Meat Stuffed Eggplant (Garni Yarikh)

This is another Bottom of the Pot recipe. It was perfect comfort food to me on this cooler, summer day. I have been attending a virtual training about complex trauma the past several days, specifically around narcissism and how it underlies all of the destructive things we do: loving the image we have of ourselves, and hating what is really there. It is a bit, um, intense. So comfort food seems pretty nice! 

*Also nice was my walk yesterday evening in the warm wind just after sunset, passing two little girls in hijabs singing out really loudly towards the lake as they trailed behind their dad. They were singing a song from Moana, which I watched a month or two ago and loved, about the light on the sea being blinding and calling them. I found the whole scene such a delight.

I love roasted eggplant, and this recipe really takes it to a whole new level. Author Naz Deravian says that Garni Yarikh is Turkish for "split belly," referring to the eggplant. Her words about this dish are more enticing than any I could come up with: "This is the kind of dish that seduces and beckons as silky eggplant collapses into well-browned and delicately spiced meat, all simmering over a rich tomato-based sauce." I was won over by Naz (meaning to buy her cookbook) after hearing her read her mom's poetry and witnessing her emotion about it. Persians and poetry, man. Talk about seduce and beckon!

For this recipe, I also got to use all garden produce except the onion. My garlic is now officially cured, and I selected some nice big bulbs for this recipe. This year, I grew a few different varieties of eggplant, and harvested several of these thinner long ones in the last week or so, which are ideal for this recipe. I also have a handful of palm sized ones, and I was a little short, so I used one of those too. 

Incidentally, while doing my garden plot rotation of refilling the water barrels last week, I saw that someone is growing okra. I have never seen okra grow before, and I found it so stunning I had to go back and look at it again. Next year: Okra!

Split eggplant, oiled and ready to roast

Serves 4-6

• 6 Italian or baby eggplants (about 2 pounds)
• 1/2 C olive oil, divided
• 10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• kosher salt
• 1 pound ground beef
• 6 T tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• ground black pepper
• 1/2 bunch parsley, tough stems trimmed, chopped
• 1/2 c cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Peel the eggplant in stripes, with the stem and cap on. Leaving 1" on the top and bottom, cut a shallow split lengthwise in the belly of the eggplant, without piercing through, stopping about 1" from the bottom. Place the eggplant in a large bowl and drizzle a little olive oil in each slit, and sprinkle generously with salt. Rub olive oil all over the rest of the eggplant, and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Place the eggplant on a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes, until fork-tender. Set aside to cool.

While the eggplant roasts, prepare the filling. Bring a kettle of water to a boil and keep it at a simmer. In a large pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over med-low heat. Add the garlic and cook very gently, constantly stirring until slightly softened, but taking care it doesn't take on any color, about 5 minutes. Transfer the garlic to a small bowl and set aside. Using the garlicky oil in the pan, turn the heat up to medium and add the onions. Cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt, turn up to med high, add the meat, and brown for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook with the meat for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the spices plus 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Give a stir and add 1/2 c water from the kettle. Reduce the heat to med-low and cook until the meat is cooked through and all the flavors come to life, about 5 minutes.Taste and make delicious. Remove from heat and stir in the garlic and parsley.

Eggplant boats

With a fork, gently push the eggplant flesh to either side, making room for the filling, and sprinkle with a little more salt. Fill each eggplant with about 2 T of the filling, depending on the eggplant size. You will have filling left over in the pan. Place the pan back on the stove over med heat, add the cherry tomatoes and 1/2 cup more water from the kettle. Give a stir, and bring to a good simmer. Taste and add more salt or spices as needed. Gently nestle the eggplant boats in the sauce, spoon a little sauce over the eggplant, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until the tomatoes collapse and release their juices, and the eggplant is completely tender and everything is luscious, 35-45 minutes. Garnish with parlsey and serve.

Post simmering, eggplants all nestled in with the sauce.

