Lots of fun things this week, and even a photo! But alas the photo is of a dish that includes Japanese turnips and their greens which it turned it weren’t quite ready for show time this week but they will be next so remember the pretty photo until then. Happy Cooking!

Turkish-Style Leeks with Carrot and Rice
Okonomiyaki (Japanese Cabbage Pancakes)
Cabbage and Potato Gratin
Roasted Red Pepper Salad
Peperonata
Cabbage Salad with Apples and Walnuts
Mixed Veggie Skillet

Turkish-Style Leeks with Carrot and Rice
–slightly adapted from Adam Ried from the Culinate.com collection

This is a lovely dish that feels perfect for this time of year as it actually is getting a bit cooler and we actually might be in for some rain in a few days.

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large, diced
Salt
4 carrots, well scrubbed but no need to peel and cut on the bias into thin slices
4-5 medium leeks (about 2½ pounds), white and much of the green part (just cut off the greens where it seems they get tougher and more fibrous), halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
¾ cup chicken or veggie stock or water
¼ cup long-grain white rice, rinsed
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill or parsley
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt, adjust the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is very soft and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Add the carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the leeks and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until they soften, about 10 minutes. Add the broth and adjust the heat to medium-high, and bring to a strong simmer. Add the rice and ½ teaspoon salt, stir to incorporate, adjust the heat to very low, cover the pan, and simmer (without stirring or lifting the cover) for 25 minutes.

Remove the cover, stir the mixture once or twice, replace the cover, and set aside off the heat for 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and dill or parsley and stir to mix. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt, if necessary, and pepper to taste, and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Cabbage Pancakes)

I included this recipe early in the season and can’t help but bring it back.

These traditionally include finely chopped shrimp so by all means add this if you’d like. I love them like this. They are great party food and just as good for a simple supper with a salad on the side. Makes about 12 pancakes.

Sauce:

Scant ½ cup mayonnaise
Scant 2 tbs soy sauce
1 tablespoon sriracha

Pancakes:

4 large eggs
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 – 11/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup all purpose flour
3-4 cups cabbage, sliced as thinly as possible (you can also grate or chop it in a food processor—I prefer the texture of the hand cut and if you have a good, sharp chef’s knife it’s quick work)
1 bunch scallions (green onions), trimmed and chopped
Sunflower, coconut or peanut oil for frying
1-2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Whisk the first set of ingredients together for your sauce. Set aside while you make the pancakes.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs with the soy sauce, sesame oil, and salt. Gradually add the flour and whisk until smooth. Fold in cabbage and scallions.

Warm a tablespoon or two of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until glistening. Spoon the batter into the skillet as you would for regular pancakes. I usually make them about the size of saucer. Cook on each side for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Keep pancakes covered in a warm oven as you make the rest. Scatter sesame seeds on top of pancakes and serve with dipping sauce.

Creamy Cabbage and Potato Gratin

This dish involves making a quick white sauce (or béchamel) and it’s worth the effort. This is CSA-centric comfort food. It’s even better the next day and it’s easy to make a lot so you’ll likely get 2+ meals out of it. You can use kale instead of cabbage, or a bit of both, in this dish as well. It’s more colorful and just as good.

For Bechamel:

Melt 4 Tbs of butter in a medium-sized saucepan over med/low heat. When melted, whisk in 4 Tbs of flour. Continue cooking the roux for 3-4 minutes, whisking frequently. Meanwhile heat a generous 2 ½ cups of milk, preferably whole but 2% will do if that’s what you have. Whisk hot milk into roux and add several pinches of salt, grind in some pepper, add a 1/8 – ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes (or omit if you’d like), add 2 teaspoons or so of Dijon mustard and a bay leaf and a grating or two of nutmeg (optional). Stir well and cook over med/low heat for about 10 – 15 minutes until thickened a bit. Add some grated cheese if you’d like at this point.

Note: this sauce can be used in dozens of dishes. You can adjust the seasoning as you like but the above combination of seasonings works for mac and cheese, pasta sauces (to which you could add lots of vegetables and herbs) as a base for a soufflé, for lasagna, etc.

For the Gratin:

Scrub 3-5 potatoes (depending on size) and cut into thumb-sized chunks and add to a large pot with lots of water that’s been well salted. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile remove the outer leaves of a medium green cabbage. Cut in half and then in quarters. Remove the heart. Slice the quarters into half-inch strips. If it’s a large cabbage you’ll only need half of the head.

