Grain, printed here by permission from Page Street Publishing (My adaptations are in parentheses.)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons or 30ml olive oil
1⁄4 cup or 50g onion
3 cloves garlic
11⁄2 cups or 270g sweet potatoes
1 cup or 110g chopped carrots
1 can (15 oz or 425g) chickpeas, rinsed
6 cups or 1420ml water
1⁄2 cup or 40g steel-cut oats
4 tablespoons or 24g nutritional yeast, divided (I had never heard of this stuff but it’s actually quite wonderful and I was delighted to try it. I’m going to be sprinkling it on everything now! Read more here.)
1 teaspoon marjoram
1⁄2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1⁄2 teaspoon basil
1⁄4 teaspoon thyme
1⁄4 teaspoon ground rosemary (I used sprigs of fresh herbs in place of the basil, thyme and rosemary, chopped finely.)
1 1⁄2 cups or 270g chopped kale or other greens, like chard or collards
Salt and pepper, to taste (I used one vegetable broth cube in place of the salt.)

Method
(Peel your vegetables and cube the sweet potatoes, dice the carrots and mince the onion and garlic.)

Add the olive oil to a soup pot and heat over medium heat. Once hot, add onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Then add the garlic and cook for 3 more minutes.

Add the sweet potatoes, carrots, chickpeas and water, then turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.

Once the soup is boiling, turn to low and add the oats, 2 tablespoons (30 g) of the nutritional yeast, marjoram, smoked paprika, basil, thyme and ground rosemary. Cover and simmer until the oats are thoroughly cooked, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Those are the golden flakes of nutritional yeast.

Add in the kale and the other 2 tablespoons (30 g) of nutritional yeast.

Cook about 5 to 10 minutes until the kale is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Per serving: Calories 177.6, protein 8.1 g, total fat 5.3 g, carbohydrates 24.2 g, sodium 41.9 mg, fiber 6.1 g

One more word about the nutritional yeast: It took me quite a few stops to find it in Dubai so I wrote the cookbook author, Kathy, to ask for substitution suggestions. If you don’t mind it no longer being vegetarian, she said to use chicken stock instead of the water, which would also give the desired umami to the soup.

Enjoy!

We are a group of bloggers who love to blog about food! Each month we will decide on a food holiday to base our recipes around. This month's the ingredient is oatmeal. Yes, January is National Oatmeal Month along with a whole array of other delightful things! We hope you all enjoy our delicious oatmeal treats this month and come back to see what we bring for you next month. Many thanks to our fabulous oatmeal host, Lauren of From Gate to Plate.

• Apple Pie Overnight Oats / Wallflour Girl
• Bacon Whole Grain Granola Bars / Pantry Friendly Cooking
• Berry Oatmeal Super Smoothie / Keep Moving Forward With Me
• Brown Sugar Barbecue Meatballs / Fearlessly Creative Mammas
• Chickpea Veggie Soup / Food Lust People Love
• Homemade Cranberry Almond Granola / Rhubarb and Honey
• Lemon Ginger Oat Porridge - Lugaw / The Joyful Foodie
• Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies / Making Miracles
• Mango Poppyseed Oat Muffins / The Sweet {Tooth} Life
• Mini Meatball Subs / The Freshman Cook
• Monster Cookie Granola / From Gate to Plate
• Mushroom Ginger Oat Congee / Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Oat Cinnamon Rolls / Passion Kneaded
• Oatmeal Pancakes / Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Peanut Butter Oat Snack Balls / Mrs. Penguin
• Vanilla Salted Oatmeal Cookies / Baking in Pyjamas
• Southwestern Oatmeal Cakes / A Day in the Life on the Farm

If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a reader looking for delicious recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

Pin this Chickpea Veggie Soup! 

.

Butternut Squash Tian with Herb Topping

Roasted butternut squash and garlicky kale mixed with cheese and eggs are topped with herby breadcrumbs and baked for a great vegetarian main course or side dish I'm calling Butternut Squash Tian.