Eggplant and Tomato Kookoo

I was out of town the past week, and prior to my drive north I made this dish to bring on the road. It turned out delicious - both fresh and hot from the oven, and eaten the next day. It would be a great dish for brunch, and I especially enjoyed it with some plain yogurt on top. Kookoo are Iranian style frittatas - and as Naz Deravian says, are more about the filling than the eggs. Typically one ingredient will be the star, though in this case it is two: the eggplant and the tomatoes. This is another Bottom of the Pot recipe, and I used all garden produce and herbs. I didn't have capers (I am going to try making some with milkweed pods, if they aren't too big yet), so I used some diced up pickled green tomatoes instead.

Serves 4-8

• 2 large long eggplants (about 1 1/4 pounds) 
• 1/4 c plus 1 T olive oil
• salt
• 6 large eggs
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste
• Leaves from 1 stem tarragon, minced (plus more leaves for garnish)
• 1 T capers, rinsed and roughly chopped
• Black pepper
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 4 med tomatoes (about 1 lb 6 oz), sliced into 1/4" rounds
• Fresh herbs to garnish: mint, basil, cilantro, tarragon
• Yogurt for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl toss eggplant with 1.4 c olive oil and 3/4 tsp salt. Divide eggplant slices on two baking sheets and lay out in a single layer. Roast for 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Remove from oven and set aside. Lower oven heat to 400 degrees.

While the eggplant roasts, add the eggs, garlic, tarragon, capers, 2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper to the same bowl you used for the eggplant. Beat well to combine and set aside.

Heat a 10 or 12" cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add the butter and remaining Tablespoon of olive oil. As soon as the butter sizzles place one layer of tomatoes in the pan. It's okay if they overlap slightly. Sprinkle the tomatoes lightly with salt and layer with eggplant slices. Repeat with another layer of tomatoes (sprinkled with salt) and one more layer of eggplant. Pour the egg batter over the whole thing and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes, until the kookoo has set and the edges are slightly browned.

Set aside to cool slightly. Garnish with whatever fresh herbs you have on hand, and slice into wedges or squares. Serve with a dollop of yogurt.

Bonus vacation picture: Moose! All week I ate thimbleberries like this moose ate river grass - steady, ongoing, and with pauses to breathe. :)

Oven Roasted Eggplant "Chips" with Onions and Peppers

I picked all the last tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and peppers last night to keep them from the frost. I actually don't know if it did freeze last night, but it seems certain tonight, so I was ahead of the game. I ended up with lots of green tomatoes, and some mini-veggies: zucchini the size of my thumb, eggplants that fit entirely in my hand, etc. I was looking over my blog posts from a year ago, and at this time I was eating my last kabocha squash of the season (they were out at the co-ops by this time), which suggests to me that the whole gardening season really was 4-6 weeks behind this year. I only just pulled in all the winter squash so that they can finish "curing" in the house. The winter squash are still sort of a garden experiment, so I am hoping the curing helps them sweeten up some more.

My fave fall veggie of the last week or two is eggplant. I actually bought extra at the Midtown farmer's market last weekend (last market of the year) with the hopes of making my cousin's Georgian Eggplant Rolls (but with roasted red pepper instead of garlic). But I don't know if I'll make it because I keep eating the eggplants roasted in the oven, almost like a big chip or plank, chewy and crunchy and creamy at the same time. They are so good this way, especially with some roasted onion/peppers. Roasted tomato is also good (just toss in some thickly sliced tomato or tomato halves in the oven too).

This recipe is very loose. You can't go wrong really - just be careful not to totally char the eggplant. I gave amounts here, but really just use what you have and what you are hungry for! *I still am without camera, but here is a photo of what the eggplant should look like (these are slightly less charred pieces, so you want to go just a little longer to get them crunchy) when finished.