After the potatoes have been cooking for about 8 minutes –test with a sharp knife –you want some resistance since you’re going to add the cabbage to the same pot and cook the cabbage and finish the potatoes at the same time. So, when the potatoes are close to tender add the cabbage to the pot. Cover and bring back to a boil over high heat and cook for another 3-4 minutes until both are tender. Drain well.

Spread the vegetables in a large baking dish. Pour the béchamel over the top and mix in a bit. Sprinkle with toasted breadcrumbs and grated cheese (if you’d like) and bake in at 375 until bubbly and crisp on top (I broil it at the end for a few minutes).

Note: You could add bacon to this dish at the end, as well as sausage or lots of fresh parsley or some thyme or different cheeses. Or you can make the same dish with cauliflower and potatoes or with broccoli and pasta. The variations are infinite. And the leftovers are better than the first time around.

Roasted Red Pepper Salad

This is the way sweet red peppers are prepared in many parts of Italy. It’s very simple and very good. This dish keeps well in the fridge for 4-5 days so make extra and enjoy it for a while. And use however much parsley and garlic you like. It’s really a matter of taste.

4-5 sweet peppers
10 sprigs of parsley, big stems discarded, chopped
1 medium clove garlic, minced
Good-tasting olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Set oven to broil.

Rinse peppers. Place them on a baking sheet and place about 4-6 inches under the broiler. Broil, turning as one side blisters and turns black. When they are blackened all around remove from oven, place in a bowl and cover with a dishtowel. Let steam and cool until you can handle them. Remove the stems and seeds. Chop into large-ish pieces (1 ½ – 2-inch square). Toss in a bowl with the remainder of the ingredients. Adjust seasoning. Let sit to let flavors marry for 15 minutes if you can. Serve with bread, cheese, grilled anything, salads, a frittata, etc. . . Great on sandwiches as well.

Peperonata

The classic Italian Peperonata is made with peppers, onions, and tomatoes. This version includes potatoes which makes it a more substantial dish and with a green salad and piece of bread, a perfect fall supper. I hope you might still have a couple of tomatoes sitting around for this last hurrah of summer!

¼ cup olive oil
2 medium or 1 ½ large onions, thinly sliced
1 ½ cups potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
¼ – ½ teaspoon of hot chili flakes (to taste)
2-3 medium tomatoes, diced
3-4 large sweet peppers, washed, deseeded and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon or more kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan, add the onions and several generous pinches of salt and sauté until they are translucent. Do not let them brown (though the dish will still be delicious, so don’t worry if you do). Add the potatoes and cook slowly, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Add the chili pepper and tomatoes and simmer uncovered, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. Add the peppers, garlic, black pepper and another pinch or two of salt and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the peppers are tender. Serve hot or at room temperature. Drizzle with a little more olive oil at the table.

Mixed Veggie Skillet

Occasionally I toss whatever I have in the veggie bin in the cast iron pan, cut into fairly uniform pieces and slowly sauté these, sometime with a little bacon, sometimes not. I did this this evening with Japanese turnips (and their greens), carrots, the final yellow crookneck squash from my garden, some scallions on their last legs, an onion and a clove of garlic. It was very, very good and I’m committing to doing this more often.

It was particularly good because I did pay attention to when I added what vegetable. I have a very large cast iron skillet so things were no crowded and they browned and cooked nicely without steaming. And I did use a bit of diced bacon and I salted things well. If you’re not using bacon, you could add a pinch or two of pimento the smoked Spanish Paprika or just use salt. The vegetables are so good you don’t need much of anything else.

Olive oil
1 leek, cut in half lengthwise, washed well and cut into half rounds
1-2 slices bacon, diced (optional)
3 carrots, scrubbed but not peeled and cut into ¼-inch half rounds
2 potatoes, cut into small dice (optional)
1-2 sweet peppers, washed and deseeded and cut into small pieces or strips
4-5 turnips, scrubbed but not peeled and cut into small chunks
1 bunch turnip greens, well washed and cut into 1-inch ribbons, stems and all
1 clove garlic, minced and then mashed with the side of a knife with some salt until you get a paste (or use a press or just mince)
Salt

Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil (the larger amount if you’re not using the bacon) over high heat in the largest skillet you have. Add the leeks, bacon (if using) and carrots, peppers and potatoes (if using) and sauté, stirring occasionally for a few minutes. Add several generous pinches of salt. As things begin to brown turn the heat down to medium-high. You want some color but of course don’t want to burn the veggies.

