Polenta for Dinner

Grilled Balsamic Eggplant and Portobello Mushrooms over Sun-Dried Tomato, Arugula and Goat Cheese Polenta

For vegetables: Slice eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds, and remove gills from mushrooms. Marinate both in a balsamic vinaigrette (I make my own with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic and salt and pepper) for several hours. Slice an onion into rings. Drain eggplant and mushrooms and grill (including onion rings) until tender and nicely browned. Slice or cut in to chunks.

For polenta: bring 2 cups vegetable broth, 2 cups milk, and one teaspoon salt to a boil. Slowly pour in 1 cup of polenta, whisking constantly. Lower heat and cook 5-10 minutes, until polenta is soft and thickened. Remove from heat and crumble in 4 oz goat cheese, 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (I used oil packed and added a little of the oil too), and two big handfuls of chopped arugula. Stir until combined.

To serve: spoon polenta in to a bowl and top with grilled vegetables. Sprinkle with extra goat cheese.

Eggplant Lasagna

This recipe will make you miss eggplant. Some elements were borrowed from Cooks Illustrated.   Some weren't.  

Very end of summer Lasagna.  No Joke - this is so good - by far the best lasagna I've made.


for Tomato Sauce:
28 oz diced tomatoes- did you can em while you had em? (crush em up a little)
1/4 cup finely chopped basil 
2 tablespoons Olive oil
3-4 garllic cloves minced
pinch of red pepper flakes 

For Cream sauce:
1 cup cottage cheese (that's right y'all! no ricotta up in here)
1 cup heavy cream (I used half and half, in a half hearted attempt to deal with my belly)
2 cups grated parmesan (do yourself a solid and get it pre-grated)
3 garlic cloves (minced again)
1 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt and pepper.

For Filling:  
about a pound and a half of all the eggplant you've been saving in the back of your refrigerator.  (I used a bunch of different types for fun).  Peel and dice into 1/2 inch pieces.
2 large zucchini, diced like the eggplant
an equal amount of summer squash, diced once more.
olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
thyme (fresh if you got it, not so fresh if you don't)
about 12 ounces of spinach (I threw an extra couple ounces of sorrel in there too, because it was in the box).
1/2 cup kalamata olives minced
No Boil Lasagna noodles
3 cups mozzerella cheese shredded

Fresh basil for garnish


OK - this is a little involved, but trust me, it's worth it.

First - whisk the ingredients for the two sauces into two separate bowls - let them talk to each other privately on the side til you need them.

Second - Turn your oven on to 375.  

Third - Deal with the eggplant - it's too wet and porous for filling, so you have to doctor it.  Toss it in a big bowl with some salt (about a tsp or so).  Then put some paper towels on a plate and put enough eggplant on so it makes one layer.  Microwave this for about 10 minutes, tossing once in between, until eggplant is dry and a little shriveled like George Burns.  Repeat until all eggplant is done, then toss with Zucchini and summer squash in a big bowl.  

Fourth - combine your garlic, oil and thyme in a small bowl and whisk together.   Now you're gonna cook that stuff.  Heat a couple tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium high heat, add half of eggplant mixture and saute until browned - about 7 minutes. Then make a space in the middle of the pan for half of the garlic/thyme infused oil.  Smash it around in the center for about 30 seconds, then stir together with veggies.  Move to a bowl, and repeat with the other half of the ingredients.  

Fifth - Put another tbsp of oil in the now-empty pan, and add your spinach (and sorrel, if you're me).  cook until wilted, then mix in with veggies. (if spinach is really wet, you might want to drain it for a couple minutes on some paper towels).

Sixth - Butter up your big casserole dish.  Spread a cup of the tomato sauce over the bottom of the dish and arrange four lasagna sheets over the top of that.  Then put half your veggies on top of the noodles, followed by half the olives. Next, layer half of the white sauce, followed by a cup of mozzerella.  Now that we're having fun layering, repeat with noodles, another cup of red sauce, the other half of veggies, olives,  white sauce, and another cup of cheese.  One more layer of noodles - dump the rest of your tomato sauce on top and finish with the last cup of mozzerella.  aw shucks, throw some of your pre-grated parmesan on there too.  

seventh - cover dish with aluminum foil that you've sprayed with some non-stick stuff and put it in the oven for about 35 minutes.  Take off the foil and return to oven for another 5-10 to get the cheese browned on top and bubbly.  Let that bad boy sit for about 10-20 minutes before you eat, then go to town!  

This is worth every second of prep and way more.  There's something about the no-cook tomato sauce and white sauce that makes this lasagna bright and makes the flavors super deep. Trust me, I'm a stand-up guy.


