This week’s box included: tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, okra, garlic, potatoes. You can see a video on Instagram to help with identification.
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A butternut squash instead of a melon! (Don’t be fooled by that spaghetti squash. It’s a squash, not a canary melon.) Guess we are transitioning to cool weather vegetables. Now we just need the temperatures to transition, too.
I have been craving eggplant and peppers so was delighted to see both in today’s box, although only one pepper. But for the eggplants … eggplant and bean chili (see recipe below), eggplant dal with your favorite lentils (your own recipe), eggplant with garlic and scallions (just sauteed eggplant flavored with chili and green onions)? Those are a few ideas from the New York Times food e-newsletter last Sunday devoted to ideas for eggplant.
If those aren’t appealing, we have delicious Rigatoni All Norma and lots of ratatouille recipes and ways to use ratatouille like quiche and ratatouille-stuffed eggplant (talk about gilding the lily) on the Riverview eggplant recipe pages.
If you’re ready to do something different with your tomatoes (we got two), maybe try these roasted tomato halves from Leah Koenig’s new cookbook, “Portico”?
“You cut the tomatoes in half in the middle, squeeze out the juices and seeds into a bowl like you are squeezing a lemon—I made a quick pasta sauce from the juices!—and then place them in a baking dish brushed with olive oil. Sprinkle with minced garlic, a little sugar, kosher salt, and pepper, then drizzle with more olive oil. Roast at 375ºF for 30 minutes, then give the pan a shake to keep them from sticking, and roast another 40 minutes, or until they begin to collapse and are sweet as candy.”
Easy and since I’m going to be roasting my okra, I’ll do both at the same time. And I’m going to roast some potatoes alongside. I realized I’ve been ignoring the potatoes that have been arriving. Both the okra and potatoes will be accompanied by lots of garlic as well. I could just eat that for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Roasting the spaghetti squash while the oven is on will mean almost everything in the box is in the oven tonight!
Eggplant and Bean Chili
From Kay Chun for The New York Times
1/4 cup neutral oil, such as safflower or canola
6 cups 1/2-inch cubed peeled eggplant
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 small carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice (1 cup)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon pure chile powder (such as ancho, chipotle or a mix)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes and their juices, crushed with your hands
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed
1 (14-ounce) can lentils, rinsed
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon lime juice
Sour cream, grated Cheddar, sliced jalapeños and tortilla chips, for topping (optional)
In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium. Add eggplant, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden in spots, 5 minutes; transfer to a plate.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, then add the onion and carrots to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomato paste is lightly caramelized, about 3 minutes. Stir in chile powder, cumin and oregano until well blended.
Add tomatoes, kidney beans, lentils, the reserved eggplant and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to release any browned bits from the bottom of pot. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, undisturbed, until eggplant is very tender and flavors have melded together, 30 minutes. Uncover and stir, mashing some of the eggplant to create some creamy texture.
Stir in the scallions and lime juice; taste and season with salt and pepper. Divide chili among bowls and garnish with more scallions. Finish with any of the optional toppings and serve warm.