After about 7-8 more minutes, stirring occasionally, add the turnips. Cook for about 5 more minutes until the turnips are tender. Then add the turnip greens and mashed garlic and stir well and cook for just 1-2 more minutes just to wilt the greens. Serve with a squeeze of lemon if you’d like and taste for salt.

Here it is, all steamy right off the stove. . ..

Cabbage Salad with Apples and Walnuts
–loosely adapted from Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters

1 small green cabbage (or half a medium), outer leaves removed, quartered, heart removed and very thinly sliced
1/3 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons creme fraiche or heavy cream or sour cream or Greek yogurt
2 crisp apples
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
1 sweet pepper, cored and seeded and very thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Toast the walnuts in the oven for 8 minutes. While they are still warm, first rub them in a clean dishtowel to remove some of the skins, then chop or coarsely crumble them.

To prepare the dressing, mix the vinegar with the lemon juice, some salt, and a generous amount of pepper.

Whisk in the olive oil and then the creme fraiche or cream. Taste and adjust the acid and salt as desired.

Quarter, peel, and core the apples. Slice the quarters lengthwise fairly thin and cut these slices lengthwise into a julienne. Toss the cabbage, apples, and walnuts (and blue cheese, if you’re using it) with the dressing and an extra pinch of salt. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes, taste again, adjust the seasoning as needed, and serve.

This week we wander from Italy to Spain to Israel and beyond. I noticed that bread plays a prominent role in three dishes, lending texture, body and flavor. The Spanish are very clever when it comes to frying bread and garlic and making a paste to thicken and flavor soups. And there’s an invention of my own with toasted bread this week in the form of an unusual beet salad. Enjoy!

Garlicky-Sesame-Cured Broccoli Salad
Polenta with Sweet Pepper and Tomato Sauce
Baked Penne with Fennel Tomato Sauce
Spinach (Beet Green) and Chickpea Soup
Cream of Tomato with Tuna and Hard-boiled Eggs
Beet and Bread Salad

Garlicky-Sesame-Cured Broccoli Salad
–adapted from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite by Melissa Clark

This is a perfect side dish but you could cook a pot of rice and have yourself a delightful supper or make a simple frittata (my go-to suggestion for when you’re in a hurry). Or you could add some carrots or peppers to it. . . .

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 heads broccoli, 1 pound each (more or less), cut into bite-size florets
generous 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (sounds like a lot but it works/is needed)
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Large pinch crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

In a large bowl, stir together the vinegar and salt. Add the broccoli and toss to combine.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add the garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the sesame oil and red pepper flakes. Pour the mixture over the broccoli and toss well. Let sit for at least 1 hour at room temperature, or chilled, up to 48 hours (chill it if you want to keep it for more than 2 hours). Adjust the seasonings (it may need more salt), add the sesame seeds and serve.

Polenta with Sweet Pepper and Tomato Sauce

This time of year in many parts of Italy, sweet red peppers are stewed with onions and tomatoes (and sometimes sausages) and then ladled over bowls of creamy polenta. It’s a lovely combination.

If you want to add sausages you can either cook them whole, separately or slice or crumble them into the skillet when you’re cooking the onions and peppers, before you add the tomatoes.

3-4 sweet peppers (more or less), well washed, cored and seeded and cut into thin strips
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4-5 medium tomatoes (heirloom or slicers), diced
Olive oil
Salt

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes. Add the garlic and peppers and several pinches of salt and sauté, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes, making sure not to burn the garlic. You do want the onions and peppers to take on a bit of color. Now add the tomatoes and bring to a lively simmer. Turn down and gently simmer for about 15 minutes until the tomatoes have thickened a bit. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and another good glug of olive oil.

Top the polenta (recipe below) with the sauce and a nice grating of Parmesan and some chopped fresh basil if you have it.

