Tag Archives: eggplant

Market Finds: White eggplant

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One of my favorite Capitol Hill activities is exploring Eastern Market, and I’ve decided to share some of my best finds here. Check back each week for something delicious, unusual or downright fun, along with how I prepared it and where you can find it.

I was wondering recently how eggplants got their name. After all, they look nothing like eggs. It was sort of an idle thought, but it happened to be answered by chance at the market this weekend when I saw a white eggplant.

According to the sign, eggplants were traditionally white, which made them look like eggs. Now it seems the purple variety is more prevalent, but their name still comes from the original. And I can see how this little guy could look like an egg, albeit a very large one.

white eggplant

I don’t know if it’s just the way I prepared it or if white eggplants are softer than their purple brothers, but this eggplant was incredibly smooth and creamy. I used it to make Big Girl Small Kitchen’s baba ganoush recipe. Cara has a great tip to char the eggplant skin on the gas burner on the stove, for those of us who don’t have grills, and it came out smoky and delicious. If you’ve never made baba ganoush, it’s super simple and incredibly flavorful this way.

baba ganoush

 

Related posts:

Market Finds: Purple pepper
Market Finds: Turkish Eggplant
Market Finds: Baby eggplant
Market finds: Purple heirloom tomato

The Food Matters Project: Quinoa Tabbouleh

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Sara of the beautiful Simply Whole Kitchen chose this week’s Food Matters Project assignment, Quinoa Tabbouleh. It reminded me of a recipe for quinoa tabbouleh I made a few years ago (it’s the image at the top of this page!) but I haven’t had it since. This time, I went beyond the tomatoes and cukes and threw in whatever I had in my fridge — leftover roasted Turkish eggplant from Eastern Market, red pepper, Cherokee tomatoes, white beans. I didn’t have a lemon, so I used a bit of red wine vinegar as a stand-in acidic ingredient and it worked fine. This was a great clean-out-the-fridge recipe and a yummy accompaniment to white fish breaded with cornmeal.

Find the original recipe at Simply Whole Kitchen and see other variations from the FMP members here.

quinoa tabbouleh

Quinoa Tabbouleh, adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water
2 small Cherokee tomatoes (or other good fresh tomatoes)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup roasted eggplant, chopped
handful fresh cilantro, washed, stemmed and chopped
3/4 cup cooked white beans
sprinkle of red wine vinegar
olive oil, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

Bring the water to a boil and add the quinoa. Reduce the heat to low and cover it, cooking for about 10-12 minutes or until it’s fluffy. (If your package directions say otherwise, feel free to follow those.) Use the time while they cook to chop the vegetables. Combine the above ingredients from the quinoa through the white beans in a large bowl, then begin to add the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes bit by bit, tasting as you go until you have a combination you like.

Related posts:

The Food Matters Project: Crisp Rice Cakes with Stir-Fried Vegetables and Chicken
The Food Matters Project: Mixed Grill with Chimichurri
The Food Matters Project: Roast potatoes and chicken with romesco
The Food Matters Project: Raspberry Cabernet Sorbet

Market Finds: Baby eggplant

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One of my favorite Capitol Hill activities is exploring Eastern Market, and I’ve decided to share some of my best finds here. Check back each week for something delicious, unusual or downright fun, along with how I prepared it and where you can find it.

baby-eggplant

 

This week’s find is another from Barbour’s Fruit Farm’s booth at Eastern Market’s new Fresh Tuesday market. They said they’ve been getting a lot of baby eggplants looking like this, and I thought they were just too cute!

I sliced this up and tossed it in olive oil, salt and pepper with some zucchini slices, then roasted it (in the toaster oven, so as not to bake myself in my apartment). It made for a great open-faced sandwich on thick whole grain bread with hummus.

Visit Barbour’s Fruit Farm on Tuesdays at the corner of 7th and C Sts. SE, or on the weekends on the south side of the market building on C St. SE.

