it is a pleasure to enter this challenge. since the requirement was to cook up a traditional recipe from my country of residence or origin i had to smile. i only know two traditional norwegian plant based recipes. one is vassgraut which is a porridge made of three ingredients: wholegrain flour (usually rye or barley but sometimes wheat) and water with only a little salt. that probably won't go down well today with even the most die hard vegan, but it is what common folk survived on for centuries here in the north. the other is a vegetable soup using mostly root vegetables especially kohlrabi, celeriac, parsnips, turnips, carrots, and sometimes potato. actually the soup is quite delicious and i make it often in the autumn when the roots are in season. it is/was? even taught in grade schools here to help raise interest for vegetables as an essential part of a healthy diet.
now i grew up in the usa with a typical american meat based diet but we had a huge vegetable garden with lots and lots of great veggies. we were six boys and the garden was my father's project to keep us busy and out of trouble, much like his father did when he was growing up. the out of trouble strategy did not work too well but we had a diet full of fresh vegetables in season and frozen, pickled and canned throughout the year.
in 1974 i left home and when i was on my own i quickly converted to a vegetarian diet. i was especially inspired by the classic book diet for a small planet by francis moore lappe. as a nature lover involved in a growing environmental movement, it was a real eye opener. my diet was greatly enhanced thanks to another classic the vegetarian epicure by anna thomas. with these as a starting point i experimented all kinds of ways of making delicious and nutritionally balanced vegetarian food. being in america it was obvious that beans was an essential part of that diet. so i am pleased to enter this challenge with a traditional dish, refried beans. actually this is originally a mexican dish but america is a fusion of many cultures and the revival of vegetarianism in america in the 1970s grew organically from this fusion. today the way i am preparing refried beans is a product of that culture.
refried beans in pita bread
is made from
ingredients:
homecooked brown beans with broth
chopped onion (i like red onions)
grated chopped or pressed garlic
thyme
cumin seed powder
chili powder
coarsely chopped pecans and walnuts
salt and pepper
lemon or lime juice
cooking oil
traditionally pinto beans are used instead of brown beans but they are not readily available here. lime is more traditional than lemon and cilantro may or may not be used but i prefer thyme. i tossed in the nuts to boost the nutrition and to give the beans a little more to chew on. as for oil, well i don't have a perfect solution but here i use a mix of sunflower and extra virgin olive oil. while refried beans are more traditionally served in a burrito or a taco, amazingly they fit perfectly inside a pita bread
procedure:
soak the beans overnight, drain and boil them in plenty of water until soft but not mushy. keep the broth. i use it here and any leftover is great in soups and sauces. sometimes i cook beans with some onion and garlic and maybe even a little chili with the beans but here i am adding those later on in the recipe.
fry the onions in the oil until transparent.
here i am grating the garlic because i could not find my press🙄
stir in the garlic
continue frying until the onions and garlic are thoroughly cooked but not yet brown
then stir in the thyme, cumin and chili powder. fry another minute or two
then stir in the beans with a some of their broth along with the salt and pepper.
the mix should be a little soupy at this point but it will dry out quite quickly.
preheat the oven to 250 C/425 F.
continue cooking. as it dries out add the nuts
when dry turn off the heat mash the beans a little add the lemon or lime juice mash some more until you get the consistency you want. i prefer the beans are not thoroughly mashed.
now cut some pita breads in half and with a spoon, fill the pockets with the refried beans but not too full. press the filled bread somewhat flat ensuring the beans are evenly spread out to the sides but not falling out the front.
slide the breads onto a hot baking tray fairly high in the oven. i use a pizza stone tile which gives a nice crispy result. keep an eye on them because in just a few minutes they are ready.
here i have cut them in half once more and served with sliced tomatoes, finely chopped kale and a bowl of homemade hummus.
i can post later on about the hummus