Basic Polenta

Note: Polenta is basically coarsely ground cornmeal. If you ever go to the Hillsdale Farmers Market, Ayers Creek Farm (Gaston, OR) sells the most delicious cornmeal and dried beans in the winter (late November they’ll be back at Hillsdale for the winter).

1-cup polenta (Bob’s Red Mill polenta is good if you don’t have an old stash of Ayers Creek cornmeal sitting around☺)
4 cups water, veggie bouillon or milk
1-teaspoon kosher salt (less if you’re using veggie bouillon)
2 tablespoons of butter
½ – ¾ cup grated cheese (parmesan, asiago stella, . . .)

Bring the liquid and salt to a boil in a heavy, large saucepan. Whisk in the polenta and turn down so that it’s at a steady simmer. Whisk or stir frequently for the first few minutes to ensure that there are no lumps. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally over low-medium heat for about 35-45 minutes until the cornmeal is tender. Add butter and cheese, if using. Serve with a pepper and tomato sauce, above.

Baked Penne with Fennel Tomato Sauce
–loosely adapted from The Fresh & Green Table via DanaTreat.com

This is fall comfort food but made all the better by fresh tomatoes.

If you can, make your own breadcrumbs for this dish. If you don’t have stale bread on hand, throw a few slices of good bread in the oven until crisp and then grind it up (tearing into small pieces first) in the food processor.

¾ cup fresh breadcrumbs
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan, divided
Olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
Sea salt
2 fennel bulbs
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons vodka (optional)
3 cups chopped tomatoes (heirloom or slicers or a mix)
3/4 pound penne rigate
½ cup heavy cream
4 ounces diced fresh mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, ¼ cup of the Parmesan, 2 tsp. of olive oil, the parsley, and a large pinch of salt. Set aside.

Trim the stalks from the fennel. Trim any brown spots from the outside of the fennel and halve the bulbs and cut them into into ¼-inch thick slices. Place a large pot over medium-high heat. Drizzle in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then add the fennel slices. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is very tender and well browned, 12 to 14 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the vodka and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot while it simmers down (this will take just a few seconds). Add the chopped tomatoes and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot, until well mixed, about 30 seconds. Turn the heat down to medium-low.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until just shy of al dente (the pasta will continue to cook in the oven, so be sure to not overcook it). Pour the cream into a 2 cup measuring cup and keep it by the stove. When the pasta is ready, ladle out ¾ cup of the cooking liquid and add it to the cream. Drain the pasta and add it to the tomato fennel mixture. Pour in the cream mixture and stir well to combine. Stir in the mozzarella cheese and the remaining ½ cup of Parmesan. Season to taste with salt.

Turn the mixture out into a 8×12-inch baking dish. Using a spatula, press down on the top. Scatter the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake, uncovered, until the top is browned and crusty and the casserole is bubbling vigorously, about 25 minutes.

Shakshuka (Eggs Poached in Tomato Pepper Sauce)
–loosely adapted from Saveur

There are many variations of this Israeli dish—some with hot pepper, some without tomatoes. . . so this may not be authentic but it’s awfully good.

Serves 4 to 6

1/4 cup olive oil
3 sweet peppers, washed, seeds removed and cut into thin strips
1 small onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed then sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
4 cups chopped tomatoes
Sea salt, to taste
6 eggs
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Warm pitas or good bread, for serving

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.

Add diced tomatoes and their liquid to skillet along with 1/2 cup water, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt.

Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across sauce’s surface. Cover skillet and cook until yolks are just set, about 5 minutes. Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture, being careful not to disturb the yolk. Sprinkle shakshuka with feta and parsley and serve with pitas, for dipping.

Spinach (Beet Green) and Chickpea Soup
–adapted from The Food of Spain

This a Castilian version of a common Spanish soup often eaten during Lent. It’s richly textured thanks to the addition of mashed fried bread, garlic and spices. While nowhere near lent it’s a great place for your spinach and beet greens this week. The quantity of the beet greens and spinach is approximate so if you have a half-share I’d use all of it and with a full share maybe all the spinach and no beet greens or half and half.

