Kitchen Adventures || Barbacoa Pulse Bowl
I learned something new this week. I learned about pulses! Not the kind that you check to see if you’re still alive or if your heart is going to explode after a workout 😉 No, I learned about the edible kind. Pulses are the dry, edible seeds of plants in the legume family that include chickpeas, lentils, dry peas and beans. They are different than legumes in that they are lower in fat and higher in fiber and protein and from what I understand, they are environmentally friendly crops. Sounds pretty good to me!
Ok, so it’s not like I JUST learned what beans and peas are… I just had never heard them referred to as pulses… So, without further ado, here’s this week’s recipe! I know this looks like a long list, but it’s really not so tough. Plan accordingly for the cook time, but once the meat is in the pot, everything else is quick and easy!
The barbacoa for this is written as an instant pot recipe, but I’ll include directions below for a slow cooker as well. If you are short on time, this could easily be done with chicken or pork… Or meatless if you want!
Barbacoa
INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup beer (sub beef broth or water)
4 large cloves garlic
1 small yellow onion onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
2 chipotles in adobo sauce + 1 tsp sauce (or more, to taste)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano (or regular oregano)
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 pounds beef chuck roast* (fat trimmed), cut into chunks
3 bay leaves
DIRECTIONS
In a food processor – blend all ingredients EXCEPT for olive oil, bay leaves, and meat until smooth. Set aside.
Instant pot – heat oil on saute function. Once oil is hot, add meat and brown on all sides. Once browned, hit “cancel” to turn off saute setting. Add the bay leaves and the pureed mixture. Put the lid on and close the vent to the sealed position. Use the high pressure manual setting and set to 60 minutes. Let it cook!
When the 60 minutes is up, carefully release the vent and once the release valve has dropped remove the lid. Discard the bay leaves and shred the meat. Mix some of the sauce in for flavor and you’re done!
Slow Cooker – combine all ingredients and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4. The beef should be tender and pull apart easily. Once cooked, shred with forks and allow it to sit in the sauce for 10 minutes.
Pulse Salad
INGREDIENTS – I used canned beans, but you could take the extra time to do dry beans if you want. Cook accordingly….
1 can dark red kidney beans – drained and rinsed
1 can black beans – drained and rinsed
1 can navy beans – drained and rinsed
15 oz sweet corn – I used frozen – defrost first 😉
1 jalapeno – finely diced
1/2 medium red onion – diced
1 small bell pepper – color of choice – diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup roasted pepitas
1 lime
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt & pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until well combined. Simple as that!
Roasted Chickpeas
1 can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) – drained, rinsed, and dried – Don’t skip the drying part! You can use paper towels to pat them dry.
Coat in olive oil and roast in the oven at 400 degrees until crispy! 20-30 minutes. Season as desired after roasting.
TOPPING – Serve with your choice of plain greek yogurt, cheese, cilantro, lime juice, avocado, hot sauce… whatever you like!