The Food Matters Project: Mixed Grill with Chimichurri

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This week’s Food Matters Project is a wild card — we got to pick whatever we had missed in the past 6 months! I knew immediately what I wanted to do. Ever since I started this project, I keep hearing the other bloggers talk about the fantastic chimichurri sauce I missed the week before my first post. I’ve been dying to try it, and thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

chimichurri

The original recipe is Mixed Grill with Chimichurri, but I had to sauté since I don’t have a grill. I made it with green peppers, a baby eggplant, hot banana peppers, onion, and pan cooked white fish. Everyone was right — this was a fantastic recipe! And as a bonus, I finally found out the name for the amazing green sauce that comes with takeout from the El Salvadoran place on 14th St. The hardest part was washing and pulling the leaves off the cilantro, which I opted for over parsley. Here’s how I did the chimichurri sauce.

Chimichurri sauce, from The Food Matters Cookbook

2 cups cilantro leaves (some small stems are okay)
1/2 cup oil
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
red pepper flakes

Put the cilantro, 1/4 cup of the oil and salt and pepper in a food processor and blend. Scrape down the sides of the container and add the rest of the oil, then the vinegar and red pepper flakes, while it runs. Blend a few more seconds until it’s all combined and the cilantro is blended up nicely.

Check out all the other bloggers’ takes on the chimichurri recipe and see what everyone else picked for this week’s wild card here!

Recipe: Southeast Asian-inspired pork and noodles with broiled cauliflower

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Vietnamese pork noodles

Those of you who follow Hungry Girl might have heard her mention one of her favorite products, House Foods Tofu Shirataki noodles. Admittedly, tofu in the shape of noodles does sound weird, but this is one thing I picked up from her cookbook that I routinely have on hand. They make a great base for Asian-inspired dishes like stir fry and pad thai. They look like they’d be obscure, but you’d be surprised — I’ve found them at Harris Teeter, Safeway, and Whole Foods in DC. They’re right alongside the other soy products like packaged tofu and soy dogs. The package says it contains two servings, but I’ve always found I can eat an entire package in one sitting. Luckily, there are only 40 calories in a bag.

Here’s a fledgling tip: These slippery little noodles do smell funny when they first come out of the bag, but if you give them a rinse and pop them in the microwave for a minute, that goes away. Drain any extra water off of them after they come out of the microwave, then use them as you would use cooked noodles in the dish. For Asian-themed meals, I like to prepare all the vegetables and meats in a pan first, then stir fry the noodles for just a few minutes in the same pan so they pick up some of the flavors and get a little crispy.

Last week, Cara’s Banh Mi Hot Dog recipe from Big Girls Small Kitchen had me craving southeast Asian. (By the way, if you don’t already subscribe to their newsletter, it is very drool-worthy.) I bought country-style pork ribs from Eastern Market (that means bone-in, but the bones are shorter and less uniform than those in regular ribs) because I was planning to make them in the slow cooker, but I ran out of time. The pickled carrots were based off Cara’s recipe, although I added eggplant sticks and a hot pepper.

And for the record, D isn’t even a big fan of pork, but he loved this meal–including the tofu noodles.

Southeast Asian-inspired pork and noodles

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 hot pepper, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the pan
1 tsp hoisin sauce
a squirt of sriracha (optional)
juice of one lemon
About 1.5 pounds country-style pork ribs
2 packages House Foods Tofu Shirataki noodles

1. To make the sauce, combine all ingredients up to the ribs in a bowl. If you have time, feel free to marinate the ribs in it. (I didn’t, but it can’t hurt.) If you’re in a hurry or just don’t want to bother, skip to step 2.

2. Preheat a skillet greased with a bit of oil over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the pork ribs. Give them a little space in between each other. Cook them on one side for about 5 minutes, or until they’re nice and golden brown, then flip them over to the other side and brown.

3. Once they’re browned, add the sauce to the pan, along with enough water to bring up the liquid level so that it comes up about halfway on the ribs. This wasn’t an exact science for me, but the goal is to get them cooking in the juice. Bring the liquid to a boil, then turn it down low and cover the pan. Leave it alone for about 5 minutes, then come back and flip the ribs and let them cook on the other side.

