Baingan Bharta AKA Northern Indian Eggplant Curry

Photo by Sabra Krock for the New York Times.

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil


1/2 tsp gound cumin 
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
4 cloves smashed, peeled, finely chopped
1 green chili finely chopped, seeds removed (optional--for extra heat)
1 tomato, diced
2 cups cooked garbanzo or chicken (optional)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of cilantro or basil, finely chopped
 
Directions:


1.  Prick the eggplant with a thin-blade knife. Grill over very high heat, turning as necessary until the skin is blackened and the eggplant collapses. Or broil, or roast on a heated cast-iron pan or in a counter-top convection oven at 450 degrees F.  It will take about 20 minutes.

2.  When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, peel (this will be easy) and trim away the hard stem. Chop or mash in a bowl, with lime juice.

3.  Toast spices in a dry skillet and set to the side.

4.  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger  (and green chili, if you'd like) and cook for another minute. Add the tomato, toasted spices and salt. Cook until the tomato is soft, 5 minutes or so.

5.  If you would like for this to be a main dish, you can add two cups cooked garbanzo beans or  chopped cooked chicken. 

6. Stir in the eggplant purée and cook, stirring, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and cilantro and turn off the heat. Serve hot with warm chapati bread or pita, or over cooked rice quinoa. 

Grilled Eggplant and Fennel

Photo from Gibbet Hill Farm

Sally tells me that tomorrow's farm share from Glade Road Growing is slated to include fennel, eggplant, sweet pepper, garlic, beets and tomatoes.  Continuing with the hot weather recipes, here's one for grilled eggplant and fennel.




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Serves 4


1 large eggplant or 2 small eggplants cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
1 fennel bulb, stalks and fronds away and reserve for another use, with core trimmed until there is
      just enough to hold the fennel together, cut into quarters.   Slice one of the more tender stalks on a       slant and chop up a few fronds for garnish in this recipe.
2 tomatoes, cut into eights

Dressing:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 dash paprika
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

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1.  Prep vegetables.

2.  Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a large bowl.  Add eggplant and fennel and toss until covered.

3.  Grill eggplant and fennel on medium grill 5 - 8 minutes per side.  Fennel should retain some crispness.  Eggplant should be tender.  If you don't have a grill, you can roast the veggies in the oven on a parchment paper covered baking sheet at 450 degrees F.  It will probably take 10 minutes on each side.

4.  Drizzle with some more balsamic vinegar and serve warm on separate plates, garnished with tomato wedges and a few fennel fronds. If you would like for this to be a meal, rather than a side, you can combine with 2 cups of cooked beans or or 2 cups of cooked chicken or 1/4 pound of  feta cheese and 4 tablespoons of pine nuts, walnuts or peanuts.

Chickpea Ratatouille with Quinoa

Photo from Sonia Lacasse at The Healthy Foodie

Glade Road Growing's  vegetable share for the week of August 11 is expected to include tomatoes, red onions, sweet peppers, eggplant and summer squash.  As Sally suggested, this is perfect for ratatouille.  Two years ago, I posted a recipe here and have another one for you today.

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Serves 6


1.  Cook 1 and 1/2 cups of dry chickpeas.  In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom and a tight-fitting lid, cover with 3 cups water, and and bring to a boil.  Rinse.  Return to pot, add ½ teaspoon sea salt and bring again to a boil again.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Let stand over night or for at least one hour. Rinse a second time.  Add two cups of water and bring to a boil again and simmer on low heat until soft, about 1 hour.

2.  In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom and a tight-fitting lid, combine 1 1/2  cup quinoa, 3 cups water, and and bring to a boil.  Rinse.  Return to pot, add ½ teaspoon sea salt and bring again to a boil again.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and leave for 20 minutes until water is absorbed.

3.  While quinoa is cooking, wash, peel and chop onion.  If you are using cherry tomatoes, cut in half.  Otherwise chop coarsely to make 2 cups.  Cut 1 eggplant (about 1 pound) into 1/2-inch pieces.   Cut squash in half lengthwise and cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick pieces.  Cut peppers in half and remove seeds and stems and slice into 1 inch pieces.  Smash and peel 6 cloves of garlic and mince.  Rinse basil and remove leaves from stems to make about 1/2 cup. 

4.  Heat 1 TB extra virgin olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion  and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another minutes.  Remove to plate.  Replenish oil and cook peppers until soft.  Remove to plate and repeat for squash and then egg plant.