I am always on the lookout for vegetarian recipes that make a great side but are also hearty enough to be eaten as a main dish. This recipe, adapted from Faith Durand’s post on TheKitchn can do both quite admirably. I decided to pretty it up from the usual casserole by baking it in a spring-form pan and serving it in slices. And before a load of angry French folk wielding Opinels arrive to object to my use of the word “tian,” (Bienvenue!) may I just say that I had never heard of the word before I saved the recipe almost a year ago, despite living for three years in France.

After a little research, I do now understand that the tian itself is the vessel AND the vegetable gratin that is cooked in it, so my pan choice probably means that this no longer qualifies as a tian. What can I say? It’s still delicious! And pretty! How many casseroles can say that?

This week on Sunday Supper, we are celebrating the arrival of Fall with comforting dishes using seasonal ingredients. Butternut squash is one of my favorites. And so is kale. Make sure you scroll to the bottom of this recipe to see all the other seasonal dishes on offer.

Ingredients

For the tian:

About 4lb or 1.9kg whole butternut squash

Olive oil for roasting

1/2 cup or 100g short-grain or arborio rice

1 3/4 oz or 50g freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese

7 oz or 200g smoked cheese

2 large cloves garlic

5-6 large stems curly kale

3 large eggs

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the herb topping:

1 cup or 80g dried bread crumbs

1 big handful flat leaf parsley, leaves only

Leaves from 3 to 4 sprigs of thyme and/or rosemary (I used some of each.)

1 3/4 oz or 50g freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and prepare your eventual baking pan or casserole dish by greasing it liberally. If you have an actual earthenware tian , more power to you! (My spring-form pan was 8 in or 20cm in diameter and about 3 in or 7 1/2cm deep.)

Peel the butternut squash, scrape the seeds out, and cut it into chunks.

Pile the squash up in a large roasting pan (not the one you’ve already prepared for baking the finished dish!) and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Toss the squash around a little so that it is well coated with the oil and then spread the chunks out into one layer. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt.

Roast for about one hour in your hot oven or until the butternut squash is fork tender and the edges have gone golden. You'll want to stir it around about half way through.

While the squash is roasting, boil your rice in salted water with a drizzle of olive oil, just as you would pasta. Keep a close eye on it. Since Arborio rice has such a high starch content, it tends to want to boil up and over. When the rice is just cooked - test a grain or two occasionally – drain the water out and set the rice aside to cool.

Grate all of your cheeses and make sure to divide the Grana Padano pile in half, some for the tian, some for the herb topping.

Meanwhile, remove the stems from your kale and chop it into small bits.

Mince your garlic then sauté it in a little olive oil being careful not to let it color. Add in the chopped kale and a sprinkle of sea salt. Cook, covered, until the kale is completely wilted. Set aside to cool.

To make your breadcrumb topping, add all of the dry ingredients to your food processor and process until it is completely uniform.

Add in the two tablespoons of olive oil and process again. Depending on the type of baking dish you use, you may have leftover topping. Store this in a bag in the freezer. It can be used for topping baked fish, much like in this delicious Bill Granger recipe .

When the squash is roasted, remove it from the oven and turn the oven down to 350°F or 180°C. Mash the squash with a potato masher and set it aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk your eggs and then add in the butternut squash. Mix well.

Now add in the rest all of your tian ingredients: The wilted, garlicky kale, the cooked rice, all of the smoked cheese and the other half of the Grana Padano cheese that wasn’t used in the topping. Give the whole lot a good couple of grinds of fresh black pepper and then mix well.

Spoon the mixture into your prepared baking pan and smooth it out.

Top liberally with the herby breadcrumbs. As mentioned before, you can bake this in a larger casserole, in which case, you’ll probably use all of the breadcrumbs. For my smaller, deeper pan, I ended up using just about half. Pat the herb topping down so it doesn’t fall off later when serving.

Bake for one-hour, covering the top with foil part way through if the breadcrumb topping is getting too browned. Check that it is cooked through by putting a knife in and leaving it there for about 30 seconds. The knife should be very hot to the touch when it is removed. If you are using a shallower casserole dish, this may not take the full hour.