3 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks
4 cups of cooked chickpeas (or 14-ounce cans, well drained)
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 bunch spinach, very carefully washed and roughly chopped (small or large bunch)
1 bunch beet greens, stems removed, carefully washed and roughly chopped (small or large)
1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
Salt
2 hard-boiled eggs
¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
2 slices bread, crusts removed
1 teaspoon smoked Spanis Paprika (Pimenton)
Pinch of cayenne

Put the potatoes and chickpeas in a large pot with 4 ½ cups of the stock and simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Add the spinach and beet greens and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes. Add the vinegar and some salt and cook for 10 minutes more.

Meanwhile, remove the hardboiled egg yolks and reserve them. Chop the egg whites and reserve them.

Heat the oil in small skillet and fry the garlic cloves and bread over medium-high heat, turning them, until golden brown. Watch closely, as they will brown quickly. Drain on paper towels.

Put the garlic and bread in a food processor, add the spices and process to a fine paste. Add the hard-boiled egg yolks and blend well. Gradually pour in the remaining stock and blend to a thin sauce.

Pour this garlic mixture into the soup, stir well, and check the seasoning. Cook for another 10 minutes, then stir in the egg whites. The soup is meant to be quite thick.

Cream of Tomato with Tuna and Hard-boiled Eggs
–adapted from The Food of Spain

Another Spanish recipe today. This one from Andalusia and also one that uses bread for texture and body.

2 lbs tomatoes, roughly chopped
5 slices good crusty bread (though crusts should be removed☺)
1 sweet red pepper, seed and cored, and quartered
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
½ cup good olive oil
4-6 hard-boiled eggs, quartered or sliced
2 5-ounce cans Oregon albacore tuna (or other tuna)

Dry the bread out under the broiler without browning it, turning the slices once. Let cool and grind to coarse crumbs in a food processor and transfer to a bowl. Add the pepper to the processor and blend to a paste, then add the tomatoes and garlic and blend until very smooth. Add the sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar to taste and then the olive oil blend again. Return the bread crumbs to the processor and blend briefly just to mix them in. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Pour the tomato mixture onto a platter and arrange the egg and tuna, broken into pieces on top. Serve with more good, crusty bread.

Beet and Bread Salad

I threw this combination of things together for lunch today. I often toss whatever I have on hand together for lunch and it’s usually good but I don’t always make a note to repeat the dish. Well today, I did.

When I have a bunch of beets, as you know, I almost always roast the whole batch and then have the pleasure of having roasted beets on hand to use however I want. So, I highly recommend roasting all at once while you’re doing something else in the kitchen since they do take some time. Then, instead of getting moldy in the crisper you’ll be snacking on them with great pleasure and seemingly little effort.

3 medium beets, roasted and peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 slices of good, crusty bread (I had Grand Central Bakery’s Peasant Levain on hand) toasted and cut into bite-sized squares
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 green onions, thinly sliced (or chunk of regular onion, very thinly sliced)
2-3 tablespoons toasted and salted sunflower seeds
1-2 ounces sharp cheddar, cut into little squares (that’s what I had on hand but feta or goat cheese would be lovely)
2 -3 cups lettuce, cut into thin strips (optional—I did not have this on hand but the lettuce would be a good way to stretch this)
Juice of half a lemon or about 1 ½ tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
2-3 tablespoons good olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Toss everything together. Taste and adjust seasoning and dig in.

Lots of tomato and eggplant recipes this week as the bounty of those two draws to a close. Please revisit old packets for many more tomato recipes (to preserve as jam or roast for freezing) from the last several weeks. And I didn’t include much for the turnips but just enjoy them raw, grated in salads with the carrots or quickly sauteed in olive oil or with a little diced bacon, until tender. Happy cooking!

Recipes

Simplest Tomato Sauce
Eggplant Parmesan
Margherita Pizza
Basic Pizza Dough
Spiced Eggplant and Tomato Stew
Green Curry with Eggplant, Turnips and Carrots
Joi Choi and Turnip Greens with Garlic, Ginger and Fish Sauce
Spiced Carrot Muffins

Simplest Tomato Sauce

Tomatoes, olive oil, salt. That’s it. When the tomatoes are good it’s honestly all you need. And I make sauce with slicer and heirloom tomatoes all the time. It takes longer to cook down because they’re so juicy but with a little patience and high heat it’s perfect. But you do have onions in the share this week so by all means start with a finely diced onion and then proceed, if you’d like.

