Category: Veggies

Roasted Eggplant

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So simple, so delicious – Maya and I made this for dinner last night.

When you start with a lovely, fresh vegetable, you don’t need to do much to bring out the best flavor, and this is a perfect example.  Roasting the eggplant brings out its sweetness and tenderness and salt, pepper and a bit of butter make it crazy delicious.

4 small eggplants, halved, with the stem end removed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt  (I’m guessing here – I really just used a good pinch.)
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Butter

Heat oven to 400. Pour the olive oil into the center of a baking pan and slide the eggplants around cut side down to get olive oil all over them. Flip them back over and sprinkle them with the salt and pepper.

Roast for a good 20 minutes or until they have sort of sunk in, and are browning on the top.

Melt a pat of butter on top of each eggplant and serve in the skin. When eating, just scrape out the inside and leave the skins.  Nirvana – sheer veggie Nirvana…

Wonder if there is any left?

Elote – Mexican Street Corn

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If you live in Omaha, you must go to the Farmer’s Market in Aksarben and pray that the sweet corn lady is there making Elote.  Kumy and I had gotten one, and quickly realized that there was no way we were willing to share.  (Okay, so there was no way I was willing to share, and I ran back to get another.)

There is nothing better than sweet corn that’s just been picked, quickly boiled and slathered with mayo, fresh lime, parmesan and Tajin Seasoning.  This is a version that I make at home.   Tajin seasoning is tart, salty, not super hot and easily available in Mexican markets and online.  You can make traditional Elote using ears of corn or  make a casserole using frozen sweet corn.  It’s delicious either way!

Ingredients

6 ears of corn, freshly shucked and washed (or 24 oz frozen sweet corn for a casserole)

Crema:

1/4 cup Mexican mayonnaise (or use regular mayonnaise with a good squeeze of lime in it.)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Cotija cheese (or parmesan in a pinch)
1/2 tsp Tajin seasoning
1 clove garlic crushed, or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped pretty fine
Juice of 1/2 lime

For traditional Elote corn on the cob:

Mix crema ingredients in a bowl.  

Cook corn by boiling in unsalted water or grilling. Slather the corn with the crema, and sprinkle with extra cotija and dust with tajin seasoning.

For Elote casserole:

Mix all ingredients except Cilantro in a bowl and pour out into a baking dish. Baked uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Garnish with chopped Cilantro and an extra sprinkle of Tajin seasoning.

Brown Butter Roasted Potatoes

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Another recipe from the Wall Street Journal – I have made this dish so many times and it’s always amazing. It’s great for supper or brunch.

2 lbs. small potatoes, scrubbed well, but not peeled
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
4 eggs, rinsed well before adding to pot
6 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp lemon juice
4 green onions, thinly sliced

Heat oven to 450.

Boil potatoes and eggs in salted water for 15 minutes. Remove and halve potatoes. Lay on a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, flip the potatoes and bake another 10 minutes.

Peel eggs and quarter them.

Heat butter for 5 minutes over medium heat in a pan large enough to hold everything, until it just starts to brown. Add lemon juice and stir. Then add potatoes, eggs and green onions and toss everything together.

Check seasoning and serve.

Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Sauce

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From the Wall Street Journal – though simplified. Eggplant and tahini are so good together! The original recipe called for fresh herbs on top, but we like it just like this.

6 small eggplants, halved, skin and stem intact
olive oil
kosher salt

Put eggplants on a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast at 425 for 20 minutes.

1/4 cup tahini paste
2 Tbsp lemon juice
sprinkle of garlic powder
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
1/4 cup water

Mix all together and drizzle over eggplant just before serving. Trader Joe’s also sells a Tahini sauce which you can substitute for the tahini paste and water. Just use 1/2 cup of the sauce instead.

You can use larger eggplants – just cut them in slices about 1″ thick.

Great Warm Caprese Salad

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This may have come from the Wall Street Journal, or maybe Ina Garten – can’t really remember. It’s perfect for when tomatoes are abundant, but even winter grocery store tomatoes taste great.

12 plum tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp cider vinegar
sprinkling of garlic powder
2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
8 oz. sliced mozzarella cheese
12 basil leaves, julienned (Stack all the leaves on top of one another, roll them up and cut little thin slices. They’ll form little strips of basil. Thanks, Ina!)

Set oven to 425.

Lay tomatoes cut side up in a baking dish. Blend olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder and sugar and drizzle over the tomatoes. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and put Mozarella cheese on top. Put back in the oven for 2 minutes to soften the cheese. Remove again, then sprinkle basil over everything. Drizzle one more time with olive oil and give it one last go with the salt and pepper. Serve warm.

