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March is National Nutrition Month, and the theme this year is “Put Your Best Fork Forward.” One of the ways to “put your best fork forward” is to eat more vegetables. This month’s Recipe Corner features two vegetable dishes—one is primarily a raw vegetable dish and the other is cooked. These recipes are lightly adapted from the website cookieandkate.com, and both are chock full of colorful vegetables and fiber. Enjoy!

Simple seedy slaw

Serves: 6 (1-cup servings)

Ingredients:

Coleslaw ingredients:

• 2 cups finely sliced* purple cabbage (1/2 to 3/4 head of one small cabbage)
• 2 cups finely sliced* green cabbage (1/2 to 3/4 head of one small cabbage)
• 2 cups shredded carrots (you can grate these with a box grater, or use a food processor)
• 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf or curly parsley** (again, you can use your food processor)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup mixed seeds (green pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds and sesame seeds)

Lemon dressing ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
• 1 to 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced (to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, if desired

Instructions:

In a medium-sized serving bowl, combine the prepared purple and green cabbages, carrots and parsley. Measure out your seeds. Place these in a small skillet and toast over medium heat (stirring frequently so the seeds don’t burn) until the seeds are fragrant and the pumpkin seeds start to make popping sounds. Allow the seeds to cool and add them to the mixing bowl with the chopped vegetables. Toss to combine.

To make the dressing, combine the olive oil with the lemon juice in a small bowl. Add the garlic, cumin and salt and whisk until well-blended. Drizzle the dressing over the slaw and toss until all of the ingredients are lightly coated. Taste and, if desired, add more lemon juice. You can serve this immediately, or cover and refrigerate it to marinate for up to several hours.

*If you prefer a more finely chopped coleslaw, you can use a box grater or food processor to chop the cabbages.

**Chopped spinach can be substituted for the parsley, if desired.

 Vegetable enchilada casserole

Serves: 6-8:

Roasted vegetable ingredients: 

• 1/2 medium head of cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (~2 cups)
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch squares
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced into 1/2-inch-wide wedges
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remaining ingredients:

• 2 and 1/4 cups (~18 ounces) mild or medium red salsa (homemade or commercially-prepared)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish if desired
• 10 to 12 corn tortillas, cut into halves or other size pieces to fit into casserole
• 1 can (15-oz) low-or reduced-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 and 1/2 cups cooked black beans
• 2 big handfuls (~2 ounces) fresh spinach leaves
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese 

Instructions:

To roast the vegetables (this can be done a day or two in advance), preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with racks in the middle and upper third of the oven. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent the vegetables from sticking.

In one pan, combine the cauliflower pieces and sweet potato cubes. In the other pan, combine the bell pepper pieces and onion wedges. Drizzle half of the olive oil and cumin over one pan, and the other half of the oil and cumin over the other pan. Sprinkle each lightly with salt (if desired) and black pepper. Toss the ingredients on each pan until the vegetables are lightly coated with oil and spices. Add extra oil if needed. Arrange the vegetables in an even layer across each pan. Bake until the vegetables are tender and caramelized on the edges, about 30-35 minutes. Halfway through cooking, toss the vegetables and switch the pans from one rack to the other.

When ready to assemble the casserole, lower the oven heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease an 11”x 7” Pyrex baking dish.  

Stir the chopped cilantro into the salsa.

To assemble, spread 1/2 cup salsa evenly over the bottom of the baking pan. Cover the salsa with a single layer of halved tortillas, with smaller pieces of corn tortillas used to fill in gaps as needed. Top with 1/2 of the beans, 1/3 of the vegetables, 1/2 of the spinach and 1/3 of the cheese. Make a second layer of tortillas. At this point, it helps to press down on the mixture in order to make room for the next layers. Top with 1/2 of the remaining salsa, all of the remaining beans, 1/2 of the remaining vegetables, all of the remaining spinach and 1/2 of the remaining cheese. Make a third layer of tortillas (again, it helps to press down on the layers to make more room). Top with the rest of the salsa, vegetables and cheese.

Cover the enchilada casserole with aluminum foil wrapped around the dish edges. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until heated through.

Let the casserole cool for about 10 minutes. If desired, before serving, sprinkle the top with additional chopped cilantro.  

Notes:

1. As long as you use the same volume, you can change the vegetables in the casserole, e.g. broccoli in place of cauliflower, yellow pepper in place of red pepper, leeks in place of onion, etc.
2. To make this gluten-free, be sure to use 100 percent corn/certified gluten-free tortillas.
3. This dish keeps well for up to four days when stored covered in the refrigerator. 

Written by: Massey Communications Office