2020 Produce CSA Week 21

Purple beans. Is that a first for us? They’re so pretty, but know that they will lose their color when they’re cooked. So can you chop some into a salad? Marinate them a bit and use them to top a rice bowl? Think of some way to have them complement that pretty purple striped eggplant?

And was yours the largest sweet potato you’ve ever seen? I know ours was.

There’s only one way my husband will eat eggplant (sorry to say) and that’s in Eggplant Parmigiana. If you have that problem at your house, or if you’re just tired of thinking up new ways to use eggplant, try this recipe from Sapori di Napoli. It was delicious. And yes, you want to thinly slice that eggplant, which makes for a longer time standing at the stove sautéing the slices, but is well worthwhile.

I’ve used up two heads of garlic this week, but some of you may be wondering what to do with the garlic we’ve received this year. (Did I already ask – what happened to all the onions?) We’ve actually got quite a few garlic recipes at grassfedcow.com. How about garlic-potato deviled eggs to use some of those potatoes in today’s box? It calls for a baking potato, but one of the fresh white potatoes will work, too.

My all time favorite way to use a lot of garlic is Alton Brown’s 40 cloves and a chicken. An absolutely delicious braise that will make your kitchen smell wonderful on these cool fall evenings.

But if you’re up for a project, I’ve got a suggestion. It’s a lentil salad with roasted peppers and tomatoes. I have no idea where the recipe came from, but it called for tuna. Sometimes I use that. Sometimes I just leave it out. I often forget how much I love lentils, then when I’m reminded, I eat them for several weeks in a row. I’ve got a lentil-butternut squash salad waiting in the wings for when butternut squash returns to our box.

Lentil and Roasted Pepper Salad

Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons finely diced shallot
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salad:
Kosher salt
1/4 cup brown or French green lentils
1 dried bay leaf
1 medium clove garlic
1 small carrot, peeled and halved
1 small yellow onion, unpeeled and halved
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion (white parts only)
All the peppers in this week’s box, grilled, then skins removed
Fresh lemon juice, to taste
2 medium ripe tomatoes
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil

Make the vinaigrette: Mix the shallot, vinegar, mustard, garlic, and a scant 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes to soften the shallot and garlic. Whisk in the olive oil and then stir in parsley.

Make the salad: In a 1-quart pan of well-salted water, bring the lentils, bay leaf, garlic, carrot, and onion to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Let the lentils cool completely in their liquid. Drain, discard the onion, carrot, bay leaf and garlic, and transfer to a medium bowl. Stir the scallions into the lentils and toss with 2 to 3 teaspoons of the vinaigrette.

In a small bowl, mix the roasted peppers with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette; add salt and lemon juice to taste.

Slice the tomato into thick wedges and arrange on your plate with the lentils and peppers. Sprinkle everything with salt and drizzle with olive oil.