Chocolate Fudge Tahini Rye Cake

December 24, 2020 Sam

This cake looks great whole or as slices. It has a complex, sweet, fudgey and whole-grain flavor and the salted tahini icing highlights the uncommon flavors.

This is the cake I would bring in to work – if I found a safe way to transport it – if I wanted to show off something different and special.

Print Recipe

Chocolate Fudge Tahini Rye Cake

A spectacular, moist and flavorful cake

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, California

Keyword: Cake

Servings: slices

Calories: 359kcal

Equipment

Stand mixer
Bundt cake pan

Ingredients

Cake

270 g rye flour
300 g sugar
65 g cocoa powder
8 g baking powder
7 g baking soda
½ tsp fine salt
2 large eggs
215 g whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
80 g unsalted butter
160 ml hot coffee

Icing

225 g powdered sugar
⅛ tsp salt
½ tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle of the oven.
In a very large mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Prepare the cake pan by rubbing all surfaces of the inside with butter. Then dust with flour to ensure all surfaces are well-coated. Then shake out any leftover flour.
In the stand mixer, whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla on a low-medium speed until well mixed but not overly frothy. Switch to the flat beater. Add the dry ingredients in stages, mixing until combined each time you add more. Continue until all dry ingredients are well-combined. Then, add the hot coffee and mix well again.
Pour in the pan and place in the oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Then flip he pan upside down onto a cooling rack and gently shake to remove from the pan.

Icing

While the cake cools, prepare the icing. Add all ingredients to a clean stand mixer bowl with the cleaned whisk. Mix well until everything is very well combined. You are looking for an icing that is just viscous enough to run down the sides of the cake, but that won't slide off. It's going to be very thick, but still run off a spoon a little.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Chocolate Fudge Tahini Rye Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 359 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Fat 10g15%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Trans Fat 1g

Cholesterol 48mg16%

Sodium 377mg16%

Potassium 234mg7%

Carbohydrates 66g22%

Fiber 5g21%

Sugar 45g50%

Protein 6g12%

Vitamin A 249IU5%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 88mg9%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Dairy-Free, Dinner Party, Dry Beans, Fall, Favorites, Projects, Spring, Summer, Weekend Dinner, Winter

Chickpea & Shishito Paella

December 20, 2020 Sam

This is an exceptional dish. It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it. There are a lot of dishes, though.

Print Recipe

Chickpea & Shishito Paella

Prep Time1

Cook Time30

Total Time1 30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Spanish, Vegan

Keyword: Dry Beans

Servings: servings

Calories: 476kcal

Equipment

Pressure cooker
Immersion blender
Large oven-proof skillet

Ingredients

½ lb dry chickpeas
3 cups vegetable broth
1 pinch saffron threads crushed
¼ cup olive oil
12 small shishito peppers stemmed but left whole
1 large yellow onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 large red bell pepper chopped
½ lb green beans cut into 1” pieces
1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika pimenton
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp kosher salt
½ cup passata or 2 small tomatoes passed through the food mill
2 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves with tender stems
1½ cup Spanish rice Calasparra is best, can be Arborio
2 cups spinach chopped

Vegan aioli (optional)

1 clove garlic
¼ cup aquafaba
2 tbsp cooked chickpeas
¾ tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp kosher salt
¾ cup grapeseed or neutral oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Cook beans (1-2 days before, if making the vegan aioli)

Soak the beans in water and 1% salt for at least 6 hours. Drain and put in the pressure cooker. Add water to about ½" above the chickpeas – you don’t want too much water for this given the vegan aioli step. Don’t add more salt or spices, to keep the flavor fairly neutral.
Bring to pressure for 14 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally. Remove the lid and remove the inner pot. Allow to cool.
Once cool, store chickpeas and their cooking liquid together in the fridge for 1-2 days.

Make paella

Prepare ingredients first per the ingredient list. Onion, garlic and red bell pepper can go together. Passata and chopped cilantro can go together in a glass. Paprika, cumin and salt can also be combined.
Heat the 3 cups broth in a saucepan until boiling. Then turn heat to low and cover. If chickpeas are in the fridge, you can add them to the broth here, to warm them up. (Otherwise leave them to the side for now.)
Heat a very large (at least 12”), straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ¼ cup olive oil and heat to shimmering. Place the shishitos in the pan with tongs and sear each side for 1-2 minutes. Transfer them back to their bowl.
Around now, preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper and cook to the pan, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened, 6-8 minutes. Add the paprika, cumin and salt and stir well for 30 seconds. Then add the green beans and cook for 2-3 minutes until they’ve brightened.
Stir in the tomato sauce and cilantro and let it cook a bit, maybe 30 seconds. Then add the rice and stir well, making sure it all is combined thoroughly. Stir in the broth, drained chickpeas, and spinach. Sprinkle in the crushed saffron. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Cook on medium, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the rice has begun to absorb the liquid. The rice should still be covered by liquid, but it should have started to dry out.
Then nestle the shishitos on the rice and transfer the pan the oven. Bake, uncovered, for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove and cover with a lid or aluminum foil and let it sit for 10 minutes, until the rice is fully cooked.
While it cooks, make the aioli. Cut the garlic and remove green shoots, if any, to prevent some of the bitter taste of uncooked garlic. In a small cup that can fit the immersion blender, puree the garlic, aquafaba, chickpeas, mustard and salt until smooth. Drizzle in the oil, starting slowly until it begins to thicken. Then you can pour the rest in. You may need to blend for several minutes before it starts to thicken. Once as thick as you think it’ll get, or as thick as it needs to be, add the lemon juice and any extra salt, to taste. Store in a container in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

