September 16th, 2011

NU-WAY FARM CSA

September 16^th, 2011

This Week You'll Receive the Following:

Heirloom tomatoes
Eggplants
Arugula
Baby kale
Green peppers
Zucchini

You’ve already been receiving peppers and eggplants for a few weeks, but they are really coming on now—David has a very successful and enormous crop of both this year. And the arrival of kale and arugula today marks the beginning of David’s autumn work (as if the recent dip in temperatures wasn’t enough to confirm that fact).

In the meantime, the San Marzano tomatoes are making their final turn toward ripeness and those of you interested in picking tomatoes for canning will be able to begin visiting next week. Keep watch on your email for details about that.

Here are some more ideas about how to use peppers and eggplant.

Enjoy the beginnings of harvest season!

Roasted Chicken with Peppers and Potatoes

Here, the vegetables act as a cooking surface for the chicken—which results in some really killer vegetables. Don’t toss that backbone—simmer it with some celery, carrots and onion to make your own stock.

Ingredients:

1 medium chicken, backbone removed, then split in half

4 or 5 bell peppers (of any color)

5 large potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch coins

Extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Sea salt and freshly-ground pepper

1 lemon

Method:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Rinse the split chicken carefully and pat dry with paper towels. Drizzle the chicken with a generous amount of olive oil, then sprinkle with the oregano and season generously with salt and pepper.

Remove the stems and seeds from the pepper and slice into rather thick pieces. Arrange the peppers and garlic across the bottom of a roasting pan, drizzle with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the sliced potatoes on top of the peppers and drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Pour ½ cup of water over the potatoes, then arrange the chicken halves, cut side down, right on top of the potatoes.

Place the chicken into the oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 350. Bake until a thermometer inserted into the thigh meat reads 175 degrees, about 45 minutes. Then remove the chicken from the pan, cover with foil or a heavy towel and allow to rest. Give the peppers and potatoes a toss, turn the oven temperature up to 450 again, then return the vegetables to the oven for another fifteen minutes, until they are very soft.

Remove the baking pan from the oven and drain any chicken drippings from the vegetables, being absolutely sure to reserve those drippings in a bowl. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze it into the reserved drippings; season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Carve the chicken however you like and serve with the roasted vegetables and the lemon-infused drippings as a sauce on the side. Cut the remaining half of the lemon into wedges as a garnish.

Eggplant “Confit”

The light pickling and a deep layer of olive oil will result in a product that can be stored at room temperature for several days—or keep in the fridge for up to two weeks, warming the jar to room temperature before use. The oil itself will become fragrant and will work nicely in a vinaigrette, whisked with a little Dijon mustard and a touch more vinegar.

Ingredients:

1 small Mason jar

3 medium eggplants, cut into long wedges

½ cup white wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

½ tsp. cracked red pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Bring 4 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of salt, and the white vinegar to boil. Add the eggplant wedges and simmer for fifteen minutes. Then drain the eggplant and allow them to dry completely. Arrange the eggplant in the Mason jar, layering it along with the garlic, then cover completely with olive oil.

Tomatoes with Eggplant

A classic recipe from Il cucchiaio d’argento (The Silver Spoon)

Ingredients:

4 large tomatoes

2 T. olive oil

1 eggplant, peeled and diced

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 scallion or very small onion, chopped

1 T. capers, rinsed and chopped

1 fresh basil leaf, thinly chopped

3 T. white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

Method:

Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and reserve. Scoop out the tomato seeds and some of the flesh, sprinkle with salt and turn upside down on paper towels to drain for one hour. Heat the oil in a pan, add the eggplant and garlic and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the eggplant is lightly browned all over. Add the scallion, capers, and basil and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the vinegar and cook until it has evaporated. Remove from the heat and let cool. Fill the tomatoes with the eggplant mixture, replace the tops, and serve.

