Meatless Mondays: Pepper and Mushroom Pasta Salad

Last week, when I gave you my favorite method for roasting peppers, I promised this pasta salad. Although this week is going to be much more garden-focused than usual, I couldn't wait to share this recipe with you!

This is another recipe I like to make for lunches all week - it makes a lot of food, and is delicious hot or cold. It comes together quickly once the peppers are prepared - if you're crunched for time, use jarred peppers, or frozen roasted peppers (like I do - roast a bunch, then freeze them to have them on hand). Once the peppers are done, this barely takes more time than cooking the pasta - about 20 minutes.

This recipe is vegan, and thanks to the combination of pasta and beans, a source of complete protein. (It's also a fantastic source of flavor!)

Roasted Pepper and Mushroom Pasta Salad
Use any variety of mushrooms you like - a blend of wild mushrooms is fun, although I most often use regular white button mushrooms. I drain a can of chopped tomatoes for the tomato juice here - you need pure tomato juice, not a flavored/spiced version like V8.
Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS
12 oz whole wheat pasta shapes (twists, shells, etc.)
10 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and sliced into strips
2/3 cup rasins
1 14-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp tomato juice
1/4 tsp each salt and black pepper, or to taste
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped green onions

DIRECTIONS
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Be sure to salt the water.
2. While pasta cooks, heat a skillet over medium heat, spray with cooking spray, and add mushrooms. Sautee the mushrooms until they give off their juices, then transfer mushrooms and any of their liquids to a large mixing bowl.
3. In that same mixing bowl, add roasted peppers, rasins, and beans. Stir to combine.
4. In a smaller bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, tomato juice, salt, and pepper.
5. When the pasta finishes cooking, drain well. Then add the pasta to the large mixing bowl, and pour on the dressing.  Stir to combine, then gently stir in basil and green onions. Enjoy hot, and refrigerate leftover in individual servings for quick lunches.

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Orange Wheatberry Salad

Last week I promised a recipe to use your new orange segmenting skills, and here it is!

As spring comes rolling in early this year, I'm both grateful and dismayed. Grateful because I love the warmer weather, going for runs without bundling up like the kid from A Christmas Story, and because spring always feels like a time of renewal (Cheesy? Sure, but also true.) I'm dismayed because springtime also means wicked allergies.

In any case, spring also means the beginning of great produce. Farmer's markets won't start for another few months here, but produce at the grocery becomes much less expensive and more local. It's the flavors of fresh fruits and vegetables that I really associate with warm weather, and I'm always looking for that freshness. This salad brings that freshness, taking advantage of the end of citrus season to ease the transition into spring.

Wheatberries are the whole grain form of wheat - these are what is ground to produce whole wheat flour. They are sweet, chewy and nutty, with a great "pop" in the mouth. You could probably make this salad with other cooked whole grains, like farro, but I like wheatberries here.

This is a great salad to make on Sunday for weekday lunches - just portion the leftovers into individual servings in the refrigerator, and grab and go! You'll probably want to pair this with a protein to make a complete meal.

Orange Wheatberry Salad
For a step-by-step guide to segmenting oranges, see this tutorial.
Yield: 8 1-cup servings

INGREDIENTS
2 cups uncooked wheat berries
Salt and pepper to taste
4 oranges
Zest and juice of one small lemon
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 large carrots, grated (about 2 cups)
1/4 c raisins
3-4 green onions, trimmed and sliced (about a heaping 1/4 cup)

DIRECTIONS
1. Cook the wheatberries. There are two methods you can use for this: stove top or slow cooker.
a. Stove top method: Soak berries in cold water for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse the berries and place in a large pot. Cover by several inches of salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer until berries are tender and some break open, about an hour. Drain well and set aside to cool.
b. Slow cooker method: Place 2 cups of wheatberries, a pinch of salt, and 8 cups of water in the crock of a slow cooker (at least 3.5 quart size) and cover. Cook on high heat for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours until berries are tender and some break open. Drain well and set aside to cool. (Adapted from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook.)
2. Zest oranges over a large bowl. Segment the oranges, and add the juice from the remaining membranes. Add lemon zest and juice, oil, salt and pepper and whisk to make a dressing.
3. Add cooled wheat berries and toss. Add orange segments, carrots, raisins, and green onions and toss again, or arrange for serving.

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Meatless Mondays: Quinoa Salad

 

We had a great weekend, including our first 5k trail race (which was MUCH more difficult than I imagined!), and my first feature on foodgawker!  If you're here because of that post, welcome! Settle in, and have  a look around.

When preparing for the week, I find it helpful to cook a few large-batch recipes on Sunday afternoon. That leaves me with most of my lunches and dinners already prepared for the week. This quinoa salad is one of my favorites. It is simple to prepare, provides two vegan sources of complete protein (quinoa and edamame), and the leftovers are very tasty. It can also be doubled, tripled, or whatever you like very easily.

If you haven't tried quinoa before, I encourage you to do so! It boasts a pretty solid nutritional profile,  and is a fun change-up from brown rice. For carb-based salads, I prefer whole grain salads to pasta salads (like wheat berry or quinoa salads) because I find they keep me much fuller and provide steadier energy. This salad is a great place to start.

This recipe is vegan (although, be sure to check your mustard ingredients, and note that some vegans do not consume honey). I used some leftover roasted bell peppers instead of fresh bell peppers, but I recommend fresh if you have them.

Quinoa Salad
Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS
For Salad: 
1 cup dry quinoa
1 cup chopped red or yellow bell pepper
1 cup shelled edamame, thawed if frozen
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup raisins
1 oz pumpkin seeds

For Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp honey dijon mustard

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook quinoa according to package directions. (I combine 1 cup quinoa with two cups of water in my rice cooker.)
2. While the quinoa cooks, combine remaining ingredients for salad in a large bowl. Stir to combine, and set aside. Combine ingredients for dressing in a smaller bowl, whisk together, and add to the salad bowl. Stir to combine.
3. When the quinoa is finished cooking, add it to the salad ingredients, and stir to combine. This salad can be served hot or cold. For easy lunches, portion leftovers into individual containers in the fridge - then just grab one to take for lunch.

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