4. When the ribs are no longer pink on the inside, remove them from the pan and turn the heat up higher. Cook the liquid down until it thickens a bit and makes a nice sauce. (I also whisked in about a teaspoon of flour to thicken it more.) Meanwhile, open the packages of noodles, drain them, and microwave them for a minute each to get rid of the tofu smell. Drain them again after they come out of the microwave.

5. Once the sauce is thickened, pour it into a bowl. Without wiping off the excess, add the noodles to the pan over medium-high heat. Stir fry them (stirring quickly) in the sauce until they’re coated. I like to keep cooking them until they get just a bit of crispiness to them, but they’re already cooked, so remove them whenever you like once they’re hot.

6. Serve the pork over the noodles, with pickled vegetables on the side.

Serves two.

I also served these with broiled cauliflower, one of my favorite easy sides.

Broiled cauliflower florets

2 cups cauliflower florets
oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the broiler and toss the cauliflower florets with oil, salt and pepper. Stick them under the broiler and check on them after about 10 minutes and every 5 minutes thereafter, until they’re crispy and a bit charred. The time it takes to get there will vary heavily based on the broiler, how close the pan is to it, and the size of the cauliflower, so keep a close eye on them.

Recipe: Purple chili

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Purple chili

I still had a beet left over after making beet chips for The Food Matters Project, and I was trying to figure out a creative use for it that wouldn’t involve turning on the oven. I’d used root vegetables before in chili, so why not try a beet chili?

Those of you who have cooked with beets before know they dye everything purple… everything. I figured if you can’t fight it, join it, so I made a lovely purple chili. Regular chili powder is fine here, but chipotle chili powder added a smokiness that balanced the earthy beets beautifully.

Purple chili

1 tbsp oil
1 beet
1/2 large (or 1 small) eggplant
1 hot pepper
1/2 onion
1-2 ears corn
2 leaves kale
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup cooked white beans
1 tsp chili powder or chipotle chili powder (or more, to taste)
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Peel and slice the beet into chunks. Put it in a food processor and pulse until it’s shredded.

2. Chop the onion, hot pepper and eggplant.

3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the beets, onion, hot pepper and eggplant.

4. Cut the corn from the ears and chop up the kale. Add those to the pan, then add the tomatoes with their juices.

5. Add the white beans, chili powder and salt and pepper. The amounts here will vary depending on the spices you’re using, but taste as you go and adjust the levels.

6. Simmer until thickened and all the vegetables are cooked through. Serve with cornbread or over rice.

Serves four, or two with leftovers.

We added some cooked chicken to D’s helping of this chili, but keep in mind if you add meat that it will probably need a heavier dose of the spices.

Related posts:

Spicy weeknight turkey chili

Eggplant parmesan with chunky sauce

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I’ve been trying lately to make homemade bread. Not sure why, but it’s just something I feel like I need to do. Maybe it’s the cold weather; maybe it’s my love for carbs. But last weekend, I was trying to make baguettes and I needed something to go with them.

Enter eggplant parmesan. I piled it with chunky homemade tomato sauce, then dipped the baguettes into it. It was a great way to warm up the apartment on a cold winter night! I may not be the best bread baker yet, but here’s what I did for the eggplant parm.

Eggplant parmesan with chunky sauce

1 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
1 14.5 oz can whole tomatoes
1/2 eggplant
1 egg
2 very stale rolls to make breadcrumbs (the ones I used were rock hard), or store-bought breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Chop the onion into small pieces and add it to the pan when the oil is hot. Press the garlic into the pan and cook until the onion is translucent.

2. Here’s where you can try a few different things with the sauce. If you like a very chunky sauce, just add the tomatoes whole as they are and break them up using a wooden spoon in the pan as they cook. If you like it a bit smoother, chop them up before you add them to the pot, or even puree them in a food processor. You can add all the juice from the can or add it little by little as the sauce needs it — your choice. Add the tomatoes the way you want to, bring the mixture to a boil and then turn it down to simmer. Stir in a bit of salt and pepper. Cook it for a half hour or so, or until the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally.

