phi

Hey, guess what? It's Thursday already and I have a boatload of veggies leftover from last Friday's CSA distribution. It's Iron Chef CSA time!

All of these recipes are vegan except the one that obviously isn't, and all are gluten-free. I was inspired by Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert, Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home by the Moosewood Collective, and Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romano, but all of the following recipes involved doctoring or improvising with what I had on hand.



Tomato-greens soup:

I started with the tomato garlic soup recipe on p42 of Moosewood Cooks at Home, but doctored it with onion and saffron, and skipped the cheese.

Roughly dice three or four medium onions and sautee over medium-low heat until onions are nicely browned and caramelized (about twenty minutes). A minute or so before onions are done, add a teaspoon red chili powder and stir to coat. Let chili powder toast for a minute before removing from heat.

Meanwhile, thinly slice about half a head of garlic, and toast on the stove in olive oil until the garlic looks barely brown and smells toasty.

Simmer the garlic and onions in a pot of vegetable broth (I cheated and used Better than Boullion because I didn't have homemade stock on hand) until the flavors blend, about 8 minutes.

Add chopped fresh tomatoes to taste. I had about two pounds to use up, so that's how much I put in. Add a generous pinch of saffron, and let simmer another 5 minutes or so.

A minute or two before serving, turn the heat back on, and add two handfuls of coarsely chopped swiss chard (or kale or spinach or whatever).

I've made a variant on this with garbanzo beans and sauteed zucchini in place of the greens, and another variant with cooked barley and brown rice added near the end, and it is just as good.

Garnish with lemon slices and cilantro.


Sweet and Sour Greens

I'm pretty sure this originally came from Simply in Season but I didn't feel like digging the cookbook out of the pile on my desk, so it was improvised based on memory

Roughly chop an onion and sautee until golden.

Add a small head of sliced cabbage, and saute until cabbage is limp.

While cabbage is cooking, mix 3T balsamic or red wine vinegar with a tablespoon (or more, to taste) brown sugar, a dash of soy sauce, and pepper (I used a white/black/pink mix) to taste.

When cabbage is nearly done, add chopped chard and sweet & sour sauce. Stir until greens are coated, cover, and let cook for another few minutes.

Eggplant Slices

This is another one that originally came from either Veganomicon or Simply in Season, can't recall

Remove stems from Japanese eggplants. Cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Lightly oil a panini press with olive oil or cooking spray, and pre-heat. Cook eggplant on press 3-4 minutes or until browned.

Whisk two parts olive oil with one part balsamic vinegar and seasonings to taste (I used mixed ground peppercorns, parsley, and oregano). Marinate eggplant slices in dressing.

These are tasty on their own as a snack or side, or on a sandwich.

Tomato Fish Stew

This recipe is a mishmash of advice from the local fishmonger and a recipe I made once from a North African cookbook that I now can't find.

Cut fish into large chunks -- I used scrod from the local fishmonger -- and toss in a dutch oven or other oven-safe pot with roughly chopped tomatoes -- I used a pound -- and lemon slices -- I used two lemons. Add two tablespoons grated or chopped fresh ginger, and a pinch of saffron. Toss, cover, and bake at 350F until fish is cooked through, about 20-30 minutes. Five minutes before it is done, add two big handfuls of chopped swiss chard, toss, and return to oven.