I made this the other day, in about 15 minutes and I topped pizza dough with it and some mozzarella and basil and had the perfect dinner. (Pizza recipes below)

Dice as many tomatoes as you want to use. Add them to a wide skillet to which you’ve added a generous splash of olive oil. Cook at a lively simmer until it’s thickened to your liking. Salt to taste. If the sauce seems too acidic or not quite perfect add a tablespoon or two of butter. Butter is THE “perfecter” of tomato sauce.

More suggestions for use:

• Fill crepes with a few tablespoons, some grated cheese and fresh basil; roll up and bake, topped with a bit more sauce, until hot.
• Layer the sauce with thick, eggy herb crepes (add 4-5 tablespoons of chopped parsley, chives and/or basil to the crepe batter of 4 eggs, 1 3/4 cups milk and scant 1 cup of flour, salt and pepper) and grated Parmesan or other cheese. Layer the crepes and sauce in a cake pan or other round or oval dish and bake until heated through and the cheese is melted and browning on top. This is a perfectly sublime dish and beautiful cut into wedges.
• Top a bowl of any kind of rice or quinoa or cooked beans and a bunch of sautéed collard greens with the sauce and a generous drizzle of olive oil, some kind of cheese (or not) or a fried egg and you’ve got a simple, delicious meal.
• Make eggplant parmesan (recipe below)

Eggplant Parmesan

I only make this about once a year but each time I make it I wish I did so weekly while eggplants and tomatoes are in abundance. As I think I’ve mentioned before I rarley salt and drain eggplant anymore. It’s an extra step that I don’t find necessary with perfectly fresh eggplant. You can either bake the eggplant as noted below or pan-fry it in a bit of oil. I really like both versions and when I’m in a hurry I tend to fry.

2-3 large globe eggplants, sliced into ¼ – 1/3 –inch slices lengthwise or into rounds
Olive oil
Salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups tomato sauce (above or your favorite kind) to which you’ve added some chopped basil and the minced garlic
1 cup (or more) grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Arrange the slices on two baking sheets (they may not all fit and you’ll need to do them in batches). Brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake, turning once until tender and starting to brown, about 20-25 minutes total. Turn oven down to 375.

Line the bottom of an 8 x 13” baking dish (or something similar). Spread a thin layer of sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat until you’ve used up all your ingredients, ending with either eggplant and cheese or sauce and cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes or so until everything is bubbling and the cheese is browning on top. You can run it under the broiler for a few minutes if you want more color.

Margherita Pizza

Makes 2 pizzas (using the pizza dough recipe below or two balls of purchased pizza dough – Grand Central Bakery makes excellent white and whole wheat pizza doughs that you can buy frozen)

2 cups Simplest Tomato Sauce (recipe above)
2, 2-ounce balls fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
about 15 large basil leaves

Baking on a baking sheet:

Stretch out your pizza dough into a large round. If you don’t have a pizza stone on which you can bake the pizza directly, place the dough on a large cookie sheet, spread the sauce on evenly, lay the mozzarella slices over the sauce and bake at 425 degrees. A few minutes before you think it’s done, place the basil leaves over the cheese and bake a few more minutes until the crust is browning in spots.

Baking directly on a pizza stone:

If you have a stone preheat your oven to 500 (probably the highest your oven will go) with your pizza stone in it. Let it heat up for 20-30 minutes if you have the time.  Remove the top wrack in the oven to give yourself more room to maneuver later.

And if you don’t have a pizza peel (the long-handled wooden tool with which you slide the pizza onto the hot stone) then flour the back (or front if it’s flat with no rims) cookie sheet and spread your stretched out pizza dough on the floured sheet.
You can dust the back of the cookie sheet with a mix of cornmeal and flour for which might help get the pizza off. Then top it evenly with the sauce and arrange the cheese on the sauce. Now with your oven and stone hot, and pizza on a well-floured cookie sheet, open the oven.  Place the far end of the cookie sheet towards the back of the pizza stone at a 25 degree angle (or thereabouts) and then with a quick jerk of the wrist pull the cookie sheet back and let the pizza slide onto the hot stone in the oven. It should come off very easily at this point. And be very sure not to have any topping pieces or even drips of oil or sauce come between the baking sheet and the bottom of the pizza. The slightest bit of this will make the pizza stick.

A few minutes before it looks done scatter the basil leaves over the cheese and bake until the edges are darn brown and the topping is bubbling.