Roasted Eggplant "Chips"
2 med. Eggplant
1/2 c + Olive oil
Salt
1-2 peppers (red/orange is nice)
1 large onion

Turn oven to 400 degrees. Slice eggplant 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. I do this lengthwise because I like the aesthetics of it. Pour many, many glugs of olive oil into a rimmed baking sheet or cake pan. I easily use close to 1/2 cup of olive oil just for the eggplant because it soaks it up. Let it! I used to feel sort of stingy about using olive oil or fats (pre-paleo living) and now that I am not, it is quite liberating to just pour a bunch of olive oil in the pan and let that eggplant luxuriate in it! Make sure to flip the eggplant slices so that both sides are covered in olive oil. Lay the eggplant in a single layer and sprinkle with some sea salt. Stick in the oven - bottom rack.

While the eggplant starts roasting, cut the onion and pepper into large wedges. The onion will separate of course, and that is just fine. Put both onions and peppers in a cake pan (they will not need to lay in a single layer, so they can cram in a bit) and pour some olive oil over the top again. You don't need as much here - a few glugs, and than give things a stir to coat and toss on a little salt. Stick these in the oven on the top rack.

After about 10-12 minutes, go flip the eggplant slices. They should be starting to brown/caramelize on the bottom. It's hard to get uniform pieces, so the thinner ones will be more browned than the thicker ones. They are all good. Stir the onions/peppers too. They should also be starting to char and brown just a bit. *If things are not getting a little char on them, you can also do a little broiler action here and stick each pan under the broiler for a few minutes. But it's not necessary.

After another 6-10 minutes, things should be approaching done. You want the thinner eggplant slices to be chip-like, and the thicker ones to be nice and golden with a firmer edge. The peppers and onions should be at a similar state of soft/charred.

I love eating the eggplant planks with my fingers (almost like bruschetta or a cracker) with a little onion and pepper on top. Yum! (They would probably also be good with smoked fish or pesto too...mmm!)

Baked Veggies in Eggplant Sauce

The garden harvest continues.  I picked a few handfuls of bush beans even, and I thought those had pretty much stopped so haven't even been watering them. The continued warm weather may be extending the season a bit - even my winter squash sent out some new little squashes. I didn't take a picture, but they are so cute! I've been storing various things when I have time - here are some of my efforts:

Roasted tomatoes packed in olive oil

Pesto, pickles, and roasted tomatoes!

Last week I tried one more recipe from Nigel Slater's Tender - a cookbook that I give two thumbs up based on the handful of recipes I've tried, and because of the really useful information about more casual cooking with various veggies. For example, I had never thought to pair mint with eggplant - it didn't seem to go. But he recommends mint as eggplant's best herb pairing, and it is delicious. I've thrown it on roasted eggplant, or with a roasted veggie blend of eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes.

Not surprisingly, this recipe also makes use of mint. The recipe originally calls for yogurt, but I swapped in coconut milk with a good amount of lemon juice and it was great. I am very confident I did not make this dish as he would have - I cooked the veggies long (and cut them smaller) and they were very soft, and my sauce to "drizzle" over the top was stirred in and the whole thing became more of a stew-like affair. Regardless of my liberties, it was a really incredible flavor - not like any other I've had before, and very creamy tasting and so nice with all the fresh garden vegetables.

Baked Veggies with Eggplant Sauce from Tender
serves 4

Garden Veggies (cut smaller than recipe calls)

Sauce:
2 large eggplants
olive oil
scant 1/2 cup coconut milk 
3 T lemon juice
handful chopped mint leaves
salt and pepper

Veggies:
4 large tomatoes (or several smaller ones)
3 zucchini, quartered length wise
2 bell peppers, cored and thickly sliced
onion, peeled and cut in wedges
olive oil
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp hot sauce
handful pine nuts
handful raisins

