Vegetarian Ragu with Cilantro Pesto
- Yield 10 servings
A delicious Ragu rice dish filled with vegetables varying from sweet potatoes to fresh zucchini and topped with a homemade cilantro pesto.
Mark Boughton/styling: Teresa Blackburn
Ingredients
- Ragu:
- 2 tablespoons tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced 1/2-inch thick
- 1 (12-ounce) package mushrooms, halved
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 2 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with mild green chiles
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 cups water
- 5 cups hot cooked brown rice
- Cilantro Pesto:
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 1/3 cups chopped cilantro
- 1 1/3 cups flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
- To prepare ragu, heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and green pepper; cook until onion is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini and mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic. Add remaining ingredients (except rice). Stir well. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat; simmer 35 mintues, or until potatoes are tender.
- To prepare pesto, place walnuts in food processor and finely chop. Add cilantro and parsley; pulse to coarsely chop. With motor running, add oil and lime juice. Add cheese, salt and pepper; process until blended.
- Serve in soup plates over rice and top with pesto.
—Recipe by Jean Kressy