General tips:

Also go easy on the toppings. You don’t want to overload with pizza for several reasons: the dough doesn’t cook evenly and the bottom burns before the toppings are done and secondly, it’s harder to slide onto the stone with more risk of disaster.  And don’t let the toppings sit on the pizza dough on the cookie sheet. As soon as you’ve topped it get it into the oven so it doesn’t have time to soak through.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the crust is nice and crisp and brown on the edges and the toppings are cooked.

Basic Pizza Dough

–adapted from Jim Lahey

Pizza dough freezes beautifully. So if you’re only going to use half of it or want to make a double batch and save some for future use, just lightly oil a 1 qt freezer bag and put ½ a recipe worth of pizza dough in. Thaw it thoroughly and bring it to room temperature before using. Then handle exactly the same as fresh dough.

In Jim Lahey’s original recipe he has you bake the pizzas on a sheet pan. I do that sometimes, especially for his potato pizza because there’s so much topping, but usually I bake them right on a pizza stone which makes them wonderfully crisp. If you’re using a pizza stone you don’t need any oil and just place the stretched out piece of dough onto a well-floured pizza peel (or the back of a cookie shit if you don’t have a peel) and after you’ve added the toppings you slide it right onto the hot stone.

I have tried this recipe with half whole wheat flour and half white. It turns out fine but is a bit of a different animal—not as crisp a bit nuttier and chewier—as you might expect.

500 grams bread flour (3 3/4 cups)
2 1/2 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast (10 grams)
3/4 teaspoons table salt (5 grams)
3/4 teaspoon sugar, plus a pinch (about 3 grams)
1 1/3 – 1 1/2 cups room temperature water
extra-virgin olive oil for pans

In a medium bowl, stir together the bread flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until blended, at least 30 seconds. The dough should be able to contain all of the flour, if it seems dry or if there is excess flour at the bottom of the bowl, add water a tablespoon at a time.

Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let sit at room temperature until the dough has doubled in volume, about 2-3 hours.

Punch down the dough and cut in half to make two balls.

Spiced Eggplant and Tomato Stew
–adapted from Tender by Nigel Slater

I have to admit that I have not made this—I’ve had it bookmarked for a year. I am committing to making it this week. It is definitely a bit of a project but my mouth is watering as I type. . .please report if you make it. I’d love to know how it turns out. And I should say that I trust this cookbook author completely. Everything of his I’ve ever made I’ve loved.

6 generous servings (and he attests to the fact that it’s even better the next day)

2 very large eggplants (or enough to make 2 lbs.)
3 onions, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons peanut oil
8 green cardamom pods
2 tablespoons coriander seeds (or 1 tablespoon ground)
1 ½ teaspoons black pepper corns
4 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
8-10 medium tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
3 ½ cups coconut milk
2-3 serrano or jalapeno peppers, minced (remove seeds if you want it less spicy)
1 small bunch mint
1 bunch cilantro

Cut the eggplants into fat chunks. The dish will be more interesting to eat if you don’t cut them too small. Put them into a colander, set in the sink and sprinkle with sea salt. Leave them for a half hour or longer.

Cook with onions in the oil in a large pot until soft and translucent. While the onions are cooking, crush the cardamom pods with the flat blade of a knife or a rolling pin and shake out the little black seeds into a mortar or spice grinder. Add the coriander seeds and grind them to a coarse powder.

Stir the garlic and ginger into the onions with the turmeric and ground spices. Peel and seed the tomatoes (I’m inclined to skip this step as I do with most recipes that call for this) and add them to the pan with the onions and spices.

Rinse the eggplant of their salt and pat dry. Without oiling them, grill them on a cast iron ridged grill pan (I don’t have one of these so will likely use my regular cast iron pan and use a little oil) until they are starting to soften and have dark grill lines across them. Turn and cook on both sides. Continue with the remaining eggplant. Add them to the onions and pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Add the coconut milk, chilies and a little salt and continue cooking for about 45 minutes. The eggplants should be very soft and silky but not actually falling apart.