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and score the flesh with several deep etches (helps the oil penetrate). Sprinkle with salt and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Wipe off salt, place in baking dish, and pour a few glugs of olive oil over the top and bake until soft (cut side down). You should be able to crush the flesh with a fork. Mine baked about 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put tomatoes, peppers, onions and zucchini in roasting pan. Toss with oil and salt and roast 45 min-1 hour. (Shoot for getting the veggies in about 15-20 minutes after the eggplant started to time things best.)
4. When eggplant is soft and cooled just enough to handle, scrape eggplant flesh from skin and mash with coconut milk-lemon and enough olive oil to make a paste that is thin enough to drizzle. *I had a hard time with this - my eggplant had cooled a lot, so maybe that is why. I just didn't want to add more olive oil than I had already, so mine was a bit thicker. Season with salt, pepper, and mint. If you are using coconut milk and it tastes weird, you need more lemon and more salt. It should not taste at all coconut-y.
5. Toward the end of cooking for the veggies, gently stir in cumin, hot sauce (I used sriracha), pine nuts, and raisins. Finish roasting.
6. Serve veggies drizzled with eggplant sauce (or in my case, just mix it all up in a bowl!! so good)

My version was not the most picturesque - but don't let that stop you! I used golden raisins, and there are so few, but they sneak a nice bit of sweet in there.

Charred Eggplant, Zucchini, and Tomatoes

Lately I am really loving eggplant?! I am not sure when this transformation happened, but I think it was sometime right after the Roasted eggplant and tomato curry last spring. Now I just cook it up any old time - no reservations or worry that it will have a weird texture. And they are so beautiful right now! Long thin purple orbs, fat squat lavender ones, large bulbous plum ones...

My favorite veggie combo of late is Zucchini, Eggplant, and Tomato. I keep envisioning some kind of layered terrine of these three, with basil and olive oil drizzled over the top. But that has not yet happened - I think I am reluctant to do some major oven roasting until it is just a little bit cooler. Instead I am making a "charred" medly of the three, cut small, with some onion. This is so simple and it tastes amazing - the sweet tomato with the creamy eggplant and the savory zucchini.

Served with lamb burger and tahini sauce = woah. really good.

Charred eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes
1 eggplant - the long narrower kind
1 zucchini - similar in size to your eggplant
1/2 onion (optional) - cut in short, fat strips
tomatoes - any kind will do, chopped large
olive oil

The whole trick to making these veggies taste so good is to really sear them. This means two things: a hot cast iron pan, and well cut veggies with multiple edges to char.

1) You want to cut your veggies so that they have multiple edges on which to sear. Cut your eggplant and zucchini into quarter-spears the long way. Work with one quarter at a time and cut with your knife at an angle, turning the spear a quarter turn each time you cut. This will miraculously result in pieces that have several flat edges. (Feel free to cut it other ways too, just get a few large flat sides)
2) Start heating your largest cast iron skillet - make sure it is dry and there is no oil in the pan. While it is heating, toss your zucchini, onion and eggplant pieces into a bowl. Pour a long glug of olive oil over the top, and sprinkle generously with salt. Stir.

Freshly cut veggies starting to sear - it's a wee bit crowded.

3) Once pan is hot, dump all the veggies in and arrange so that they are in one layer on medium-high heat. Let them sit! Don't touch them for 3-4 minutes!
 4) Cut cherry tomatoes in half, or chop up any other kind. Put these in a bowl and pour on olive oil and a good bit of salt, and give a stir. Spread them in a single layer on a pan, and put under the broiler. They will get done right about the time of the other veggies.
5) After the zucchini and eggplant have sat still, flip the pieces over - making sure to give them all some chances to char on each side. Repeat as needed - making sure you let them sit and sear on the pan. Less turning is better!
6) Remove everything once the zucchini and eggplant are blackened, and the tomatoes are browning. Pile up on a plate and serve. These are excellent as is, or chop up some basil to go on top, or toss in pesto. I made a really nice dressing/dip for mine: tahini, lemon juice, salt and water. Mint might be nice too.