5.  In a 3 quart covered saucepan, add tomatoes, cooked vegetables, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until eggplant is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the cooked chickpeas and cook just until heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove the vegetables from heat and stir in  fresh basil leaves.

6.  Uncover the quinoa and fluff with a fork. Divide among six bowls and top with vegetables and, if you like, some shaved Parmesan or Asiago cheese.

Thai Grilled Eggplant Salad (Yum Makeua Yao)

Photo from Rachel Cox of Rachel Cooks Thai

The farm share for Glade Road Growing for the week of August 4 is slated to include: tomatoes, lettuce mix, cucumber,  cilantro, and eggplant.  I thought I'd travel this week to Thailand, inspired by Rachel Cox, but substituting this homemade vegetarian sauce for the traditional fish sauce and peanuts for the dried shrimp...

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Serves 4


1.  To make the sauce,  the night before, combine in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil:
      1 1/2 cups shredded seaweed
      1/2 cup of dried shitaki mushrooms
      6 cups water
      6 fat cloves garlic, crushed but not peeled
      1 T peppercorns

Lower heat and simmer about 20 minutes. Strain and return the liquid back to the pot. Add 1 cup soy sauce, bring back to a boil and cook until mixture is reduced.  Remove from heat, cool and  and stir in 1 TB miso.  Decant into a bottle and keep in the refrigerator.




2.  If we have oriental eggplant this week, use them whole.  If they are the Italian variety, you can cut them in half. Grill outside or roast in oven or convection oven until soft to the touch, which will take about 20-30 minutes.   Remove and let cool in a covered container.

3.  While the eggplant is cooking, boil 4 eggs (duck eggs are great, or chicken eggs, if you don't have them) for approximately 7 minutes to achieve a soft boiled egg. Allow to cool and then peel.
4.  Chop 1/4 cup of cilantro coarsely.  Thinly slice 2 TB of shallots or thinly chop the same amount of red onions.  

5.  To prepare dressing, combine:
      1 T sauce from step one
      1 T lime juice
      1 T demerara  sugar
      1/2 tsp.  dried red chili peppers 

6.   Peel the eggplant and cut into bite-sized pieces. You should have roughly 1 cup. If you have more or less, adjust the amounts of the other ingredients accordingly. Combine the  eggplant with the chopped cilantro, 4 T chopped toasted peanuts and dressing. Divide into four bowls. Slice the soft boiled eggs in half one to the side of each salad. ( (If you are feeding vegans, you can substitute a block of tempeh, sliced thinly.)  Serve while the eggplant is still slightly warm.

Curried Eggplant, Tomatoes and Chickpeas with Basil

Photo by Con Poulos appeared on the Real Simple website.  He's one of my favorite food photographers.  See more of his work at the link.


The expected vegetables in the Glade Road Growing farm share for the week of July 28 will be include:  tomatoes, head lettuce, summer squash, green peppers, basil, sweet onions and maybe an eggplant.  Here's a recipe for an Indian curry.  If you don't have an egg plant, you can make this with summer squash or with steamed potatoes and cauliflower.  (This share is also perfect for making ratatouille, a recipe I provided two years ago.)

Serves 4

1.  To cook 1 cup dry chickpeas,  in a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom and a tight-fitting lid, cover with 2 cups water, and and bring to a boil.  Rinse.  Return to pot, add ½ teaspoon sea salt and bring again to a boil again.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Let stand over night or for at least one hour. Rinse a second time two cups of swater and bring to a boil again and simmer on low heat until soft, about 1 hour.


2.  In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom and a tight-fitting lid, combine 1 cup basmati brown rice , 2 cups water, and and bring to a boil.  Rinse.  Return to pot, add ½ teaspoon sea salt and bring again to a boil again.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and leave for 40 minutes until water is absorbed. 

3.  While rice is cooking, wash, peel and chop one onion.  If you are using cherry tomatoes, cut in half.  Otherwise chop coarsely.  Cut 1 eggplant (about 1 pound) into 1/2-inch pieces.

4.  Measure out these spices:

1/2 tsp gound cumin 
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

5. Toast spices in a dry cast iron skillet and set to the side.

6.  Heat 1 TB extra virgin olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, eggplant, spices, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until eggplant is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the cooked chickpeas and cook just until heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove the vegetables from heat and stir in  1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves.

