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Eggplant With Tahini

whole eggplant

I’m a big eggplant fan… that is, when it’s cooked properly.  There is nothing worse than undercooked, “green” tasting eggplant.  It tastes awful (usually bitter) and has a kind of chewy styrofoam texture. I think the texture gets to me more than the taste.  But the thing is, it’s really easy to undercook it, as the opposite is mushy eggplant that’s been cooked within an inch of its life, which is also unappealing, and desirable to avoid.

There is an Italian restaurant around the corner from me that cooks their eggplant perfectly.  It truly a delight to eat – the texture is perfect, almost creamy, with a little bit of a smoky taste.  I expect they grill it to get the taste and texture like that.

roasted eggplant

I get around all of this by cooking eggplant for purposes of a dip, which means the vegetable is very forgiving for this.  I roast it with olive oil for about 45 minutes, and that usually does the trick – the flesh turns nice and soft, and the cut side caramelizes, which adds a little sweetness to the mix.

Usually “dip” means baba ganoush, aka eggplant with tahini.  I love the combination of flavors – the roasted eggplant with buttery tahini, some garlic, lemon juice, and an unusual ingredient I’ve been experimenting with.

before grinding

I received one medium sized eggplant in my CSA share this week, so this recipe was created around that.  You can adjust amount as you like – I mean really, baba ganoush (as well as hummus) has always seemed to me as one without strongly defined amounts of flavoring.  It should be to your liking.  For instance, I like my baba ganoush to have a pronounced lemony-tart flavor, and a little spicy.  Others prefer a stronger tahini flavor. Recipes like this make it easy to adjust seasonings to one’s own taste.

eggplant with tahini

Baba Ganoush (Eggplant with Tahini)

1 medium eggplant
olive oil
salt
2-3 tbs tahini
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp sumac
1/2 tsp aleppo pepper (red pepper flakes will work, too, but reduce to 1/4 tsp)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the eggplant in half, coat cut sides with olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt, and cook, cut side down on a baking pan, for 45 minutes.  Take out the pan and let eggplant cool for 15-20 minutes. Remove cooked flesh from the skins and place in a bowl.  Discard eggplant skins.

To the eggplant, add the tahini, olive oil, sumac, aleppo pepper,  garlic, and lemon juice.  Grind everything in either a food processor or with a stick blender, until it achieves the texture you prefer (I like something fairly smooth).

Serve topped with olive oil and sumac, with bread of your choice.  Feta cheese is a very nice accompaniment to this, along with some fresh raw vegetables like carrots, celery, and bell pepper.

This is particularly delicious the day after, when all the flavors have had a chance to meld.

Makes 2 cups.

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Spiced Okra, Easy and Delicious

cooked okra

For the longest time, I wouldn’t even consider eating okra.

Mainly, it was because of its famous sliminess (or, “mucilaginous juice”, eh), which is a total textural turnoff for me.  I’d heard there were ways to avoid the slime – don’t cut off the stem tip, or pickle it in vinegar.  Still, I wasn’t convinced.

raw okra

However, this past week we got okra in our CSA share, and so I found myself in a position where I had an opportunity to find a way to eat it.  Additionally, the weekend prior I picked up the September issue of Food & Wine, which had a very simple recipe for okra in it, that assured a lack of sliminess.  I figured it was vegetable kismet, and worth a try.

To my delight, I found the recipe extremely easy to make, and even better – the cooking technique indeed did eliminate the slime!  I’m also a sucker for charred or caramelized vegetables, yum.  Plus the spice mixture contained some of my favorite flavors.  This is one delicious dish.

spice mixture

I made some adjustments, and will include them here.  If you are curious about okra, but are scared of the slime, this is an excellent way to try out this curious vegetable.

in the pan

Skillet-Roasted Spiced Okra
Adapted from a recipe from Food & Wine.

1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
Pinch of cinnamon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound small okra, halved lengthwise
Salt
juice of one lemon

In a small bowl, blend the cayenne, chili powder, cumin, coriander, fennel, turmeric, an cinnamon.

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the okra, cut side down, and cook over high heat for 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat to moderate and cook until browned on the bottom, 4 minutes longer.

Turn the okra and cook over low heat until tender, 2 minutes. Season with salt and sprinkle with the spice mixture. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds.