“Gemista” (Greek Stuffed Peppers)

Ingredients:

8 bell peppers

1 onion, diced

1.5 cups white or basmati rice

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

2 diced tomatoes, with their juice

3 T. minced parsley

1 pound ground beef or lamb

1 tsp. sugar

Salt and Pepper

6 potatoes, peeled

Extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a deep skillet over medium high, add 2 T. of olive oil and sauté the onion with the sugar just until the onions show some color, then add the ground meat and toss until it is brown. Add the rice and “toast” the rice for a few minutes, tossing with the meat mixture, then add the diced tomatoes and the parsley as well as a generous amount of salt and pepper. When the mixture is hot, add the stock and another cup and a half of water, lower the heat and cover the rice. Cook over low heat until most of the liquid has been absorbed and then remove from the heat (note: the rice does not need to be fully cooked, though it should have begun to soften—if not, add a little more water and cook a little longer).

Cut a “lid” into the top of each pepper and set it aside; remove the seeds and pith from each pepper and then fill each pepper about 7/8 of the way full with the rice mixture. Replace the lid on each pepper and arrange the peppers on a well-oiled roasting pan. Repeat with each pepper. Slice the potatoes into thick wedges and scatter them around the peppers. Drizzle the peppers and potatoes with a little more olive oil, add a cup of water to the pan, and then bake for 45 minutes, or until the peppers begin to get very soft and slightly browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

September 2, 2011

In your boxes this week, you'll find lots more eggplant (as well as peppers, heirloom tomatoes, and other things that help ring in harvest season). The eggplants will be coming on strong for several more weeks. In case you're running out of ideas, see below for a handful of good eggplant recipes.

Though a member of the deadly nightshade family (as are tomatoes), eggplants are healthier than you might think. Here's what WH Foods has to say:

Health Benefits

In addition to featuring a host of vitamins and minerals, eggplant also contains important phytonutrients, many which have antioxidant activity. Phytonutrients contained in eggplant include phenolic compounds, such caffeic and chlorogenic acid, and flavonoids, such as nasunin.

Brain Food

Research on eggplant has focused on an anthocyanin phytonutrient found in eggplant skin called nasunin. Nasunin is a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage. In animal studies, nasunin has been found to protect the lipids (fats) in brain cell membranes. Cell membranes are almost entirely composed of lipids and are responsible for protecting the cell from free radicals, letting nutrients in and wastes out, and receiving instructions from messenger molecules that tell the cell which activities it should perform.

Recipes:

Spaghetti with Eggplant, Sausage and Fresh Tomato “Bolognese”

1 lb. spaghetti

1 medium eggplant

¾ lb. Italian sausage

3 or 4 large tomatoes

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Salt & Pepper

Olive oil

1 small carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 small onion, diced

Remove the stem top from the eggplant, then slice the eggplant lengthwise into ½ slices. Salt each slice and place the slices in a colander to drain for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cut the stem and hard core from each tomato and plunge them into the boiling water for one minute; then remove from the water to cool. The peels will now come off easily. Coarsely dice the peeled tomatoes and set aside.

Brown the eggplant: Heat a large skillet on medium high heat and then add 1 T. olive oil. Rinse and dry each eggplant slice then add them two at a time (being careful not to overcrowd the pan) and cook until they are lightly browned. Add a little more oil, then turn and brown the other side; remove to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining eggplant, adding more oil to the pan as necessary. When eggplant is cool, cut slice the cooked eggplant into bite-sized pieces.

Heat the skillet again with a little more olive oil, then add the onions, carrot and celery with a dash of salt and pepper; sauté 5 minutes. Add the sausage and toss until browned. Add the diced tomatoes and the cinnamon with another dash of salt and pepper, and then cook until the sauce begins to reduce, but remains rather thick (about ten minutes). Add the eggplant to the sauce and reduce heat to low. Cook the spaghetti to al dente and toss with the sauce. Serve with freshly grated parmesan and some minced parsley.

Spaghetti Rigate with Roasted Peppers, Eggplants, Capers and Pecorino

Spaghetti “rigate” has little ridges to hang on to the sauce—it’s easy to find with the other pastas.