Posted by Mister Gardner

Stacking Dinner- Eggplant Cutlets and Raw Tomato Stacks

Eggplant Cutlets with Melted Mozzarella and Oregano

Ingredients:
1 Eggplant
1 Tomato
1 Large Zucchini
Basil

For the breading:
Bread crumbs, flour, red pepper, salt and pepper, eggs

Oil (coconut or vegetable oil for frying)
Mozzarella cheese sliced
Oregano for garnish  

Preheat the broiler.

Prepare your vegetables by slicing in rounds 1/4 in thick. Set aside

Prepare your breading by mixing ingredients in three bowls: one bowl flour, one bowl bread crumbs, salt, pepper and red pepper if you like, and the third bowl is your whisked eggs.

Prepare your frying pan with the oil- use a high temp oil like coconut or vegetable (about 1/4 cup). Heat  the oil to hot but not smoking. Test the pan by dipping a little piece of veggie in it. It is ready when it is sizzling.

Bread the eggplant and zucchini by dipping in this order:  flour, egg, bread crumbs. Place gently in the hot oil.  Cook till brown and tender. Remove from the heat and place them on a plate covered in paper towels to drain.

When cool to touch, assemble your stacks on a baking sheet. Bottom layer eggplant, next tomato and basil, top layer zucchini. Cover with sliced mozzarella and put under the broiler to brown and bubble. Watch it carefully, remove and garnish with oregano.

side note: sometimes I add a fourth layer of fried polenta on the bottom. 
Enjoy


or try

Raw Tomato Stacks
recipe by Renee Loux Underkoffler


Serving Size : 6

Ingredients:

2 large tomatoes
1 1/4 cups raw macadamia nuts, soaked for 30 minutes -- (whole raw cashews can be substituted)
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 small garlic clove
1/4 to 1/2 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped basil
1 ear corn
2 green onions, finely chopped to the top
1 Tablespoon dill

Cut the tomatoes across the width into half-inch slices. Drain the macadamia nuts. In a food processor, chop the macadamia nuts, pine nuts, and garlic into a fine meal. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, and sea salt and blend until smooth. Add more lemon juice if necessary to blend into a smooth paste. Mix in parsley and basil gently or by hand. The chopped herbs should remain fairly intact so the spread does not turn green.

Cut the corn from the cob. Mix with green onions and dill.

Spread 3-4 Tbsp. of the spread on a slice of tomato. Generously top with fresh corn mixture, pressing it a bit into the spread.

Baked Eggplant

When CSA inspiration is running low, I like to pull out Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. This encyclopedic work turns up page after page of potential recipes for whatever vegetable you are most hung up on. In my case, it's eggplants. Also tomatoes, of which I have tons.

This recipe beautifully takes care of both.

Baked Eggplant with Feta Cheese and Tomatoes

(from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone)

4 Asian or Italian eggplants, about 6 oz ea.

1/3 C EVOO

Salt and pepper

4 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

2 - 3 oz feta

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Preheat oven to 375. Slice each eggplant lengthwise in half and score the cut sides.

Heat 3 Tbs EVOO in a large pan and add eggplant, cut side down. Cook for 3 mins, then turn and cook three minutes more. Remove eggplant to a plate and season with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 Tbs EVOO in the pan add tomaoes, and cook until they are a chunky sauce.

Set eggplant in a baking dish. Top with cheese, then tomato sauce, then oregano. Cover and bake about 40 minutes.

Eggplant

Could the eggplant be any more appealing? They are so bright and fresh and delicious this time of year, and we have been getting some excellent ones. Still, I'm a bit lost when it comes to what to do with them. In case you are too, here is a quick eggplant roundup to get your creativity flowing!

Grill It!
Get all Middle Eastern with it.
You can trust Mario to get Italian right.
Or try Asian
Really, Epicurious? Is that all you've got?

Send us your favorite eggplant recipe, and we'll be sure to post it here.

Dawn of the Nightshades

With warmer weather finally coming, we are starting to see nightshades in our shares. Nightshades are a curious group of vegetables, named such because they grow at night, rather than in the sun. Plants in the nightshade family include tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, and tobacco.

Many health food folks warn against eating too many nightshades in a single meal, a warning blissfully ignored by my (and many many other) Italian families. Piling nightshade on nightshade results in some truly delicious Italian dishes. Here are a few suggestions for mixing tomatoes and eggplant.

Alice Waters will not lead you astray
Make it into soup
Serve it as a starter
My favorite? FRY it!

- Christiana Thomas