Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy's Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
Flowerpots
Spring planting done yet? Bring a whimsical touch of nature to your table with Flowerpots! Crispy edible cups, filled with a flavorful black bean purée "soil", topped with a medley of seasonal vegetables. Flowerpots make elegant luncheon entrees, and are a fun way to engage young kids to explore healthy, whole plant foods (they’ll eat what they plant!)
Prep time 20 minutes Bake time 20-25 minutes Makes a dozen 3” x 2” pots
Edible Flowerpots
1 cup sweet potato pulp, microwaved or steamed
1 cup chickpea or split pea flour
1 cup oat or buckwheat flour
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 tablespoons fresh sage or rosemary leaves, chopped crudely
2 tablespoons arrowroot
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes
1 tablespoon golden flaxseed, freshly ground
1 tablespoon chia seeds, freshly ground
1 teaspoon shiro (white) miso paste
Several grinds of black peppercorns
Black Bean Soil
3 cups cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
1 head roasted garlic, peeled
¼ teaspoon chili powder (omit for small children)
1 teaspoon cumin powder, freshly roasted and ground
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons white shiro) miso paste, or to taste
Toppings
Plant seasonal vegetables in your pots, like raw radish roses, frayed scallion tops, snow peas, carrot and bell pepper sticks, microgreens, blanched or lightly steamed beets, asparagus tops, green beans (tough strings removed), broccoli and cauliflower florets.
Edible Flowerpots
- Preheat oven to 370°F.
- Create your template for cutting the sides of your flowerpots. Go to https://www.templatemaker.nl/cone to create a pattern for your truncated (topless) cone. Choose inches and type in 2” for the top diameter, 3” for the bottom diameter, and 2” for the height. Print out the pattern and cut out the shape. Use a 2” circular cutter or glass as a template for the flowerpot base.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the cooked sweet potato pulp. Run until the dough gathers into a ball. Adjust with a bit more pulp if too dry or more flour if too wet.
- Transfer to a board, lined with parchment. If the dough sticks, sprinkle it lightly with flour. Knead a few times, gather in a ball, divide the ball into quarters. Cover the other three quarters with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Roll out the first ball thinly and uniformly to 1/8” thickness. Lay down the template and cut out the sides and the circular base. Wrap the sides around the base, pressing to seal the seams. Move to a cookie sheet lined with parchment and repeat until all your flowerpots are constructed.
- Bake at 370°F for 15 minutes. Lower to 350°F and bake for another 5 minutes or until the shells feel firm. Do not overbake. Remove and cool on a rack.
Black Bean Soil
- To roast garlic heads, remove loose outer, papery skins and bake at 370°F for 30 minutes. Cool. Divide and peel gloves.
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor, Run until smooth, adding a bit of water or plant-based broth if needed to create dense purée. Taste and correct the seasonings.
Toppings
- Decoratively prepare your veggie toppings, like scallion curls and radish roses: Cut and immerse in ice water to curl and open. Sliver carrots and raw beets, Feel free to mix and match steamed, blanched, or raw vegetables to decorate your Flowerpots. For a tender-crisp texture, blanch broccoli and cauliflower florets, green beans, or beet or carrot strips, asparagus spears separately for 30 sec-1 minute depending on their size and density. Immediately shock in ice water. DO NOT OVERCOOK your vegetables will droop in the flowerpots and look wilted.
Planting your Flowerpots
- Fill each flowerpot with the bean purée up to ½” from the rim. Decorate each pot a little differently, creatively mixing and matching your vegetable toppings. If you have tender spouts or microgreens on hand, you can use them like moss in a botanical planting.
- To serve, briefly reheat for 30 seconds in a microwave.