1 pound spaghetti rigate

3 cloves garlic, smashed

3 red or green bell peppers, tops cut off and seeds removed

1 large eggplant

4 oz. Pecorino cheese, cut into small dice (you may substitute Asiago or Romano)

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 T. capers, well-rinsed

Italian parsley

2 Tomatoes, chopped

½ cup dry white wine

Remove the top from the eggplant and cut into bite-sized cubes. Toss with a generous amount of salt and allow to drain while you roast the peppers. Using the flame of a gas burner or a charcoal grill (or your oven’s broiler, if need be), roast the peppers until the skins are blackened and cracked. Set each roasted pepper aside to cool inside a plastic bag; when cool, run the peppers under cold water and the blackened skins will pull off easily. Cut the roasted peppers into large pieces and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Rinse the eggplant of its salt and then dry the eggplant with a kitchen towel to remove any excess moisture. In a deep skillet, heat 4 T. of olive oil over high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the cubes of eggplant to the pan and toss well to coat with the oil. Let the eggplant sit, resisting the urge to mess with it, until one surface gets very nicely browned; then toss and repeat until all the eggplant pieces have good color and are quite soft (you may need to add a touch more olive oil if they begin to get too dry). Season the eggplant with a bit of salt and pepper and then set the eggplant aside. Reduce the skillet’s heat to medium, then add another drizzle of olive oil to the pan along with the garlic cloves. Saute the garlic for about 30 seconds, tossing constantly, being very careful not to brown or burn the garlic, then add the chopped tomato immediately to stop it from cooking. Season the tomatoes generously with salt and pepper, then add the white wine, capers, eggplant, and roasted peppers and reduce heat to low; allow the sauce to simmer very slowly while you cook the pasta.

When the pasta is just beginning to get al dente, drain it and then add the spaghetti right into the skillet with the sauce. Toss in the diced Pecorino along with a handful of chopped Italian parsley and a drizzle of olive oil. Turn off the heat and toss very well to combine. Serve immediately (before the cheese has a chance to melt everything together).

Batinjan Raheb

A Lebanese Eggplant and Tomato Salad, adapted from the wonderful cookbook, Arabesque.

2 medium eggplants

Juice of ½ lemon

3 garlic cloves, crushed

4 T. extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Large handful fresh parsley

4 sprigs of mint, chopped

1 small onion, finely sliced

2 large tomatoes, unpeeled, diced

Handful of fresh pomegranate seeds (beautiful, but also optional)

Prick the eggplants in a few places with a pointed knive to prevent them from exploding. Turn them slowly over the flame of the gas burner or a hot grill, until the skin is charred all over (this gives them a distinctively smoky flavor) and they feel very soft when you press them. Alternatively, place them on a sheet of foil on an oven tray and roast them in the hottest preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, until the skins are wrinkled and very soft.

When cool enough to handle, peel the eggplants and drop them into a strainer or colander. Press out as much of the water and juices as possible. Still in the colander, chop the flesh with a pointed knife, then mash it with a fork or wooden spoon, letting the juices escape through the holes.

Mix the eggplant puree with the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped parsley and mint. Spread the mixture on a large, flat serving plate. Sprinkle all over with the sliced onion, diced tomatoes, and pomegranate seeds, if using.

Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Stew

From Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors

1.5 pounds potatoes

2 large peppers

Olive oil

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1 cup cilantro leaves

3 garlic cloves

½ tsp. ground cumin

2 onions, cut into eighths

2 or 3 large eggplants, quartered lengthwise

3 tomatoes, diced

1.5 cups cook chickpeas (one 15-oz. can, rinsed)

Preheat the broiler. Bring six cups of water to a boil and add 1 tsp. salt. Slice the potatoes lengthwise about ½ inch thick, boil them for 5 minutes, and drain. Halve the peppers lengthwise, press to flatten them, then brush with a little oil. Broil, cut side down, on a baking sheet until blistered. Stack them on top of one another and set aside to steam. When cool, remove the skins and cut the pieces in half. Set the oven to 350 degrees.

Coarsely chop the basil, cilantro, & garlic, then puree in a small food processor with 3 T. olive oil, the cumin, and ½ tsp. salt.

Toss all the vegetables with 1 tsp. salt, some ground pepper, and the herb mixture. Using your hands, rub the herb mixture into the vegetables, especially the eggplant, then add the chickpeas and toss once more. Transfer everything to an earthenware or Pyrex gratin dish. Rinse out the herb container with ½ cup water and pour it over all. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake until tender, about 1.5 hours. Remove the foil, brush the exposed vegetables with the juices, and back 20 minutes more. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.