3. Wash the eggplant, trim off the top and cut it into thick slices and pile them up on a plate. If you’re not using store-bought breadcrumbs, put the stale bread in a food processor with some salt and pepper and process until it forms breadcrumbs.

4. Now you’re going to make an assembly line. Beat the egg in a shallow bowl and put it next to the plate of eggplant. On the other side of the egg, put the breadcrumbs in another shallow bowl. Finally, lightly spray down a baking sheet with non-stick spray and put that next to the breadcrumbs. Work down the line, dipping each piece of eggplant in the egg on each side, then dredging it on each side in the breadcrumbs. Lay each piece flat on the cookie sheet with a bit of room around each.

5. Bake the eggplant in the oven until the breadcrumbs are browned and the eggplant is soft when you poke it with a fork. The time this takes will vary depending on how thick your slices are, but it will probably take about 20-30 minutes.

6. Once the tomatoes in the sauce have broken down and the sauce has thickened to your liking, taste it for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Spoon the sauce over the eggplant, top with parmesan cheese and serve with toasty bread or over pasta, with the greens of your choosing.

Serves two.

Eggplant parmesan

Great workday sandwiches

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I’m a big believer in the school of thought that says bread just isn’t worth it unless it’s good. (I’m not sure if a school of thought saying that really exists, but if it doesn’t, I will volunteer to be the founder and spiritual leader.) I’ll deal with Wonder Bread-style slices for a PB&J on occasion, but after that, I draw the line.

That said, I’ll go out of my way for a good loaf of bread. For the past few months, I’ve been obsessed with Trader Joe’s six-grain bread with pumpkin seeds, and I really do make the extra stop to pick it up rather than settle for whatever I can grab at Giant. I’ve tried other varieties and keep going back to this one. It’s thick, grainy and slightly sweet. Toast it for a few minutes and spread a little butter on top and it will literally melt in your mouth.

It’s also great for sandwiches. There are two sandwiches that I routinely have for lunches at work–they’re easy and delicious, but they’re definitely centered around the good bread. So make sure you’ve got the quality base to work with and the rest of the sandwich will just fall together.

Balsalmic veggie and hummus sandwich

Bonus: This smells so good that everyone will be jealous as you heat it up at the office.

Ingredients (makes enough for 2 sandwiches):
Prep time: 30 minutes the night before, 5 minutes at lunchtime

2 cups assorted raw vegetables, sliced thin (I usually use zucchini, summer squash, eggplant and onions, but feel free to get creative on this one)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp hummus
4 slices good bread

1. The night before, prepare the vegetables. Combine the sliced vegetables in a large bowl with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix together until coated evenly.

2. Cover a small baking sheet with tin foil and spread the vegetables over the pan. Don’t pile them too high or the ones underneath won’t cook.

3. Preheat the broiler. I usually use the toaster oven for this because it’s just faster to preheat.

4. Put the vegetables under the broiler. Time will vary depending on how many are in there and how thinly you sliced it, but stir them around a couple of times during the cooking process to make sure the ones underneath get some heat, too. Keep a close eye on them–I have burnt these many a time because I’ve left the kitchen and then gotten distracted. It helps to set a timer and then just add more time as needed.

5. Once all the vegetables are softened, remove from heat and throw them in a container to keep in the fridge overnight.

6. At lunchtime, heat up the vegetables and toast the bread.

7. Spread the hummus over the bread and pile the veggies on top.

Note: This sandwich can also be made with goat cheese instead of hummus and the result is just as good.

Avocado and white bean tomato sandwich

This one gets some weird looks in the kitchen as you make it, but it’s good enough that you’ll barely notice. This sandwich was adapted from a recipe in Health magazine.

Ingredients (makes enough for one sandwich):

1/2 cup canned white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 avocado
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tomato
2 slices good bread

1. Mash together the avocado and white beans until they form a sort of chunky spread. Stir in salt and pepper little by little, tasting along the way to make sure you don’t overdo it.

2. Toast the bread.

3. Spread the avocado and bean mixture over the bread. Layer the slices of tomato on top.