Notes

This recipe makes 8 servings.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Chickpea & Shishito Paella

Amount Per Serving

Calories 476 Calories from Fat 207

% Daily Value*

Fat 23g35%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Sodium 692mg30%

Potassium 631mg18%

Carbohydrates 59g20%

Fiber 9g38%

Sugar 9g10%

Protein 10g20%

Vitamin A 3155IU63%

Vitamin C 91mg110%

Calcium 69mg7%

Iron 5mg28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Dairy-Free, Dry Beans, Weeknight Dinner, Winter

Cranberry Bean and Barley Stew

December 7, 2020 Sam

A delicious and simple soup that uses barley to soak up the rich pot broth produced by a cranberry bean. You can substitute other hearty, delicious beans that produce a great pot-broth, like Rio Zape.

Print Recipe

Cranberry Bean and Barley Stew

A simple, flavorful bean soup – an instant and recognizable classic

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 30

Soaking Time8

Total Time10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Keyword: Barley, Dry Beans

Servings: servings

Calories: 463kcal

Ingredients

Beans

1 lb cranberry beans (dry)
4 bay leaves
1 shallot peeled and left whole or cut in half
2 cloves garlic whole
1 stalk celery cut into large chunks
1 carrot cut into large chunks
1 tsp peppercorn
1 sprig rosemary
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried oregano

Stew

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp miso paste or 2 tbsp tomato paste
1 large onion chopped
4 cloves garlic crushed
2 carrots halved and sliced
3 stalks celery halved and sliced
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup pearled barley
3-5 cups spinach
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Instructions

Soak Beans

Rinse and pick through the beans. Add the beans to a large bowl and cover with at least double the amount of water, by volume. Add about 1% (by weight) salt, typically around 2 tsp salt and mix. Set aside, covered, for at least four and up to about eight hours.

Prepare Soup

When ready to cook the beans, drain and add the beans to a large pot. Add 4.5 quarts of water; you will be using the bean cooking liquid as the base for the soup, so you want plenty of water here. As you bring the beans and water to a boil, clean the various ingredients used to cook the beans listed above and add to a large soup sock and/or a spice bag. (You can leave the bay leaves out if you’d like and just add to the bean liquid, since you can continue using those for the final product too.)
Once the beans reach a boil, cover and set a timer for 10 minutes. When time is up, bring the mix down to a low simmer and cook, covered, for 30 minutes, or until beans are nearly cooked. (They can be just a little undercooked, since you will continue to simmer.) If the beans get overcooked, quickly remove from the heat, salt the water well, and add the tomotoes. The salt and acid will slow the cooking.
While the beans cook, prepare the other ingredients. Large dice the onion, mince or crush the garlic, and slice the celery and carrots into stew-worthy small pieces. For the celery, I usually slice the stalk in half vertically (or even fourths for very large stalks) and then slice into 1-2 cm slices. For carrots, I would cut large ones in half and then slice the halves (or smaller carrots) to 1-2 cm slices. Add all of the vegetables to a single large prep bowl. Rinse the pearled barley. Rinse the spinach.
Optional: If you are cooking the final soup in the same pot as the beans, you can wait until the beans are fully cooked and move the beans and their cooking liquid to a bowl to the side. Remove the soup sock and/or spice bags from the beans and their liquid. DO NOT DRAIN – you want to save all liquid.
Either way, in a large pot, add 2 tbsp of olive oil and heat over medium-high. Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Add about 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper (or to taste). Cook until they are softening and developing flavor, usually 5-7 minutes. It’s OK if the onion is taking on some color. Then, add the 2 tbsp miso paste or the 2 tbsp tomato paste. Cook until fragrant, 30-90 seconds. Add the can of tomatoes, with their liquid, and mix well. Season with the remainder 1 tsp salt and additional ½ tsp pepper (or to taste) remembering tomatoes soak up a lot of salt usually.
Add the rinsed 1 cup barley and the beans and their cooking liquid. Stir everything together. Lower the temperature once you’ve reached a simmer and allow to simmer for 30 minutes, until the barley is chewy and no longer hard.
Once the barley is cooked, add the rinsed spinach and turn off the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

Six servings
Could use a small portion of crusty bread for the liquid, but the barley provides enough filling carbs

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Cranberry Bean and Barley Stew

Amount Per Serving

Calories 463 Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Fat 7g11%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Sodium 1056mg46%

Potassium 1441mg41%

Carbohydrates 82g27%

Fiber 27g113%

Sugar 4g4%

Protein 23g46%

Vitamin A 6751IU135%

Vitamin C 10mg12%

Calcium 168mg17%

Iron 6mg33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Mostly Beans

Monthly Archives: December 2020

Chocolate Fudge Tahini Rye Cake

Chocolate Fudge Tahini Rye Cake

Equipment

Ingredients

Cake

Icing

Instructions

Icing

Nutrition

Chickpea & Shishito Paella

Chickpea & Shishito Paella

Equipment

Ingredients

Vegan aioli (optional)

Instructions

Cook beans (1-2 days before, if making the vegan aioli)

Make paella

Notes

Nutrition

Cranberry Bean and Barley Stew

Cranberry Bean and Barley Stew

Ingredients

Beans

Stew

Instructions

Soak Beans

Prepare Soup

Notes

Nutrition