Drizzle the lemon juice over the okra and serve.

The okra is good with a little plain yogurt or a dollop of fresh chevre.

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Farro and Summer Vegetable Salad

farro summer vegetable salad

I did not plan this salad.  It just sort of came to be through improvisation; I like to cook in this way.  Recipes are great, don’t get me wrong, and I enjoy using them, but it’s also nice to take what you have and come up with something delicious, which this most certainly is. Or, was – I ate it all within a 24 hour period.  It was that good.

First, though – what is farro?  Farro is an ancient whole wheat grain also known as Emmer; it’s also related to spelt.  It looks like large barley or even a bit like freekeh, and is medium brown in color.  It has a toothsome texture and mild, nutty flavor.  It has slightly less protein than quinoa, but has almost twice the fiber. You cook it like most grains – soak then simmer in a pot til the water (or stock) absorbs.  My farro comes from Cayuga Organics via my CSA.

So, Tuesday morning I decided I wanted to cook some grains.  I looked in the pantry and the first grain I spied was the farro.  So, I brought it down, put it in my soaking bowl, added water and raw vinegar and let it soak while I was at work.

That night I picked up my CSA shares – the veggie share was full of summer vegetables, and I knew their robust flavors would go well with the farro.

I took what I had – red peppers, leeks, zucchini, tomatoes – and mixed it with the cooked farro, along with some feta and lemon juice.  The salad was so delicious!  It was hearty and satisfying without weighing me down.  The flavors were sharp and clear and they all mixed together to make an excellent dish.  It was wonderfully savory.

I would make this again… in fact, I probably will make it again next week!  It was fantastic the next day, too – the flavors had married and tasted a bit deeper.  Definitely a good dish to bring as leftovers to work.

Farro and Summer Vegetable Salad

1 cup dry farro
soaking water and an acid (I used raw apple cider vinegar; lemon juice would work, too)
juice and zest of 1 lemon
kosher salt
1 leek, finely chopped
1 small red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 small zucchini, julienned, then the matchsticks cut in half to the length of an inch or so
1/4 cup feta cheese (Bulgarian feta is my favorite), crumbled
2 tablespoons pine nuts (raw or toasted)
1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, each cut in half

Put the cup of dry farro in a bowl, cover with water and a splash of acid, and let soak for 8-10 hours.  When the soaking time is up, drain the farro and put in a saucepan with 1 cup of water.  Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer until almost all the water has been absorbed, about 20-25 minutes.  Rinse and drain and set aside.

While the farro is cooking, cut up the leeks.  The way I do this is that I cut off the top fibrous green leaves, leaving the tender white parts.  Then cut off the root end.  Slice the leek in half from root to tip, and rinse the leeks in a way to be sure there is no dirt stuck between the layers.  Put the cut side down and slice thin half moons.  You’ll have a pile of cute skinny half moon leeks – then chop them until they meet your standard for finely chopped.

Add the bell pepper and zucchini.  Add the lemon zest and squeeze the lemon onto the mixture of leeks, pepper, and zucchini, sprinkle with salt (I used about 1/4 tsp) and let that macerate until the farro is ready to be added.

Add the farro and mix with the vegetable lemon combination.  Crumble your feta and add the pine nuts. Pour the olive oil over it all. Last, add the sliced-in-half tomatoes. Mix it all together.  Adjust seasonings as you like.

Serves 4-6, or two servings for some very hungry people.

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CSA Bounty – Weeks Twelve and Thirteen

I neglected to post about last week’s CSA share, so I’m including it here.  Last week was a bust, in part to being sick on and off and feeling great fatigue.  I am feeling better, though, after sleeping a lot.  Sometimes the body just wants to rest more than at other times.  These 90 degrees + weather doesn’t help, either.  Anyway, the shares!

Week Twelve:

Week 12 collage

Pictured, left to right, top to bottom: green beans, plums, cubanelle peppers, cucumbers, yellow paste tomatoes, nectarines, basil, summer squash, green bell peppers, apples, tomatoes.

So many yummy things.  The tomatoes were fantastic, I must say – nothing beats an August tomato. I made a tomato mozzarella salad with them.

