From the Tortoise to the Hare: Kale & Walnut Pilaf

The other day I made a pretty buff, even if time consuming, salad. This turned out to be not just delicious but highly economical, because not only did the salad do me several lunchworth's, it's leftover ingredients also informed this super-quick, super-nutritional pilaf.

This is just a quick one guys - because that's what this dish is - quick (the antithesis, you might therefore see it, to my time-consuming salad). The kale and walnuts were bought for the original salad - everything else was in my store cupboard, spice rack or fridge.

Kale & Walnut Pilaf 

Boil a saucepan and put in your desired quantity of brown rice - this usually takes about half an hour to cook; white rice is quicker if you really do want something speedy. Heat some oil in a pan, and add some mustard and cumin seeds. Once they start to pop, add your kale and let it wilt for a couple of minutes. Then add in a can of cannellini or butterbeans, the walnuts, some chopped coriander or any other herb you might have around, and three cloves of crushed garlic. Give that a bit of a mix before adding some dried chilli flakes. Drain your rice and mix it into your kale pan - add some celery salt, ground cumin, smoked paprika and ground turmeric. At this point, I cubed up some feta and stirred this in too - it melts a bit but that's not a bad thing. You're done - serve with some natural yoghurt dolloped on top for a spicy, aromatic and rewarding dish.

After [Potato] Parties

I thought I'd quickly share how I used my leftover ingredients from last week's tomatoless Patatas Bravas. Waste not want not is one of my most hashtaggable ethics (or at least the 'waste not' part. I usually still end up wanting...).

Sunday: Potato Party

I simply do not know the name for this dish, but I felt my potatoes were having a bit of a party by getting together with some colourful store cupboard ingredients, all in one wild wok.

Taking last night's leftover Patatas Bravas, of which there was still two portions, I fried in a wok with a little oil. After they started to warm I added green beans (I happened to have some in the fridge), a tin of chickpeas, and some pickled cabbage - I allowed the vinegar in the jar to jump into the wok as well. All fried and heated through, I put into two bowls and topped with grated smoked cheese and chopped chives, which I still had in plentiful amounts from Patatas night. A wonderful and filling -  if eclectic - dinner which was ready in five minutes!

Monday: Stuffed Pesto Peppers

I can often be found making some variation of a pesto stuffed pepper, and seeing as I had an abundance of basil and peppers from Friday night, it seemed like the time called on me again.

In the cupboard I had a bag of Merchant Gourmet Mixed Grains which are great - lots of nutrients, quite proteiny (especially for us veggies) and can be used in so many ways. In this case they were subject to a good pesto-ing from me. My homemade pesto is not a full, thick sauce that you might find in a jar, as I find you need one basil tree and a whole bottle of oil to accomplish this. It's something I usually use to fry things in - gnocchi or halloumi, for example - and in this case served a good mixer for my grains. I tore two handfuls of basil, crushed 3 small garlic gloves, grated some parmesan and used about 4 tbsp olive oil before blitzing up and then stirring into the Mixed Grains. I also mixed a tin of chickpeas into the grains to bulk out and add more flavour - but in hindsight I would have reserved and mixed them up into a homemade hummous to serve on the side. You can decide what works best for you!

I cut the peppers in half and spooned in the pesto grain mixture, then whacked in the pre-heated oven at 200C. After about 20 mins, I took the peppers out and gave each a topping of delicious Cambozola (when I bought the cheese for the original Patatas, it was 3 for 2 on all cheeses at Tesco, much to the delight of the part of my brain that's made purely of dairy). I popped them back in for about 5 minutes (ovens vary - mine works very fiercely and quickly), and served with a drizzling of balsamic.

Three tasty dinners, all of pretty sufficient variation. These two were very quick to make, so I'd suggest going for the Patatas Bravas on the weekend and taking on these two when you get home from work and don't want to do too much faffing in the kitchen.

And I still have plenty left over! I'll let you know what other parties they have as the week goes on.