Babaganoush

I don't remember ever making babaganoush before, though I remember the first time I had it as a kid - I thought it was SO delicious. Way better than hummus. I got a big eggplant from my friend's CSA (thanks KT) last week, and decided to roast it and make a batch of babaganoush. It's pretty easy - just roast the eggplant and blend it up with a few other things. It turns out it tastes a little weird warm, so make sure you chill it after you are done! I had it with roasted tomatoes, zucchini, lamb and peppers tonight and it was really good.

Babaganoush
1 large eggplant, or 2 medium small ones
1/4 cup tahini
juice of 1 lemon (maybe a little more)
2 T olive oil
1+ tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne

1. Prick the eggplant all over with a fork. Roast it in a 400 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. It will look soft and deflated when it is done. (*I read that before roasting it, you can "char" the skin over a gas flame for 5-10 minutes to get a nice smoky flavor. I will try that next time!)

2. Let the eggplant cool, or put it in a cold water bath for 5 minutes. Once it is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and chop the eggplant into big chunks - set aside.
3. In a food processor, blend the tahini with the olive oil, lemon and spices to "fluff up" the tahini. This will help make the mixture extra light. Add in the eggplant and blend again, until it is creamy with some texture. Taste and adjust seasoning as you want. I added in a little more lemon to mine because I like it a little tangy.
4. Chill in refrigerator and serve! Try it with roasted veggies, or as a dip for raw cucumber and carrots. It would also be nice with some paleo crackers, but I am not feeling so ambitious even though she says they are really easy. Tomorrow I am going to try it on a burger....
*Fresh parsley would also be good in there if you have it!

Roasted eggplant and tomato curry

There is this dish they put in the hot bar at the Seward that I really like: roasted eggplant, tomatoes, cauliflower, and peppers in a not so-saucy sauce. Feeling inspired, I bought these main ingredients, only to come home and realize I was sorta clueless about the spices. So I did some online research, coming up with not too much, and settled on re-working a Baigan Bharta (Indian dish of roasted eggplant curry) recipe. And the dish turned out great - though not really much like the one at the Seward. Oh Well. AND, I really want to try the straight up Baigan Bharta too. Have you had ROASTED eggplant?! It becomes this creamy substance that is really delicious.

My recipe is below, with these side notes: the amount of tomatoes made it distinctly saucy - you could use a small can of tomatoes if you want that to be different; garlic would be tasty in there if you can eat it; and, I did this food prep in two parts - I made the eggplant (and cauliflower) one night, and finished the dish the next. You don't need to do that, but it makes dinner on night two take only 20 minutes.

1 large eggplant
1 small head cauliflower
1 green pepper, diced large
2 T ghee
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 medium onion - minced fine
1 in ginger root - minced fine
1 medium green chili - minced
1 large can chopped tomatoes
1 c. coconut milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash eggplant and dry it. Make incision with a sharp knife all over the whole eggplant. Rub some oil over it . Place on a baking sheet and in a preheated oven. Bake for 40 minutes. While the eggplant is roasting, chop the cauliflower into pieces and toss it with coconut oil or olive oil. Put it on a flat baking dish and roast it in the oven with the eggplant - it will be done after 20 minutes. (Photo is cooled eggplant before I scooped out all the insides.)

Allow the eggplant to cool. Once it has cooled cut it in the middle, scoop out the soft flesh and place it in a bowl. Mash finely with a fork or chop. Discard skin.

Heat ghee over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once the spices start to pop, add the onion, ginger, garlic (if using) and green chili. When they are soft, add in the rest of the spices and saute for another minute or two. Add tomatoes, eggplant, chopped/roasted cauliflower, green pepper and coconut milk. Stir occasionally and let simmer until all ingredients are hot and softened to your liking. Because I roasted the cauliflower and like crunchy peppers, this only needed to sit for 10 minutes for me.

Eggplant Lasagna

This recipe is gluten and dairy free, so it is not the eggplant lasagna that you might first conjure in your mind. I actually think this recipe might be more like moussakka than lasagna. Which only means that by whatever name, it is delicious! I actually have felt questionable about eggplant in the past...the strange texture and flavor. In this dish though, the roasted eggplant tastes smoky and creamy and really good with the meaty sauce and spinach.

