Melanzane alla Parmigiana (Eggplant Parmigiana)

Eggplant gets a bad rap. Try this dish, and you will be hooked on this much-maligned fruit. Yes, fruit!   





Melanzane alla Parmigiana

or

Eggplant Parmesan

by Jami Floyd, Jax F. Floyd and Kurt Flehinger

 

Ingredients 

For the Tomato Sauce

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Handful thyme chopped

Handful Italian parsley chopped

3 or 4 large CSA tomatoes chopped

1 8 oz can of tomato sauce

2 T Olive Oil 

For the Melanzane 

2 large firm eggplant

1 small eggplant

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely sliced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup Parmesan cheese 

4 T Olive oil

5 ounces grated mozzarella (about 1/2 cup)

Handful fresh oregano, chopped
 

Preparation 

For the Tomato Sauce       
                            
In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil. Sauté onion until soft (about six minutes). Add garlic, and sauté until golden brown (another four minutes).

Add chopped tomatoes to the pot. Cook on low heat for an hour, frequently stirring to prevent tomatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook until the tomatoes have broken down.

You turn the heat off while the sauce is still chunky or cook it longer for a smoother, sweeter tomato sauce.

(Alternatively, you can use your favorite store-bought tomato sauce.)
 

For the Melanzane

Preheat oven to 375°  

Remove any stems from eggplants and slice them into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Set aside.

Prepare cooking racks (cookie sheets or even plates will do) with paper towels. Prepare enough surfaces for your fried explant.

Pour just enough olive oil to coat the bottom frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, fry sliced eggplant–in batches. With a spatula, gently turn each slice to fry both sides until golden brown. After each batch, set aside on paper towel-lined racks.to catch the excess oil. Add oil, as necessary.

In a 7x11 lasagna pan, spread a layer of tomato sauce. Follow on with a dusting of parmesan cheese. Then top with a layer of fried eggplant slices. Where possible, use smaller eggplant slices to fill in gaps around the larger ones. 

Repeat the layering process until you run out of eggplant. But you’ll want to top the dish with sauce and parmesan.  

Then, add even grating of mozzarella cheese. 


Bake at 375° for ten minutes. 

Toss breadcrumbs in olive oil. After the dish has baked for 10 minutes, spread breadcrumbs evenly across the top of the dish.

Continue baking for 30 minutes, until bubbly underneath and golden brown on top.

(optional) Serve with green salad and/or spaghetti with garlic and oil.

Mangiare!

Helpful tip: We used two large frying pans to finish the frying job twice as fast!

Jami, Joelle, and Jax Floyd, and Kurt Flehinger

Kurt and Jami raised their 2 kids on the Upper West Side–pretty much in the kitchen. On holidays, as well as ordinary weekdays, Jax (a college student) and Joelle (who is studying public health) cook up something, everything from dips and salads to pizzas and ice creams. Favorite dishes: Sourdough pizza with garden toppings, basil pesto pasta, barbecue tacos, and anything with any beans.
 

 

 

30-minute crunchy grain bowl!

Weeknights often call for maximum efficiency.
This veggie-packed grain bowl gives the customizable fun of build your own taco night, but puts the spotlight on fresh, late summer veg!

Ingredients:

2 summer squash
1 ear of corn or more :)
romaine lettuce
1 cup quinoa (or another grain of your preference)
1 onion
5 okra (depending on how many were in your box)
4 radishes
1 cucumber
dash of olive oil
salt & pepper

 

Let's get cracking! 

