We’ve posted before about how a frittata is our go-to dish for getting vegetables out of the refrigerator. In the late summer we have a second play out of that same playbook to use up vegetables that, quite frankly, aren’t our favorites.

I’m talking about eggplants, summer squash, and those bitter purple peppers. We have good recipes for all of them (maybe not the purple peppers), but sometimes out CSA just drops too . . . → Read More: How to Make Ratatouille: The Late Summer CSA Leftover Disposal]]>

We’ve posted before about how a frittata is our go-to dish for getting vegetables out of the refrigerator. In the late summer we have a second play out of that same playbook to use up vegetables that, quite frankly, aren’t our favorites.

I’m talking about eggplants, summer squash, and those bitter purple peppers. We have good recipes for all of them (maybe not the purple peppers), but sometimes out CSA just drops too many on us at one time, and by the end of the week the squash are getting rubbery and the eggplant feels leathery… you get the picture. Take a look at the picture about to see all that this recipe used up!

This ratatouille uses them up in quantity and although it doesn’t look like much that you’d be dying to eat (I asked Lindsay “are you sure you want me to take pictures?”), it’s actually pretty delicious and incredibly healthy to boot. Did I mention that it’s also easy?

There are a million variations on ratatouille, since it’s a common peasant stew that everybody’s mother makes in France. This one is very stew-like, and because the veggies are cut in thin strips, they take on a noodly quality. Other variations call for cubes, etc. Use your imagination. You can also control how watery you make it by adding fewer or more tomatoes. They provide most of the juice.

Rataouille

Makes 4 servings as a main or more as as side

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mash the garlic into a paste if you like (it distributes better throughout the dish), or just mince it. I used a mortar and pestle so that I didn’t have to clean the food processor for a single clove. Chop the onion and slice the eggplant. For this dish we don’t peel anything in order to make it as easy as possible.

   

3. Heat 2 TBsp of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme. Once the onions are translucent, add the eggplant and cook for about 5-8 minutes until the eggplant has thoroughly changed color.
4. As the eggplant cooks in the pan, start slicing the rest of the vegetables. It’s OK if you have to turn off the burner and let the eggplant sit for a bit; it will be cooked more. I you like it watery, add more tomatoes. If you want it dryer, add fewer.
5. Add everything to a large roasting pan and mix around with 1 TBsp of olive oil. We usually use a big Pyrex (pictured), but it’s probably best to use something ceramic because at the end it needs to go under the broiler and Pyrex is not rated for that and could fracture. We always forge tab out the broiler with this one until it’s already almost done. Don’t be like us!

   

6. Cover the roasting pan with tented tin foil or a sheet of parchment paper. Try to prevent it from sitting directly on the vegetables. Bake for 1 hour.
7. Remove it from the oven. Turn on the broiler (to high, if your oven has the option). Remove the foil / parchment paper. Add the pinch of sugar and salt to your tasting. Stir thoroughly. Place it directly under the broiler, uncovered, for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, check to see if the top is starting to singe. If so, you’re done. If not, put it back for 2 minutes at a time until the top is as caramelized as you can get it without burning.



]]> http://eatlocal365.com/2013/08/28/how-to-make-ratatouille-the-late-summer-csa-leftover-disposal/feed/ 0 http://eatlocal365.com/2012/09/28/how-to-make-spicy-seitan-and-peppers/ http://eatlocal365.com/2012/09/28/how-to-make-spicy-seitan-and-peppers/#comments Fri, 28 Sep 2012 16:30:17 +0000 Erik http://eatlocal365.com/?p=6120 Apologies for the picture-less post, but as part of my series “Husband Alone with the CSA“, I decided to post every meal that I cooked, even those that I didn’t take pictures of.

Towards the end of the week it dawned on me how much of a surplus of peppers I had accumulated over the prior few weeks. I’d get five or six each week and use two or three, with a bias towards the . . . → Read More: How to Make Spicy Seitan and Peppers]]> Apologies for the picture-less post, but as part of my series “Husband Alone with the CSA“, I decided to post every meal that I cooked, even those that I didn’t take pictures of.

Towards the end of the week it dawned on me how much of a surplus of peppers I had accumulated over the prior few weeks. I’d get five or six each week and use two or three, with a bias towards the sweeter red or orange peppers. In the end I had a mountain of peppers left, mostly green.

It’s hard enough to plan meals to use the variety and volume of things that we get in our CSA. When we wind up unbalanced, with a lot of one single vegetable that doesn’t typically stand on its own, that presents a different issue entirely. Over Skype, Lindsay suggested that I make this recipe (which we’ve made before), since peppers are the only veggie required.

I did have to go buy four packets of plain seitan. What is seitan? Soem call it “wheat meat”. It has a very meaty texture and is used as a meat substitute. From the wikipedia entry: “[seitan] is made by washing wheat flour dough with water until all the starch dissolves, leaving insoluble gluten as an elastic mass which is then cooked before being eaten. We once tried to make it ourselves from scratch from wheat flower. It was an utter mess. It worked, but it was far from worth the time and effort (even we have our limits). Now when we want it, we just buy it. These days it’s available at stores like Whole Foods.

You’d probably do just fine to substitue real meat for the seitan. If I had to guess, I’d say that this recipe started as a beef recipe. We like it just fine with the seitan, though. It reduces our meat consumption, and we don’t have to worry about undercooking it. If you use seitan, just be sure to say it like this:

Spicy Seitan and Peppers

Makes 4+ servings

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Notes
32 oz	Plain seitan	Cut into bite-sized pieces	It’s usually sold in 8 oz portions, so that’s 4 packages
2-4	Bell peppers	Sliced into 1-2 inch strips
6	Hot peppers	Chopped; remove the seeds	If you want to lessen the heat level, also scrape down the interior flesh with a spoon
2 cloves	Garlic	Peeled and crushed	Just give it a good whack with the side of a chef’s knife
0.5 cups	Red wine
3 TBsp	Olive oil
1 tsp	Cumin	Ground
0.25 tsp	Cardamom	Ground
0.25 tsp	Turmeric	Ground
0.25 tsp	Cloves	Ground
0.25 tsp	Cinnamon	Ground


Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Place all the ingredients other than the chopped seitan and bell peppers into a blender and puree until almost smooth.
• Put the seitan and bell peppers in a 9×13 Pyrex baking dish (or other similar vessel, preferably glass. Pour the puree over the dish. Cover the dish with foil.
• Bake with the foil on for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil, stir, and cook for another 20 minutes.

Serve with rice, if desired, but we’re usually good as-is .

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