So good.

Green Beans with Walnuts and Gorgonzola

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I made this recipe up one day when faced with an overly ambitious purchase of green beans. In hunting through the fridge, I found Gorgonzola cheese and thought, why not? It’s pretty tasty.

1 lb. green beans, washed and trimmed
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted in the oven or in a pan for 5-7 minutes
1/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese
2 Tbsp vinaigrette
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

In a medium pot, bring half a pot of water to the boil. Drop green beans in and boil for just a few minutes. Drain water, and add walnuts, cheese, vinaigrette,salt and pepper. Toss to coat and slightly melt the cheese. Check seasonings and serve.

Ina’s Celery, Walnut & Parmesan Salad

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You wouldn’t think that celery could be the star of a dish, but this salad from Ina Garten pairs crisp cool celery with the tartness of lemon, the crunch of toasted walnuts and the salty goodness of Pecorino Romano. (Ina uses Parmesan.) I also make it with apple cider vinegar if I don’t have lemon juice. The dressing is good on lots of fresh vegetables – and I make this salad out of tomatoes and cucumbers when they are abundant.

Mix dressing in a big bowl:

1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp lemon zest 
1/4 cup lemon juice or 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp shallots, minced, or a little bit of garlic, mashed
1 tsp celery seeds
1/2 tsp celery salt
1 1/2 tsp fish sauce (from Asian market)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

5 cups chopped celery (Usually one whole stalk of celery.)
big handful of grated Pecorino Romano, grated on the biggest holes in a box grater
2/3 cups toasted walnuts, rough chopped.

Roast walnuts for 10 minutes in a 350 oven, or you can pan roast them for several minutes on medium high heat, shaking them constantly.

Add celery, nuts and parmesan to the dressing and toss well. Delish!

Amazing Green Beans with Walnuts and Dill Seeds

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2 Tbsp butter
1 shallot, diced
1 lb fresh green beans
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup walnuts, rough chopped
2 tsp dill seeds

Melt butter and saute shallot for a few minutes. Add salt, pepper and dill seeds and saute a minute or two more. Turn down heat, add green beans, cover and cook for several minutes, shaking occasionally. Add walnuts, stir and serve.

Asparagus Dijon

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I have to admit that asparagus is not one of my favorite vegetables. If by chance it gets overcooked and mushy – yeccch! It is not a pretty picture. But Kumy loves this recipe and I like it too.

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces (Keep the thick bottom pieces separate)
1 Tbsp butter
splash of dry white wine
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp sage
1/2 cup half n half
1/8 tsp kosher salt
couple of grinds of black pepper

Heat butter and wine in a saucepan on medium heat. Add the thicker, bottom parts of the asparagus, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Add the more tender, upper parts and saute another 7-8 minutes. (I like to stop at this point unless the bottom stems are still really hard, because of my aforementioned aversion to mushy asparagus.)

Mix mustard, sage and half n half in a bowl and pour over asparagus. Gently toss the asparagus in the mustard sauce so it’s warmed up a bit. Check seasonings and serve.

Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli)

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This is a vegetable that’s always available in Asian Markets and one of our favorites. It has a milder flavor than broccoli, and is much leafier. You could substitute spinach I think. Or you could use Broccoli rabe. Whatever you use – it’s a super quick side dish and so good. I served it tonight with Thai Fish and rice and it was a perfect plate. It does use sesame oil which is available in Asian Markets and adds a wonderful flavor.

1 bunch gai lan, washed
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp soy sauce (check label for gluten)
1 Tbsp rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp fresh grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, crushed.

Start a large pot of well-salted water to boil.

Add all other ingredients to a large frying pan. Stir well and heat on medium/low heat, stirring constantly. Cook until the sauce is starting to get quite sticky and a little thick, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Lay Gai Lan on a cutting board, and cut it in 2″ strips, starting at the bottom of the stem. As soon as you have stem pieces cut, toss them in the boiling salted water. Continue cutting leave into 2 inch strips and add the leaves to the boiling water. Boil for just a couple of minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, or tongs, remove the Gai Lan from the boiling water, shaking as much water out as you can. (Some will remain.) Add to sauce and stir to distribute the sauce all over the Gai Lan. Serve immediately.

If you are making it with spinach, there is no need to boil the spinach, just add it to the pan as soon as the sauce begins to thicken. The moisture in the spinach will thin down the sauce and make it just perfect.

Here is a photograph of Gai-Lan:

Gai-Lan-Chinese-Broccoli