9/7/10

Things to Make - Cooking with Seasonal Veggies (tomatoes, eggplant & squash)

CSA August veggies

This summer, we joined our first CSA (a half-share at Great Country Farms). So every week, on our doorstep, we receive one bin full of yummy veggies and fruit. In the last few weeks, such deliveries have meant a large amount of tomatoes, eggplant, and squash/zucchini. So what to do?

For the squash and/or zucchini, Real Simple published a great/simple recipe, that's a little different from most squash recipes I've found. - spaghetti with zucchini, walnuts, and raisins (I know it sounds like an odd combination, but even my husband liked it, despite the lack of meat).

For the squash/zucchini and tomatoes, allrecipes.com has a tomato/squash casserole recipe that's quite yummy. http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/tomato-zucchini-casserole/Detail.aspx

For just the tomatoes, often they're wonderful to eat as is (and so so much better than what you buy in the store) but if you want to jazz it up a little this Cooking Light recipe for tomato granita is really yummy.

Regarding the eggplant, I LOVE eggplant parm, but I hate all the steps to make it, so in an effort to make things easier, I created my own simple recipe (with help from my mother-in-law) that I find somewhat addictive. Here it is:

Darcy's Easy Eggplant Parm

ingredients - 1 medium/large eggplant, 3 fresh tomatoes, olive oil, breadcrumbs, shredded parm cheese (or, i like to use the parm, assiago, fontina, provolone blend from trader joes called "Quattro Formaggio")

1. Cut eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds and generously apply salt to the pieces. Let sit about half an hour and then pat dry with a paper towel (i know it sound silly, but this keeps the eggplant from getting soggy)
2. Brush slices with olive oil (lightly) and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes
3. Remove eggplant slices from the oven and assemble them into stacks with the tomato (cut into round slices), breadcrumbs (about a tablespoon), and cheese (i.e. eggplant, tomato, breadcrumbs, a light smattering of cheese, then repeat. So that each stack has 2 eggplants and 2 tomatoes).
4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted but not burned.

See, so easy, and somewhat healthy, right? Okay so cheese is bad, but at least no frying occurs.

How about everyone else? Any other suggestions for seasonal produce? I'd love to hear them.

2 comments:

  1. Since when is cheese bad? :-) I really want to try the spaghetti with zucchini, walnuts and raisins -- YUM! Here's another recipe that we really liked and neither of us are big fans of eggplant. It's not vegetarian though...

    Penne with Sausage, Eggplant, and Feta

    Meaty breakfast sausage, earthy eggplant, and zesty feta complement each other in this hearty pasta dish.

    Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 cups)
    Ingredients

    * 4 1/2 cups cubed peeled eggplant (about 1 pound)
    * 1/2 pound bulk pork breakfast sausage
    * 4 garlic cloves, minced
    * 2 tablespoons tomato paste
    * 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    * 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    * 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
    * 6 cups hot cooked penne (about 10 ounces uncooked tube-shaped pasta)
    * 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
    * 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

    Preparation

    Cook eggplant, sausage, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until sausage is browned and eggplant is tender. Add tomato paste and the next 3 ingredients (through tomatoes); cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

    Place pasta in a large bowl. Add tomato mixture, cheese, and parsley; toss well.
    Nutritional Information

    Calories:
    535 (31% from fat)
    Fat:
    18.9g (sat 7.6g,mono 7.5g,poly 2.1g)
    Protein:
    25.5g
    Carbohydrate:
    67.5g
    Fiber:
    4.6g
    Cholesterol:
    57mg
    Iron:
    4.5mg
    Sodium:
    884mg
    Calcium:
    141mg

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks awesome and I think it may get me out of going to the grocery store tonight (if we have pasta) - so double thanks!

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...