I finally made my annual Eggplant Parmesan this week—something I always want to make more often while the eggplants last. And the Baba Ganoush. I ate that for breakfast three days in a row. Make gazpacho on Thursday when it’s supposed to be warmer again. Enjoy!
Eggplant Parmesan
Baba Ganoush
Gazpacho
Simplest Tomato Sauce
Poblano Notes
Roasted Poblano and Onion Tacos
Garbanzo Beans with Roasted Carrots and Beans and Cumin/Lime Dressing
Late Summer Stew with Cilantro Cream
Chocolate and Zucchini Cake
Eggplant Parmesan
I only make this about once a year but each time I make it I wish I did so weekly while eggplants and tomatoes are in abundance. As I think I’ve mentioned before I rarely salt and drain eggplant anymore. It’s an extra step that I don’t find necessary with perfectly fresh eggplant. You can either bake the eggplant as noted below or pan-fry it in a bit of oil. I really like both versions and when I’m in a hurry I tend to fry since it’s quicker.
2 large globe eggplants, sliced into ¼ – 1/3 –inch slices lengthwise or into rounds
Olive oil
Salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups tomato sauce (below or your favorite version) to which you’ve added some chopped basil and the minced garlic
1 cup (or more) grated Parmesan
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Arrange the slices on two baking sheets (they may not all fit and you’ll need to do them in batches). Brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake, turning once until tender and starting to brown, about 20-25 minutes total. Turn oven down to 375.
Line the bottom of an 8 x 13” baking dish (or something similar). Spread a thin layer of sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat until you’ve used up all your ingredients, ending with either eggplant and cheese or sauce and cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes or so until everything is bubbling and the cheese is browning on top. You can run it under the broiler for a few minutes if you want more color.
Baba Ganoush
–slightly adapted from David Lebovitz
I made this last week and ate it on/with everything—liberally piled onto toasted bread, by the spoonful as is, with pan-fried salmon, with hard boiled eggs as a lunch. It’s light but complex and satisfying.
2 medium-sized eggplants
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
3 (or more) tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1/8 teaspoon chile powder
pinch or two of cumin (it can easily overwhelm so just add a very little bit)
1 tablespoon olive oil
a half bunch cilantro leaves and tender stems
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Prick each eggplant a few times, then char the outside of the eggplants by placing them directly on the flame of a gas burner and as the skin chars, turn them until the eggplants are uniformly-charred on the outside. (If you don’t have a gas stove, you can char them under the broiler. If not, skip to the next step.)
Place the eggplants on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, until they’re completely soft; you should be able to easily poke a paring knife into them and meet no resistance. Remove from oven and let cool.
Split the eggplant and scrape out the pulp. Puree the pulp in a blender or food processor with the other ingredients until smooth.
Taste, and season with additional salt and lemon juice, if necessary. Serve drizzle with olive oil, perhaps some more herbs. See headnote for serving ideas.
* Baba Ganoush can be made and refrigerated for up to five days.
Gazpacho
There are many, many different version of gazpacho but I particularly like this one. The use of a little bread and the sherry vinegar are distinctively Spanish and are both important to the success of this, but most important are perfectly ripe tomatoes. It does need to chill for at least 3 hours so throw this together in the morning and have it waiting for you for dinner with some good bread or roasted fingerling potatoes or some kind of grilled beef.
You can halve this recipe if you don’t have enough tomatoes or just don’t need a lot of gazpacho.
1 slice of bread (good crusty bread not sandwich bread and not seedy or very whole grain), crust removed
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon sea salt (more to taste)
Scant 2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar (or more to taste). If you don’t have Sherry vinegar use half balsamic and half red wine or champagne vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds (best if you can do this in the mortar and pestle with the garlic, otherwise pre-ground is fine)
2 ½ – 3 lbs tomatoes, cored and quartered
1/3 cup good tasting (not bitter—use the best oil you have) olive oil. The Spanish oil Unio (by Siurana is perfect and available at New Seasons and Pastaworks and is my standard good, oil)
For serving: Finely chopped sweet pepper and chopped basil and a little finely diced red onion.