The original recipe has lots of step by step photos, whereas I seem to have snapped just a few. I ended up using some spicy sausage in place of the burger, which was super delicious, I used a bit less tomato, and I sliced my eggplant really thin. Next time I will use the thicker slice option on my mandoline, just to give the slices a little more heft.

more fun with eggplant!

What's that? The last eggplant dish I posted sucked, and you're still swimming in eggplant?
Try this- it's really tasty.
http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/01/rigatoni-with-eggplant-puree/

Ratatouille

We received an abundance of eggplant in last week's CSA, so I decided to try ratatouille. Despite the recent cold weather, I've been trying to drag out the summer menus as long as possible (because, let's face it, who still gets excited for squash in February?). This combo of summer veggies + roasted veggies seemed to be a great compromise in the summer-to-fall slide.
I used the recipe from this month's co-op advantage flyer (linked in the title), but the red wine overwhelmed and the veggies got a bit, err, smooshy.
If anyone has a better ratatouille recipe, please post. I think next time I'd try this one from the Smitten Kitchen:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/07/rat-a-too-ee-for-you-ee/

Veggie enchiladas

My friend Linda made these enchiladas for a dinner party a few weeks ago, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about them! Based on a Moosewood recipe, the enchiladas are filled with eggplant, cheese, peppers...and almonds, which make for a delicious crunch. Linda is a really good cook, and I worried that these might be hard to replicate, but hip hip, they turned out well. Alas, I forgot to take a photo.

Anyway, here's Linda's version:

"1 eggplant (I used more because I LOVE eggplant)
Onion- as much as you like
Green pepper- or red pepper. Or none at all if people don’t like them
Saute these 3 veggies in oil until cooked. If you want the green peppers to stay a little crunchy put them in later. (I did this 'cause I like crunchier peppers.)

Add to the veggies:
Small can of diced green chilies – mild or hot depending on your taste buds or perhaps one can of each. (Linda's preference.)
Chopped almonds or some nut to add a nice crunch.
Canned beans – I prefer black beans and sometimes I use the cans with spices and sometimes without. If they don’t have spices I usually rinse the beans.
Once the veggie mixture is cooked, I portion them out on a cookie sheet so I know how many enchiladas I’ll have. Otherwise I end up without enough tortillas or not enough veggies, etc. for small tortillas an ice cream scoop is about the right size. You’ll have to experiment. You need to add cheese and roll up the tortilla.

Monterey Jack cheese - grated
Fresh cilantro
Corn tortillas
Canned enchilada sauce. I use two cans of enchilada sauce, one hot and one mild. For a large batch you may need 3 cans. If you only use mild you should be sure to spice the veggie mixture or the sauce.

Heat the enchilada sauce in a frying pan large enough to dunk the tortillas in. (if you think you will be short enough sauce add small amounts of water.)
Dip the tortilla in the enchilada sauce, in order to cover them in sauce and to make rolling
them easier. Be careful not to leave the tortillas in the warm sauce to long or they break apart.
Remove the tortilla from the frying pan, place in your baking pan, sprinkle grated cheese onto the tortilla, then add fresh cilantro, then a spoonful of the veggies and roll up the tortilla. Place the seam of the enchilada on the bottom of the pan. If the seam is at the top they will break open during their final baking.

When the pan is full sprinkle remaining cheese on top of the pan and dribble any remaining sauce. You want to try and have some sauce left for this step. Bake covered with tin foil until thoroughly heated through. Take the tinfoil off the pan for the last 5 -10 minutes to crisp them up a little. They will dry out terribly if you don’t first leave the tin foil on the pan.

Before baking everything is basically cooked so they can be stored or frozen at this time. If you have more veggie mix than tortillas you can also freeze just the veggie mix.
Have fun making your own additions."

Thank you, Linda!