This recipe uses Indian spices in a less typical way - toasting seeds vs. just adding in curry or turmeric powder. "Golden" everything with turmeric is so popular lately, but I think the warmness of these spices is much more subtle. Adjust the spices according to the levels that you like. I think the cumin and mustard seeds really make it; the fennel is optional.

Start by warming a pan over medium heat and add in some oil (I used avocado oil). When the oil is getting hot, add in your spices and toast them up. You'll smell them get fragrant and they seeds will begin to pop! You can cover it at this point and let it cook a few more minutes.

Then just toss in the chickpeas with some lemon juice! Done.

Serve on top of a salad or yogurt or alone as a side dish. It would also be great if you mixed in the chickpeas with yogurt, lemon and cilantro into a salad. Bon appetit!

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Easy Indian Spiced Chickpeas

A quick, one pan recipe for Indian spiced chickpeas with cumin, fennel and mustard seeds. Perfect for a salad, on top of yogurt, or as a side salad dish.

Course Side Dish

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 4 -5 servings depending on how many chickpeas you use

Author Andrea @ French Pressed Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas or about 2 cups cooked, drained
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 Tablespoon avocado or canola oil
• 1 lemon juiced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Heat a pan over medium heat. Add the oil and let warm.
• Add in the spices and stir to coat. Continue cooking (toasting) the spices until fragrant and they begin popping (you may want to cover it or take it off the heat if your pan is small and they pop all over).
• Add in the chickpeas and toss to coat. Finally, stir in the lemon juice and combine.
• Serve as a side salad, on top of greens, or on top of savory yogurt.

The post Easy Indian Spiced Chickpeas appeared first on French Pressed Kitchen.

This was a favorite of Pedro from growing up, and he made it for us recently. It's warm and cozy from the butternut squash, slightly sweet from the corn, and earthy and smoky from the merken and other spices. It's naturally vegan and gluten free, too, so you can feel good about eating all the veggies! The beans add a nice bit of protein as well. So basically, the perfect veggie balanced meal.

Since it's a hearty stew, this is a great fall or winter dish, but you could also serve it chilled for a refreshing summer meal with the sweet corn. The earthy flavor of all the spcies is particularly comforting. The classic Chilean spice to use is merken (also spelled merquen), a red chili pepper that is often smoked after drying. If you don't have this, smoked paprika would be a nice substitute. Either way, delicious!

After roasting the squash and pureeing it, the rest comes together easily like a traditional soup. Depending on how thick you like your soup, you can adjust the consistency (more liquid for soup, less liquid for more of a stew). Pedro served this with greens and tomatoes on top - and of course, more basil (I forgot it here!). You can serve greens on the side for a soup + salad type of meal.

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Porotos Granados (Chilean Bean Stew)

Porotos granados, or Chilean bean stew. A cozy and comforting puree of corn and butternut squash, cooked with onion and garlic and classic Chilean spices. Naturally vegan and gluten free

Course Dinner

Cuisine Chilean

Keyword beans, butternut squash, Merken

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 4 main dishes

Author Andrea @ French Pressed Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 bag frozen corn ~ 12 oz or 350g, or 3 ears fresh corn
• ½ butternut squash
• ½ cup 120ml vegetable stock or water
• 1 can beans drained and rinsed (cranberry or cannelli are great, but anything works)
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons merken*
• 1 ½ teaspoons oregano
• 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
• ½ cup fresh basil chopped
• ¼ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Heat oven to 400F (200C). Cut the butternut squash and half and remove the seeds. Roast the butternut squash until soft (20-30 minutes, depending on how big it is). Remove and let cool.
• Meanwhile, defrost the corn if using frozen. Reheat in the microwave or boil until soft. Let cool slightly. If using fresh corn, boil for about 10 minutes until soft, then let cool and slice off the kernels.
• Once the corn and squash are cool enough, add them to a blender with about half of the vegetable stock and puree until liquefied.
• Next, heat a pot on medium heat with oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and sautee 2-3 more minutes until fragrant. next, add the spices, adjusting to taste.
• Add the beans, then the puree and bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, you can thin it out with a bit more of the stock.
• To serve, ladle the mixture into shallow bowls. Top with sliced tomatoes, more merken, chopped basil and sea salt.

Notes

*See link above. This somewhat spicy pepper can have a smoky flavor, similar to smoked paprika. I'd use that as a substitute if you can't find or buy merken near you!

Bon appétit!