Briefly soak the bread in water and squeeze dry really well. Grind the coriander seeds in a mortar and pestle or grind with a spice grinder (or use pre-ground coriander). Add garlic and salt to the coriander in the mortar and pestle (or mince and mash garlic and salt with the side of a chef’s knife) and work into a paste.
Put garlic coriander paste, bread, vinegar (and ground coriander if you didn’t use whole seeds) and half of tomatoes in a food processor and process until tomatoes are very finely chopped. Add remaining tomatoes with motor running and, when very finely chopped, gradually add oil in a slow stream. You can either leave it a bit chunky or blend it until smooth. I like it fairly smooth. Some people will have you strain the whole thing but I never do.
Transfer to a glass container and chill, covered, until cold, about 3 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and vinegar. Serve topped with the chopped basil, cucumbers and a bit of onion, if using.
Simplest Tomato Sauce
Tomatoes, olive oil, salt. That’s it. When the tomatoes are good it’s honestly all you need. And I make sauce with slicer and heirloom tomatoes all the time. It takes longer to cook down because they’re so juicy but with a little patience and high heat it’s perfect.
I made this the other day, in about 15 minutes and I topped pizza dough with it and some mozzarella and basil and had the perfect dinner.
Dice as many tomatoes as you want to use. Add them to a wide skillet to which you’ve added a generous splash of olive oil. Cook at a lively simmer until it’s thickened to your liking. Salt to taste. If the sauce seems too acidic or not quite perfect add a tablespoon or two of butter. Butter is THE “perfecter” of tomato sauce.
Poblano Notes
I would suggest roasting all your poblano peppers at once and then you’ll have them on hand to add to salsa, sauces, salads or use them in the tacos below. I roast mine under the broiler, turning them regularly to evenly blacken all sides. Then you can set them in a bowl and cover them to steam a bit more. This also loosens the skin a bit. Then peel and deseed and you’re ready to go. Poblanos have a wonderful smoky flavor and can vary in heat level. They pair beautifully with eggs, potatoes, creamy dishes and of course tomatoes.
Roasted Poblano and Onion Tacos
This is a variation on the Mexican dish Rajas. It’s delicious, smoky and easily varied. I’ve included a meat (beef) and vegetarian (potato) option below. You could also add some corn sliced off the cob to this as well.
3 poblano peppers
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
olive oil
6 oz skirt or flank steak (optional), sliced thinly against the grain
3 potatoes (optional) cut into small dice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt & pepper
1/3 cup of heavy cream (or sour cream)
8-10 small corn tortillas
Chopped cilantro and lime wedges for topping
Roast the peppers under the broiler or directly over the gas flame on the stovetop, until they’re black and blistered all around. Set in a bowl to cool and cover with a plate or towel. They are easier to peel if you let them steam a bit like this. When cool, peel and seed the peppers and cut them into ½-inch wide strips.
Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot add the flank steak strips in a single layer, if using, sprinkle generously with salt and sear on both sides for about 1 minute each. It cooks really quickly and gets tough quickly so do not overcook. Remove from pan onto a plate.
Add the onions to the same skillet with a little more oil and the cumin. Sauté until beginning to brown and soften. If you are using potatoes (instead of or in addition to the beef) add the diced potato and cook on medium-high heat, stirring often until the potatoes are tender.
Add the poblano strips and heat them through, then add the meat back in (if using), and then add the cream and a few grinds of black pepper and quickly bring to a boil.
Serve the mixture on warmed tortillas with a little fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.
Garbanzo Beans with Roasted Carrots and Beans and Cumin/Lime Dressing
This is a beautiful, colorful, hearty salad. It’s also delicious with grilled or sautéed shrimp, rounds of cooked sausage or served with quartered, hard-boiled eggs over which you drizzle some of the dressing. You could also easily add leftover chicken to this to add even more protein. The garbanzo beans have a good amount already though. And add some crumbled feta or goat cheese by all means if you have it.