Lift out the eggplants, tomatoes and some of the onions with a slotted spoon. Reduce the rest of the sauce by boiling hard for 5 minutes or so. Now ladle most, but not all, of the sauce into a blender and blend until smooth and thick (do this with care and secure the lid well-sauce is very hot). Return the vegetables and the sauce to the pot, then chop the mint and cilantro and stir them in, together with a final seasoning of salt and black pepper. Serve with rice.

Thai Green Curry with Eggplant, Carrots and Turnips

I’ve included this dish earlier in the season but am doing so again because it’s wonderful with eggplant and the carrots and turnips are a nice addition too. It is not quite an authentic Green Curry but a tasty, quick adaptation. You can easily add chicken or tofu to it for an even heartier dish though it’s wonderfully rich and satisfying without as well.

Serves 4 (generously)

2-3 carrots, well scrubbed (but no need to peel) and sliced thinly on the bias
2 turnips, scrubbed and cut into small wedges or chunks, 2 cups chopped turnip greens
2-3 cups eggplant, either sliced into 1/3-inch half-rounds if you have long, skinny Asian eggplants or into bite-sized pieces if you have globe eggplants.
1 medium potato, diced (optional)
1 – 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 heaping teaspoon (or to taste) green curry paste (Thai & True is a great local brand and Mae Ploy is also readily available brand)
4-6 Kafir Lime leaves (optional) (Whole Foods and most Asian markets have them and they freeze beautifully so if you happen to see some buy lots and freeze-they add an incomparable fragrance to this dish though it’s certainly good without too)
2 teaspoons soy sauce (more to taste)
1 -2 teaspoons fish sauce (can omit to make it vegetarian/vegan) (more to taste)
1 can coconut milk (full fat preferably but light will work too)
3 tablespoons basil, packed and roughly torn
Juice of half a lime (optional)

White or brown cooked Jasmine or other long grain rice

Heat wok or large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add ½ cup of coconut milk (use the thickest, part usually at the top of the can) and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally for 2-3 minutes. Add the curry paste, garlic, ginger and carrots and fry it all for about 3-4 minutes until the paste is fragrant. Then add the remainder of the coconut milk plus ½ can’s worth of water, soy sauce and fish sauce. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and add the eggplant, turnips and basil and simmer for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Just before the vegetables are tender add the chopped turnip greens and then cook for a few more minutes. Adjust seasoning with a bit of salt or more soy sauce and/or fish sauce if needed and finish with a generous squeeze of lime juice, if using. Serve hot over rice.

Joi Choi and Turnip Greens with Garlic, Ginger and Fish Sauce

1 large bunch Joi Choi, very well washed (the dirt tends to hide at the base), and sliced into 1-inch ribbons, stems and all
1 bunch turnip greens, well washed and roughly chopped
1 thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and finely minced or grated on a microplane
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 green onions, roots trimed and white and green part cut into 1-inch lengths (or 1/3 or so of a large yellow onion, thinly sliced)
1 tablespoon (more or less to taste—and you can substitute soy sauce if you’d like) Fish sauce (nam pla)
2 tablespoons peanut oil (or other fairly neutral oil)
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil and add the garlic, greens onions (or regular) and ginger  and stir fry over high heat for several minutes until everything just turns golden. Drop the joi choi and turnip greens into the boiling water for just a minute. Drain well and add to the garlic mixture with the fish sauce. Toss well and serve immediately.

This would be wonderful with some prawns that you could cook with the garlic and ginger before you add the greens. . . . or simply as a side dish or over rice.

Spiced Carrot Muffins
–adapted from Chef Kathryn Yeoman’s, the Farmer’s Feast

About 15 muffins

These are easy to make and wonderful to send in school lunches (or grown-up lunches) and to just have around for snacks or breakfast on the run. You can make a double batch and wrap and freeze many of them. I’ve reduced the amount of sugar from the original recipe. Feel free to use as much as 1 ¾ cups if you’d like them a bit sweeter. I also use olive oil instead of canola but either will work fine.

You can also substitute grated apple or pear for half of the grated carrot quantity. The spices are perfect for those fruits as well.

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup mild olive or canola oil
4 eggs
4 cups grated carrots (large holes of box grater or food processor)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter muffin tins or line with paper liners.

Whisk together flours, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl whisk eggs, oil and sugar until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and stir to just combine and then stir in grated carrots and walnuts, if using.

Fill muffin cups with batter and bake muffins about 22- 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan and let cool completely on wire rack.