The post Porotos Granados appeared first on French Pressed Kitchen.

We are in full on holiday mode here in D.C., baking lots of cookies, Christmas lights up. Pedro even made his first cookie EVER!!!! this year. I haven't really done any gift shopping yet.....but I still have a week. May the force be with me.

Anyway, these bagel sandwiches! The combinations were simple but delicious and made for an easy, last minute breakfast when I thought I didn't have much left at home. We freeze our bagels, so I defrosted one and toasted it up nice and crunchy to start. This plain bagel, seemingly missing a serious layer of toppings, seemed like it would need something creamy on top. I spotted half an avocado in the fridge, so I decided to use that up and layered one half with it, leaving the other for peanut butter!! You could just top both sides with a little salt at this point and call it a day, but I had some Tuscan kale to use up, so I crisped it up in the oven like kale chips, then put that on top. So delicious! In summary:

Bagel + Peanut Butter+ Kale.

Try subbing in almond butter. Even more delicious. Creamy works well!

Bagel + Avocado + Sea Salt + Kale

Crispy kale brings a nice crunchy alongside the avocado.

I know this combination may seem odd at first, but I find that it just works. Something about the earthiness of kale complements the richness of avocado and nut better well. I've been a big fan of avocado // kale // almond butter since discovering it via this blog and it has not disappointed despite my numerous modifications and additions 🙂 . Excited to share it with you now!! Try it out and let me know what you think.

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Crispy Kale Sandwiches

Crispy Kale Sandwiches. An easy, vegan/ vegetarian breakfast idea: layer crispy kale on top of salted avocado and peanut butter. Fancy breakfast in a flash!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 1

Author Andrea @ French Pressed Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 bagel English muffin or bread would work well, too!
• 1 Tablespoon peanut butter or almond butter
• Half of an avocado mashed
• 1 cup kale*
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss kale in the olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until kale looks crunchy. Remove and let cool.
• Toast the bagel or bread until desired crispiness (I like mine crunchy to counter the smooth toppings!).
• Spread the peanut butter on one half and the avocado on another. Add a sprinkle of sea salt the avocado side if desired.
• Layer on the crispy kale, making it "stick" a little to the spread so it stays on top.
• Serve as halves, or put the sides together for a sandwich!

Notes

* This recipe uses crispy kale, but steamed or sauteed kale would work as well.

Bon appétit!

The post Crispy Kale Sandwiches appeared first on French Pressed Kitchen.

That was the name of a beer we had this weekend at Tupelo Honey Cafe! So delicious. Peach season is in full swing here in VA and I am thrilled to be a part of it. Picking them up at local farmer's markets whenever I can (Courthouse! Foggy Bottom!).

Anyway wanted to share this salad from last weekend, inspired by the market. It highlights some of the season's best produce!

• Sweet corn. YUM. Underrated.
• Peaches. Must be juicy not those sad store bought ones 😂
• Greens. Arugula here.
• Yellow zucchini.

The base of the salad was zucchini that I ribboned using my handy peeler. Then arugula, peaches, and corn on top. I kept the dressing light to let the produce flavors shine through. We had limes laying around so I made a lime vinaigrette, adding in olive oil, honey, a bit of mustard (to hold everything together), salt and pepper. The lime and honey was a perfect complement to the juicy peaches. I loved how well the salad piled up with the zucchini ribbons 🙂

Full recipe below 🙂

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Summer Market Salad

An easy summer salad inspired by the farmer's market, topped with a honey lime vinaigrette

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 2 big salads

Author Andrea @ French Pressed Kitchen

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients

• 2 yellow zucchini
• 1 bunch arugula
• 2 ears fresh sweet corn
• 1 peach sliced

Dressing Ingredients

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup lime juice about 1 big lime
• ½ teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Shuck the corn in the meantime. Once boiling, add the ears of corn and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.
• Make the dressing: mix all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar until well combined (the mustard will help keep everything together). Set aside.
• Next, thinly slice, spiralize or ribbon your zucchini. Place on a plate or in a large bowl and top with arugula.
• Once the corn is cool, carefully slice the kernels off the ear into a bowl or onto a cutting board.
• Top the salad with the corn + peaches, then drizzle on the dressing and dig in!!

Notes

You can also marinate the zucchini in the vinaigrette for extra flavor. This works well if your zucchini is thickly sliced.

I hope you are inspired to check out your local produce and make something easy, fresh and delicious this weekend!!

Bon appétit 🙂

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