Recipe :: Chipotle Cumin Veggie Bowl

I rarely post to this blog unless I have something I want to archive like my bean pickling recipe, or have something I want to archive AND share with my Facebook friends. Here it goes.

I'm writing this recipe from memory. So, if you try this please leave a comment and let me know how it turns out.

This recipes contains veggies prepared two ways: roasted and skillet cooked. I started by roasting a plantain, carrot and half of a sweet potato and then prepared black beans with spinach on the stove top. I divided the instructions below accordingly. 

Using the blend of spices and veggies listed in this recipe, there's a nice mix of sweet, savory and hot spicy flavors. Feel free to add or substitute other veggies in the mix (potatoes, butternut squash, etc.), but you'll want to consider cooking and roasting times first. The carrot, plantain and sweet potato were perfect to roast together. Delish.com is a good resource for vegetable roasting times. 

You can also substitute the coconut oil with another oil, but I highly recommend the coconut oil because it adds a nice flavor. Everything blended together in the end tastes delicious (or "WOW" according to my husband). Note: For the chipotle pepper... I generally like somewhat spicy food and the amount of chipotle listed here was just right for me. Add more or less to your liking, but remember that you can always add hot sauce to the dish at the table.

Serving size: This recipe serves two very hungry adults as a main dish or four people as a side dish. 

What you need:

• 1 plantain
• 1 large carrot cleaned and peeled
• 1 half of a large sweet potato
• 1 can of black beans strained and rinsed
• 2-3 packed cups of fresh (not frozen) spinach 
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 1 whole medium-size tomato, diced
• 4 teaspoons of coconut oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers (use more or less)
• 1/2 chipotle pepper 
• 5-6 Whole garlic cloves
• 1 whole garlic clove minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin plus a few dashes as noted in recipe
• 2 tablespoons of water  
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• One large skillet
• One large sheet pan
• One large mixing bowl

The Roasted Vegetables

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. In the meantime, chop the sweet potato (I left the skin on but you can peel it), carrot and plantain into 3/4 inch pieces. Put all veggies in a large bowl and add the whole garlic. Toss with:

• 2 tsp. coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp. of the adobo sauce
• 1/4 tsp. of cumin, plus a few dashes to nicely coat
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste (I'm pretty conservative with my salt, just FYI)

Spread the veggies on a sheet pan (single layer), and roast them at 450 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until soft. (The larger the slices, the longer you need to roast.) Check them after 10-15 minutes and stir them half way through.

While veggies roast prepare the beans and spinach.

The Beans and Spinach

Heat 1-2 teaspoons of the coconut oil in a large skillet on medium temperature. Add the diced onion, green pepper, and chipotle pepper to the pan. Sauté in with  1/4 tsp. of both the cumin and adobo sauce, and add the minced garlic. 

When the onion is transparent and the mixture is soft, add the black beans and 2 tablespoons of water. Heat the beans through. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can continue to cook the beans until the roasted veggies are done. In the meantime, chop 1 half avocado and one tomato for topping. Remove the roasted veggies from the oven. As they rest, slowly add 2-3 cups of fresh spinach to the beans, stir in and cook until wilted (only about 2 minutes). 

Plate the roasted veggies and add the bean and spinach mixture and top with avocado and tomato. Enjoy!