7.  Uncover the rice and fluff with a fork. Divide among four bowls and top with vegetables and a spoonful of non-fat plain yogurt.

Eggplant, Tomato, Cucumber and Cilantro Pasta Salad

Photo from Joanne Mumola Williams recipe.


The expected bag of vegetables from Glade Road Growing for the week of July 21 will include: tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, cilantro, garlic, and an eggplant.  This recipe includes the tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro, garlic and eggplant.  With days getting hotter, you may want to prepare the cooked parts of this pasta salad in the early morning while it is still cooler and then serve it in the evening for dinner.

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Serves 4


1.  Wash and dice one unpeeled eggplant.  Place in a steamer basket and sprinkle generously with salt and toss to distribute salt.  Let sit in the sink for at least 15 minutes until the eggplant sweats.

2.  Peel and smash and finely chop garlic and  and one or more large portobello mushroom caps.

3.  While eggplant is sweating, bring water salted water with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to a boil.  Add 4 ounces of whole wheat spaghetti and return to boil.  Cook for about 7 minutes or until al dente.  Drain pasta, reserving water in the pot to cook the eggplant.  Toss pasta with a bit more olive oil and set aside to cool and then chill in the refrigerator.

4.  Leaving the eggplant in the steamer basket, rinse off salt.  Bring pasta water back to a slow boil and steam eggplant until cooked - about 10 minutes.

5.  In a skillet, heat olive oil and stir in 1/8 teaspoon of pepper flakes, garlic and chopped mushrooms and cook until soft and add eggplant and cook for another five minutes to meld flavors.  Cool and toss cooked veggies with pasta and refrigerate.

6.  Chop tomatoes,  1/2 cup of cilantro leaves,  cucumber with skins on (but seeds removed if too large) and mince about 1 tablespoon of raw onions.

7.  Divide the pasta and veggie mixture among four small bowls.    If you would like this to be a main dish, you can also add in at least a half cup of cooked, chilled chickpeas or lentils  to each bowl. Garnish with raw veggies and with olives and feta cheese, if desired.

Moroccan Squash and Eggplant Stew

Photo by Kana Okada for Epicurious (website)


The September 10 farm share for Glade Road Growing is slated to include Salad turnips, Greenstar organic salad mix, eggplant, garlic, delicata winter squash, and a poblano (a mild chilli pepper.)  Here's a recipe to try.

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Yield: 6 servings

Coarsely chop  3 cups of onions.
Crush and finely chop two cloves garlic.
Finely chop 1/2 TB of fresh ginger
Slice 2 cups of carrots (about 1/4 #)

Cube 3 cups of delicata squash.  To do this,  run the squash under warm water and scrub away dirt with your hands. If there are any hard spots on the squash, you can scrape them off with a butter knife.  With a sharp knife, cut delicata in half lengthwise. This should be easy; the squash is more tender than butternut and just as sweet.  With a spoon scoop out the seeds and discard or save and  prepare like pumpkin seeds.  Cut each delicata half into 1/2 inch segments and peel, creating moon-shaped pieces that have slight bumps around the curve.

Cube 3 cups of eggplant (about 1 #)
Slice poblano or sweet pepper in strips.
Slice 2 cups of summer squash (about 1/2 #) (optional)
Chop 2 large vine ripened tomatoes or equivalent (about 2 cups--you can used diced canned when not in season)


Measure out these spices:
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamon
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes if you are using a sweet pepper, rather than the poblano
1/2 tsp paprika (optional)


Chop 1/2 cup cilantro or mint.
Thinly slice 1/2 cups of whole raw almonds


If you have a dutch over, you can use one pot or you can saute in a cast iron skillet and transfer to a stainless steel pot (at least 3 quarts in size) for cooking.

Saute onions in extra virgin olive oil for 2-3 minutes until translucent.  Add garlic and spices, stirring continuously. Saute the vegetables in the order given, so that the starchier ones will cook the longest.  Cook until the color deepens.  Stir in 3 cups of cooked, rinsed and drained garbanzo beans or 1/ 1/2 beans and 1 1/2 cups diced roasted chicken, along with half a cup of raisins and the almonds.

In dutch oven or large pot combine all ingredients with 1/2 cup of tomato juice or water.  Cover and simmer on low heat until all the veggies are tender.  If you'd like this stew will be good served over cooked couscous, brown rice or quinoa or it can be eaten as just the stew, garnished with cilantro.