Serves 4-6 as a generous side
Preheat oven to 500 degrees
6 or more carrots, scrubbed and cut into thin half-rounds or small chunks
½ lb green beans, topped and tailed and cut into 2-inch lenghts
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 -3 cups cooked garbanzo beans (or canned) if using canned beans, rinse well before using.
3 tablespoons cilantro
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons lime or lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 garlic cloves (grated or minced)
1/3 cup olive oil – divided
salt
pepper
Mix carrots and green beans with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and roast at 500 degrees for about 15 minutes until tender and browning around the edges. Mix garbanzo beans and carrots and beans with dressing, add sausage or other protein, if using. Let marinate a few minutes. Add cilantro and mix well and taste, adjust seasoning and enjoy.
Late Summer Stew with Cilantro Sauce
A SIO share member sent me this link the other day. I’ve adapted it here for this week’s share. I like the large size of the vegetables—I usually chop things a bit smaller—but this makes for an appealing change.
And please adapt as you see fit with quantities, spices, cooking time, etc. It’s the perfect catch-all CSA recipe. This is a good thing to make if you are not going to have a lot of time to cook this week and want to be sure things don’t go bad on you. Make a lot and eat throughout the week. Reheat with, surprise(!), a poached or fried egg on the side; enjoy over rice or quinoa, or with any kind of meat.
olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika or pimento (smoked paprika)
some minced jalapeno or 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
6 cloves garlic, chopped
4 carrots, scrubbed and cut into 4-inch chunks
2 sweet peppers or 2 poblanos or both, seeded and cut into large chunks
½ lb green beans, topped and tailed and cut into thirds
2 Summer squash, washed and trimmed and cut into large batons
4-5 tomatoes, diced
kernels from 2-4 ears of corn
½ bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup Greek yogurt (optional)
In a large pot with a tight fitting lid heat 2 tablespoons or so of olive oil and add the onion and spices and hot pepper, if using. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to burn the spices. Add the garlic and cook for another few minutes. Now layer on the carrots, beans, and peppers and finally the zucchini/squash, sprinkling over a bit of salt on each vegetable. Now scatter the tomatoes over everything. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and cook over medium heat for about 40 minutes. At that point check for doneness and moisture. You should have enough liquid but add a bit if you need to. Now add the corn and cook for another few minutes.
Meanwhile process the cilantro sauce ingredients until more or less smooth.
Taste stew and adjust seasoning and serve the stew topped with the sauce.
Chocolate and Zucchini Cake
–from Culinate via Chocolate&Zucchini.com
Ok, you’ve had plenty of savory zucchini recipes. It’s time for a little chocolate and zucchini!
Chocolate brings deep flavor to this cake, while grated zucchini makes the crumb moist and fluffy.
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, or ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little butter or olive oil for greasing the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour or 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
3 large eggs
2 cups unpeeled grated zucchini, from about 1½ to 2 medium zucchini (squeeze any liquid you can over the sink. You can grate on the large or small holes of the box grater. I prefer small but be sure to squeeze out liquid.
1 cup good-quality bittersweet chocolate chips
Powdered sugar or melted bittersweet chocolate (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 10-inch springform pan with butter or oil.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a food processor, process the sugar and butter until creamy (you can also do this by hand, armed with a sturdy spatula). Add the vanilla, coffee granules, and eggs, mixing well between each addition.
Reserve a cup of the flour mixture and add the rest to the egg mixture. Mix until just combined; the batter will be thick.
Add the zucchini and chocolate chips to the reserved flour mixture and toss to coat. Fold into the batter and blend with a wooden spoon, don’t overmix. Pour into the prepared cake pan and level the surface with a spatula.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool for 10 minutes, run a knife around the pan to loosen the cake, and unclasp the sides of the pan. Let cool to room temperature before serving. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, or glaze with melted chocolate.