1. PUT A LARGE POT OF WATER ON TO BOIL: we'll use the same pot to blanch the okra and cook the corn. Additionally, put 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water into a small pot and cook according to package directions.
2. MEANWHILE: As the water comes to a boil, dice one onion and slice two summer squash.
3. SKILLET SIZZLE: Put a medium pan over medium heat and add a dash of olive oil. Once warm, add onion and cook for a couple of minutes until starting to turn translucent. At that point add the summer squash and season with salt and pepper.
4. DOUBLE TIME: When the water comes to a boil, toss in your okra and cook for just 2-3 minutes before pulling out of the water and leaving to dry. Don't drain that water! Instead, toss the corn in and cook for around 5-mins.
5. CHOP CHOP: while onion and squash continue to cook down, thinly slice radish, cucumber and lettuce. Once corn and okra have cooled enough, slice off of the cob and thinly slice respectively. (I opted to toss my okra in with my onion and summer squash towards the end of cooking - I'm a new okra experimenter, you may want to try this or just sprinkle on top!)
6. ASSEMBLY TIME: Now for the fun part! Grab yourself or your crowd and let everyone build their own bowl. I started with a base of romaine, then quinoa, the cooked veg, and topped with the fresh radish, cucumber and corn! You could dress this bowl in many ways! I opted for a little of my grandma's "vermont special" salad dressing (olive oil, balsamic, maple syrup, dijon, black pepper), but you could opt for a squeeze of lemon, a dash of hot sauce, any of your other go-to dressings/condiments.
7. ENJOY!

Helpful tips and tricks: I love to make my own salad dressing. A mason jar or an old jam jar can make a great vehicle for this. I'll make a big batch and then work through it for a week or so at a time. It's natural to have separation occur when the dressing sits in the fridge. A key tip for best dressing results is to take your dressing out of the fridge while you start your bowl or salad prep. Let it come to room temperature and give it a good shake in its jar to bring it all back together before drizzling over your bowl!

 

Two Pizzas with Kale, Garlic, and Oven Roasted Tomatoes

by Kurt Flehinger

This dish looks more complicated than it is. It’s really quick and pretty easy. And you can have your own little pizza party at home!

Ingredients

Two 12-inch pizza doughs, homemade or store-bought (optional recipe follows)

2 cups Mozzarella 

1 pint cherry tomatoes 

4 cups finely chopped Kale

5-6 sprigs fresh thyme

4 cloves of garlic, one clove chopped, three cloves sliced

4 T Olive Oil

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Salt/Pepper to taste

Step 1. 

Shape pizza dough into 2 12-inch rounds (see below for optional homemade pizza dough).

Step 2.

For the Tomato Pizza:

To roast tomatoes, preheat the oven to 250. Slice tomatoes in half. Toss sliced tomatoes along with thyme sprigs in 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Spread mixture on a baking sheet and roast and 60-75 minutes until lightly caramelized. Remove from oven. Set aside to let the tomatoes cool. 

Step 3.

Raise oven temperature to 500 degrees.

Step 4. 

While tomatoes are roasting, spread mozzarella on pizza dough. Spread tomato mixture evenly over one 12-inch pizza dough. Evenly sprinkle the 1 clove of chopped garlic over the prepared pizza.

For the Kale Pizza:

Step 5.

Wash and dry 4 cups of chopped kale. Set aside in a large bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Massage the kale leaves with fingers until the kale leaves are saturated with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Step 6.

Spread mozzarella on the remaining 12-inch pizza dough. Lay the three sliced garlic cloves evenly across the pizza dough. Sprinkle the pinch of red pepper flakes across the pie. 

Step 7.

Place both pizzas in the oven. 

Step 8.

After 3-4 minutes, remove the dough prepared for the kale, spread the chopped kale over the pizza, and return to the oven. Be careful to close the oven door while working to keep the oven as hot as possible. 

Step 9.

Bake pizzas until the dough is golden brown and the kale is lightly charred, about ten minutes, depending on oven heat. Serve immediately. 

Optional pizza dough

You can buy pizza dough at many markets. Or you can try this one at home.

Ingredients:

3.5 t dry yeast

1 cup warm water (approx. 110 degrees)

3.5-4.5 cups bread flour (depending on humidity)

2 T olive oil

1 t salt

1 t sugar

Step 1.