To remove from the spring-form pan, allow the tian to cool for a few minutes and then run a knife around the sides before releasing the catch.

Run a knife under the tian to loosen it from the base.

Slide to a serving plate, cut into slices and serve warm.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to our Sunday Supper host this week, Soni from Soni's Food. We got news just yesterday that her family has suffered a major loss with the unexpected passing of her father. If you are so inclined, please keep them in your prayers.

Amazing Breakfasts, Brunches, and Breads

• Apple Spice Muffinsfrom Pixie Dust Kitchen
• Apple Spice Waffles from Treats and Trinkets
• Cinnamon Apple Crepes from Juanita’s Cocina
• Maple Apple Bread from The Foodie Army Wife
• Mini Apple Cinnamon Rolls from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Mini Pumpkin Pancake Kebobs from The Urban Mrs.
• Pumpkin Ale Pretzel Buns from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Pumpkin Spice Latte Donuts from Daily Dish Recipes
• Skinny Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Donuts with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze from The Messy Baker

Outstanding Soups, Starters and Sides

• Bacon, Corn and Shrimp Chowder from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Butternut Squash Tian with Herb Topping from Food Lust People Love
• Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup from Alida’s Kitchen
• Farro Date Salad with Mango and Arugula from Shockingly Delicious
• Parmesan Polenta from That Skinny Chick can Bake
• Pumpkin Tomato Sauce with Andouille Sausage from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks

Comforting Main Dishes

• Autumn Risotto with Chicken & Cranberries from Momma’s Meals
• Bacon Spinach Pasta from Magnolia Days
• Butternut Squash and Lentil Pot Pie from Curious Cuisiniere
• Chicken, Spinach, and Gnocchi Soup from Cookin’ Mimi
• Chili from Casa De Crews
• Creole Shrimp & Cheddar Basil Grits Cake from The Roxx Box
• Mini Meatball and Goat Cheese Risotto from MarocMama
• Mushroom and Sorrel Lasagne from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Onion Tart {Zwiebelkuchen} from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
• Penne with Spicy Pumpkin and Sausage Sauce from Webicurean
• Roasted Fig & Pancetta Pasta Carbonara from Nik Snacks
• Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili from Neighborfood
• Spicy Korean Monkfish Stew (Agu Jjim) from kimchi MOM
• Stuffed Meatballs in Tomato Alfredo Sauce from Family Foodie
• Vegan Mushroom Pie from Killer Bunnies Inc
• White Pizza with Kale and Meatballs from The Hand That Rocks the Ladle

Decadent Desserts:

• {Gluten-Free} Pumpkin Swirl Pecan Crumb Cake from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Apple Cider Five Spice Caramels from girlichef
• Apple Fig and Pomegranate Crisp from Take a Bite Out of Boca
• Buttery Bourbon Ice Cream from NinjaBaking
• Camotes Enmielados (Mexican Candied Yams/Sweet Potatoes) from La Cocina de Leslie
• Caramel Apple Sugar Cookie Pizza from Chocolate Moosey
• Caramel Apples from Pies and Plots
• Chocolate Pumpkin Swiss Roll Cake from Big Bear’s Wife
• Funnel Cakes from The Texan New Yorker
• Hot Apple Pizza from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Italian Apple Torta from La Bella Vita Cucina
• Maple Syrup Pumpkin Bars from What Smells So Good?
• Pear Almond Graham Cracker Tart from Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Pumpkin Bourbon Pie with Walnut Crumble from Gotta Get Baked
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies from In The Kitchen With KP
• Pumpkin Marshmallows from Home Cooking Memories
• Salted Caramel Apple Crisp Bars from Table for Seven
• Savory & Sweet Coconut Cream Salted Caramel Apples from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Walnut-Stuffed Baked Apples from Foxes Loves Lemons

Tasty Drinks:

• Pumpkin Juice – Harry Potter Style from The Dinner-Mom
• The Best Wines for Fall Foods from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog

Pin this Butternut Squash Tian!