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Black Bean & Roasted Red Pepper Soup

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Black Bean & Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I appear to be on a soup kick recently. This may be due to the fact that I haven’t really been grocery shopping in two weeks and I’ve been having to dig deeply into the pantry. So deep, find in fact, that the pantry is actually starting to look a little bare. It hasn’t been this bare since the week we moved in. But, I’m not knocking pantry meals. They’re usually quick, inexpensive and surprisingly delicious.

This morning I found myself in need of lunch. I take lunch pretty seriously, and have some requirements for my mid-day meal. It needs to be filling, nutritious, easy to eat at a desk (or meeting, or standing) and must be tasty. So I grabbed a couple cans of black beans, a huge jar of roasted red peppers, fire-roasted tomatoes and bulgur. Into the pot for 30 minutes with some garlic and spices and out came a surprisingly delicious soup. I actually wanted to eat some for breakfast, but held out.

Black beans and roasted red peppers compliment each other perfectly. A little cumin, cayenne, sweet paprika and sherry vinegar make this soup a little spicy, a little tangy, a little earthy. It just goes to show that you’ll always have a great tasting and healthy meal on hand if your pantry is well stocked.

On a side note, I promise this will be the last bean/soup recipe for a little while. I’ll post a fun one on Friday so stay tuned!

Other pantry meals:
Quinoa & Red Lentils
Sausage Bean & Barley Soup
Three Bean Vegetarian Chili
Green Rice & Beans
Sausage & Red Lentil Soup
Tomato Almond Soup
Double Curry Lentils

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chickpea & bulgur salad w/soft boiled egg & breadcrumbs

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chickpea & bulgur salad w/soft boiled egg & breadcrumbs

You know those days when you open your fridge and find that there isn’t much in there. Or, prescription there’s plenty of food, but you’re not in the mood for any of it. Steak? Nah. Sausages? Nope. Pasta? Not again…

So you turn to your pantry and start poking around for something, anything, that seems appetizing. Last night, that happened to be a can of chickpeas, some bulgur and a bag of greens. Ah, a perfect summer salad. But I didn’t want a simple salad – that wouldn’t do. I wanted a salad that felt like a meal. Something hearty, but also refreshing.

The result was a chickpea and bulgur salad topped with a soft boiled egg and fresh, homemade breadcrumbs. I mashed half the can of chickpeas so that they’d hold together with the bulgur. Otherwise, those little suckers are impossible to get on your fork unless you chase them around your plate. Too much effort for a weeknight, really.

The breadcrumbs were a sort of ode to croutons. For some reason, whenever I try to make homemade croutons, I cut enormous chunks of bread and the salad ends up more like a panzanella. These breadcrumbs added a much more subtle crunch. And the soft boiled egg was perfect, coating everything with a glossy yellow richness that made the salad feel substantial and just a bit indulgent.

Cilantro and a lemony shallot vinaigrette brightened it all up for a delicious summer dinner.

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steak & tofu lettuce wraps with bulgur salad

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steak & tofu lettuce wraps with bulgur salad

After 45 minutes of prepping, sale cooking and plating I discovered that I’d left my camera at work. And every other camera in the house was busted, adiposity so I had to use my phone’s camera. What a hideously unappetizing photo. But, food the food was too good to not post the recipe. One day when I have my camera, I’ll get around to making it again and will replace the grainy picture you see today.

I’ve been toying with the idea of lettuce wraps for a long time. At first, I was thinking of onions, cilantro, beans and lime for Mexican/taco twist, but I wasn’t really inspired. Instead, I went with the more traditional Asian inspiration. Lettuce, pickled vegetables and some protein.

They would have been tasty just like that, but I find that I have no energy for my 6am workout if I skip the carbs the night before. Would I add brown rice? Quinoa? Farro? They all seemed too heavy for the delicate lettuce. But bulgur seemed just right.

For the protein, I couldn’t decide between steak and tofu, so I used both. I marinated them (separately) in tamarind juice, shoyu, chipotle pepper and garlic cloves for a salty sweet flavor. The steak and tofu were a match made in heaven and their slight sweetness complimented the acidity in the salad. Overall, it was exactly what I wanted. Full of flavors and textures, but still light and refreshing. And that bulgur powered me through a tough pre-dawn workout, so I’m sold!

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tomato almond soup

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tomato almond soup

Two bulgur soup recipes in a week is a little much, web but I haven’t cooked anything else this week aside from some uninspiring noodles last night. Monday’s recipe was decidedly Asian, angina so I tried to get as far from that as possible for today’s soup.

And so, healthful I went Spanish. I made a nice broth from fire-roasted tomatoes and smoked paprika and added bulgur for weight and texture and a little kale for color and vitamins. I think this soup would be really lovely with some giant Lima, fava or butter beans, but I only had dark red kidneys in the pantry so those went in instead. Finally, I topped the soup off with a hearty drizzle of good olive oil and some slivered almonds.

It’s actually “cold” in Miami — a low of 58° today (!) — and the slightly spicy, smoky flavors of the soup will warm me right up. (Stop rolling your eyes northerners.)

I just noticed that 3 of my last 5 recipes have been for soup! That’s just crazy. Tomorrow’s will break the soup-y routine I’ve been on. Promise.

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double curry lentils

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double curry lentils

Last week, viagra Heidi posted a delicious-looking chickpea and bulgur recipe that reminded me of a forgotten tub of bulgur that’s been sitting in my pantry. I had every intention of making her recipe, but I found a big bag of beautiful French lentils (how’s that for alliteration?) cozying up to the bulgur and grabbed those instead.

I should use bulgur more often. It has a low glycemic index, which helps keep energy levels from spiking and crashing and it cooks quickly — always useful. I also had a can of coconut milk, which pairs beautifully with curry. I wanted the spice of Thai food and the warming aroma of Indian food, so I used both Thai red curry paste and Maharajah-style curry powder to flavor the broth. Everything was brightened with fresh lime juice, cilantro and mint. I love how flavorful and nutritious this meal turned out, and I’m sure my husband loved that he only had to wash one pot.

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