In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer add yeast, warm water, and 2 1/4 cups flour. Mix for one minute until thoroughly blended. Add salt, sugar, olive oil, and approx. 1.5 flour (kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic, about five minutes). 

Step 2.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl. Clover with a towel and allow to rise for about an hour until volume is doubled. Flour a cutting board. After the dough rises, punch the dough down with a fist, turn out onto the board, and divide the dough into two balls. Cover again to rest for 20 minutes. Press out into a pizza pan or free form. Proceed with pizza recipes.

Helpful tips: Massaging the kale leaves with olive makes all the difference!

 

Sweet Corn and Zucchini Pasta

by Jami Floyd

Everything but the kitchen sink! Use six items from your CSA box.

Ingredients

1 Small Red Onion

2 T. Butter

1 T. Olive Oil

1 Clove Garlic

1 Jalapeno

2 Medium Zucchini

4 Ears Corn

1 Pound Rigatoni

Salt

Pepper

Chives

Step 1. 

Bring large pot of salted water to boil.

Step 2.

While waiting for the water to boil. Cut zucchini into 1/2-inch cubes.  Place in colander and salt with 1 teaspoon salt.  Allow to sit and drain for 15 minutes.

Step 3.

Cut corn off the cobs into a large bowl.  Scrape the cobs with the back of a large chef’s knife into the bowl.  

Step 4. 

Preheat 12 inch skillet on medium heat.  Add butter and olive oil.

Step 5.

Add pasta and cook until al dente.

Step 6.

Cut the onion in half and slice thinly.  Finely dice jalapeño and garlic.

Step 7.

Saute onion and jalapeño until soft (about 4 minutes).  Then add garlic and cook for one minute.

Step 8.

Add salted, drained zucchini to skillet and cook on medium until just beginning to soften.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 9.

Add corn to skillet, raise the temperature to medium high, and cook until corn just begins to caramelize at the edges of the pan.  Add 1/2 cup pasta water to skillet and deglaze the pan.

Step 10.

Drain pasta and add to the large bowl that you used to cut the corn.

Step 11.

Pour sautéed vegetables from skillet into the bowl and mix.

Step 12.

Sprinkle 2 T. chopped chives over bowl and serve with grated romano cheese.

Helpful tips: Be sure to scrape all of the milk from the corn cobs after removing the corn.

Summer Bounty Skillet Pasta

 

jammy squash, burst tomatoes, and corn make noodles summer ready!

Ingredients:

2 summer squash
1 ear of corn, cooked
handful of cherry tomatoes (depends how many you have left, I can never resist diving in first thing when I pickup my box)
1/2 box of pasta (can scale up to feed a crowd!)
paprika (optional)
dash of olive oil
salt & pepper

 

Let's get saucy! 

1. PREP YOUR VEG: halve the summer squash and thinly slice, halve tomatoes, cut corn off of cob
2. SIZZLE TIME:  heat a dash of olive oil in a large skillet over medium and add summer squash, season with salt, pepper and optional paprika to taste. Continue to cook just the summer squash until softened and jammy (approx: 25 mins )
3. MEANWHILE: fill medium pot with water, season with salt and set to boil for cooking the pasta
4. DOUBLE TIME: When the pasta water comes to a boil and the zucchini is softened and jammy add pasta to water and cook according to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water and draining the pasta when al dente. At the same time, add cherry tomatoes and corn to summer squash sauce.
5. ALL TOGETHER NOW: add pasta to sauce and stir to combine using reserved pasta water to thin sauce as needed
6. SERVE AND ENJOY!

Helpful tips and tricks: Cooking your corn in a pot of boiling water? Stop right there! Don't drain it. Corn cooking water can be enjoyed as a beverage hot or cold! I picked up this tip from a dear cycling friend who loves to use it instead of traditional electrolyte drinks. Give it a try!