Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad

Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad
Gourmet, September 2006
and as found on Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 lb zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
10 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup chopped scallion (from 1 bunch)
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 1/4 cups pearl barley (8 oz)
1 (14-oz) can reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 lb cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup Kalamata black olives, pitted and halved
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion, rinsed and drained if desired
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

Accompaniment: 1 (1/2-lb) piece ricotta salata, cut crosswise into thin slices

To roast eggplant and zucchini:

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.

Toss eggplant and zucchini with 5 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl, then spread in 2 oiled large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pans. Roast vegetables in oven, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until vegetables are golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes total. Combine vegetables in 1 pan and cool, reserving other pan for cooling barley.

To cook the barley:

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook scallion, cumin, coriander, and cayenne, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add barley and cook, stirring until well coated with oil, 2 minutes more. Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until all of liquid is absorbed and barley is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer to reserved shallow baking pan and spread to quickly cool, uncovered, to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

To make dressing and assemble salad:

Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, sugar, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 3 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add barley, roasted vegetables, and remaining ingredients to bowl with dressing and toss until combined well. Serve with cheese slices.

Do ahead: Salad can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Return to room temperature before serving.

Sweet Chili Shrimp

Ingredients:
1/2 pound frozen shrimp
1 pound squash & zucchini, cut into pieces
a handful of mini sweet peppers, sliced
3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 stem of scallions, sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2-3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp black vinegar
2 tsp chili garlic sauce or sriracha
a splash of fish sauce
a couple tsp of oil
a tbsp of cornstarch and a little water

Thaw the shrimp under cold running water.

Heat the oil up in a large pan and add in the garlic and white part of the scallion. After a couple minutes, add in the the squash and bell peppers and saute until soft (a few minutes).


Add in all the various sauces with the sugar and water, and cook for another minute. Add the shrimp in with the remaining green part of the scallions, and cook until the shrimp are perfectly pink.

Make a slurry by stirring the cornstarch into a small amount of water; while stirring the dish, add the slurry in slowly and wait for the sauce to thicken. Adjust the sauce to taste, and serve up with some steamed sticky rice and a little more chili sauce. Quick and dericious.

Summer Squash and Zucchini Ragout

Can we just take a moment to drink in how adorable these are?

Baby summer squash from my first trip to the Mar Vista's Farmer's Market.

Summer Squash and Zucchini Ragout

Ingredients
Sauce:
4 cloves
8 peppercorns
8 coriander seeds
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cinnamon stick
5 cilantro sprigs, chopped
5 mint leaves, chopped
6 basil leaves, chopped
1 Jalapeno pepper

[Note: I didn't have all of these spices on hand... most of them in fact. I threw in extra peppercorns, some allspice, double the mint, and a little extra cilantro, and it still came out delicious. So I'm sure the actual recipe is really delicious.]


Vegetables:
1/2 onion thinly sliced
1.25 lb summer squash
1 can of yellow corn
2 tomatoes peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 tbsp peanut oil
salt
2 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped


Pour the cream and milk into a small pot and put over low heat.

Bruise the hard spices with a pestle. Combine with the cinnamon, herbs, and half the jalapeno, and add them into the cream mixture. Slowly bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let steep while you cut the vegetables.


Heat the oil in a wide skillet and add the onion. Saute briskly for a minute or so. (I used baby summer squash, which needs very little cooking, so I didn't add the squash until the onion was almost done, about 5 minutes.)

Add the summer squash, corn, and the remaining jalapeno (chopped) and season with salt. Continue to saute over fairly high heat for about 2 minutes.


Pour the steeped cream sauce directly into the pan through a strainer. Add the tomato in and simmer for several minutes. Simmer until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Season to taste with salt and serve garnished with chopped cilantro.


So maybe ragout isn't the prettiest dish. It's still bomb diggity. And that's good enough for me.

Baked Acorn Squash Rings

(from the Bread & Honey blog: from The Martha Stewart Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 small acorn squash
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the unpeeled squash crosswise into 1/2-inch slices and place them on a cutting board. (If squash proves too difficult to cut, steam first for a few minutes). Using a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter slightly larger than the seed center, cut out the seeds from each ring and discard.

(Chip looks at me like this the entire time I'm in the kitchen, only pausing his baleful "feed me more" stare occasionally in order to run around in circles frantically while tripping me as many times as possible.)

Place the squash rings on a lightly buttered baking sheet. Dot each ring with butter and season to taste. Sprinkle a bit of brown sugar over each ring.

Bake the squash for 15 minutes. Turn the rings over, dot with more butter and sugar, and bake until tender, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Serve hot.

Butternut Squash Soup

(Recipe found on Bread & Honey through blogspot)

Ingredients:
2 butternut squashes
1 pasilla pepper
1/2 a white onion
1 small shallot
1 head of garlic
3 skinny carrots
1 quart of chicken stock

Preheat your oven to 375ºf.

Cut squashes into quarters and scoop out seeds. (If the squash is too difficult to cut, steaming it first for a few minutes softens the skin and makes all the difference.) Halve and seed the peppers.


Drizzle all the vegetables lightly with olive oil, and wrap the onion, shallot, and garlic in tinfoil. Place everything on a baking sheet and roast in the oven. Check in occasionally and remove the vegetables as they finish and reach a satisfactory softness. The peppers should be ready first as they begin to blacken (about 30 minutes), followed by the carrots and then the rest, the squash will be finished last. This was my first attempt at roasting vegetables, but the squash took well over an hour.)


Let everything cool once it's all been pulled out of the oven and heat the stock until it's warm. Once the squash has cooled off enough to handle without blistering your fingers, peel off the outer layer on each quarter.

Using a blender or food processor, begin blending the ingredients together, all the while adding in the stock in order to get the soup to a nice, smooth consistency. Pour the soup into a large pot when finished, and stir to even out texture and flavors. Add more stock or water as necessary to thin soup to desired consistency. (I added in total more than another pint of water, and ended up with two huge pots of perfectly delicious soup). Put the soup over medium heat, without letting the soup bubble or boil. Season with salt and ground pepper to taste. Serves 10-12.