We got an interesting pepper, the cubanelle, which is sweet.  The basil was fabulous.  Cucumbers and summer squash, all very good.  I made zucchini fritters which turned out great; however I didn’t take a picture.  Next time.

The fruit is almost all gone, except for the plums, of which we got a lot.   I think it was 2 pounds of little baby plums!  So cute, and so many.

Week Thirteen:

Week 13 collage

Pictured, left to right, top to bottom: prunes, nectarines, peppers, leeks, yellow wax beans, cherry tomatoes, apples, summer squash, eggplant.

Last night I used the peppers, leeks, zucchini, and tomatoes in a farro salad (recipe to come).  It was marvelous!  Some of the tomatoes were a little overripe, but it didn’t matter with the salad.  Didn’t matter when I popped them on their own in my mouth, either!  So sweet and delicious.

I’ll roast the eggplant this week, and probably parboil and freeze the beans.  I don’t know what I’ll do with all the prunes I received – 2.5 pounds, which is plenty.  Must search for a recipe.  The apples got rave reviews at my home, and I expect we’ll finish those and the nectarines by next week.

These summer fruits and vegetables are so amazing, I almost can’t stand it!  I am so very, very fortunate to have access to such excellent local produce.

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CSA Bounty – Week Eleven

Well, almost the entire week has gone by without a post, which is in part because of a number of tasty dinners with friends that happened this week that has occupied my time, happily.  I’ve been able to eat my CSA veggies and fruit, though, and everything has been amazing.  My favorite so far has been the cantaloupe, followed by the excellent cherry tomatoes.  This week’s collage:

Week 11 collage

From top to bottom, left to right:

Apples, peaches, cantaloupes, nectarines, cucumbers, eggplant, summer squash, tomatoes.  Not shown: green beans.

Everything is gorgeous and bursting with flavor.   This really is my favorite time of the year for produce.  I wish it could continue for months!

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CSA Bounty – Week Ten

Week 10 Collage

This week was another winner – ultra-summery veggies and fruit.  From the top, left to right, row by row, starting at the top:

cucumbers, basil, green and purple peppers (we got one of each), blackberries, summer squash, tomatoes, donut peaches, cantaloupes, okra

We actually got melon in both the vegetable and fruit shares! So I have two lovely melons at home.  I think the last time we got melon in a veggie share was the first season as Hellgate CSA (so, in 2006), and we’ve never had melon in the fruit share.  It’s very exciting.

Donut peaches are amazing!  I love them.

Not sure what to do about the okra – maybe make lact-fermented okra?  Will explore some recipes.

As I write this, the tomatoes are gone.  I used most of them to make lacto-fermented salsa, and ate the other one in a tomato and basil salad.

Will make cucumber soup this week, most likely.  Would be good to use some raw yogurt in it.

Love the summer veggies and fruit!

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CSA Bounty – Week Nine

Well, this week we got a fantastic selection of summer vegetables.  I was really excited when I saw the share menu for the week!  I was so excited that I forgot to take pictures of my share before I dove in, d’oh.  It’s been a hectic week, too, so I haven’t had a chance to do a share photoshoot.  Still, I’ll tell you what we got this week:

tomatoes
cucumbers
bell peppers
summer squash
eggplant
parsley (mint was another option)
peaches
plums
blackberries

Fantastic!!!  You can’t ask for a more summery selection than that.

I took the tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers and stewed them all together and topped it with a little grated parmesan.  I have a lot to learn about cooking eggplant, I think.  It is one of the most challenging vegetables to cook well.  I have a white eggplant that I will work with over the weekend.

I also peeled the cucumber, sliced it, and combined it with the tomato, cut into wedges.  Add a little extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and perhaps some sherry vinegar, and that makes for a delicious summer salad.

As for the summer squash, not sure what I’ll do with them exactly.  I am overloaded with summer squashes of all kinds right now. One thing I could do with them is simply grate them and freeze them for use in zucchini bread or sprouted muffins over the winter.

As for the fruit, I’ve eaten most of the blackberries and am enjoying the yellow plums a lot.  I think I’ll make a peach crisp this weekend, too.  I would like to see if I can adjust the recipe for the crisp topping to accommodate rapadura/sucanat and coconut sugar. Yum!

Pictures next week, promise.