Eggplant and Spaghetti Squash

I am getting behind on posting recipes.  This weekend, I picked up a couple small eggplant and had picked up a spaghetti squash a couple weeks ago.  While I was thinking about what to make with the eggplant, I realized it has been quite a while since I have made one of my favorite Sicilian dishes, Pasta a la Norma.  This is a spaghetti dish with a basic tomato sauce topped with fried eggplant and then finally grated ricotta salata.  The ricotta salata makes the dish rich and beautiful.  I learned about the dish from our Italian postdoctoral fellow, Alessia Meneghin, when I was in grad school.  For many reasons, I haven't really made it over the last few years. Since it is low in protein, it has to be relegated to a side dish for me now (since the gastric surgery).  Also, pasta is hard for me since the surgery.  But since I had the spaghetti squash, I decided to make it with that as a substitute for the pasta.  And since I had also picked up a bunch of Roma tomatoes at the farmers market, I decided to make a slow-roasted tomato sauce instead of my traditional stove-top sauce.  What resulted was so yummy, I can't wait to make it again!

Low-Carb "Pasta" a la Norma
Adapted from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/dining/a-recipe-for-pasta-alla-norma-mark-bittmans-way.html?_r=0

• 8 ripe Roma tomatoes*
• olive oil 
• dried basil
• garlic powder
• 2 small eggplant*
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper
• medium spaghetti squash*
• 2 oz ricotta salata, finely grated 

 Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Prepare a large baking sheet by lining with foil.  Wash tomatoes and cut in half.  Arrange on baking sheet and drizzle (or use an oil sprayer) tomatoes with olive oil.  Sprinkle with dried basil.  Roast for 30 minutes at 275.  Stir and roast another 30 minutes.  Reduce heat to 225.  Sprinkle with garlic powder and roast at 225 for another hour.  If the tomato halves look like they are drying out, remove them from the heat. Place the tomato halves into a blender and puree.  Season as needed with salt & pepper.

While the tomatoes are roasting, cut eggplants in half.  Heat oil over medium-high heat and cook eggplant pieces until nicely browned (oil should bubble the whole time).  Remove from heat and cool.  When cool enough to handle, slice eggplant.  Set aside.

 Raise temperature in oven to 400 degrees.  Cut spaghetti squash in half and remove seeds.  Season with salt and pepper. Place cut side down onto a prepared baking sheet.  Roast for 40 minutes or until you can easily pierce with a fork.  Allow to cool until easily handled and then pull the flesh into strands with a fork.

To assemble: put spaghetti squash onto a plate.  Spoon sauce over "noodles" and then top with eggplant.  Finally, sprinkle with ricotta salata.  

*farmers market ingredients 

Winter squash and greens

This week, we had a plethora of greens to choose from!  We got rainbow Swiss chard, mustard greens and beets with beautiful greens.  I took the mustard greens and beets while Leland took the Swiss chard.  Because greens do not keep well, I wanted to use them today and I wanted to do something different with them.  I am not a fan of sauteed greens, no matter how much garlic and/or bacon you add to them.  I think they remind me of Richmond too much.  As I looked through pages of greens recipes, one stood out.  It was a vegetarian chili with winter squash, black beans and greens.  It is definitely a convenience recipe, though, using canned tomatoes, chicken broth and beans.  I have a refrigerator full of vegetables that need to be used, so I developed a fresh vegetarian chili based on that recipe.

Fresh Winter Squash Chili with Greens
Adapted from: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe_details.asp?nutrition_id=43019416

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small sweet onion*, diced
• 2 cloves garlic*, minced
• 1/2 large acorn squash*, peeled and diced, 1/2" cubes
• 2 Tbsp good chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 3 C chicken stock (use vegetable stock for vegan/vegetarian)
• 1 (11 1/2 oz)
• 3 C cooked black beans
• 4 Roma tomatoes*, diced
• 1 lg sorreno pepper*, small dice
• 2 C corn* (from 2 cobs)
• 5 C greens*, coarsely chopped (I used mustard and beet greens)

1. Heat EVOO in a large Dutch oven.  Add onion and garlic; sautee until tender and golden, about 10 minutes.
2. Add squash; cook and stir 2 minutes.  Stir in spices, black beans, stock, tomatoes and pepper with V8. Bring to a boil
3. Cut corn from ears of corn; break up kernals.  Add to pot and reduce heat to simmer.  Cook until squash is tender; about 15 minutes
4. Stir in greens; simmer until greens are tender, about 15 minutes longer.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary.
6. 1 serving is 1 1/2 cups.  Serve with chopped cilantro or diced tomatoes or red onion, if desired.

*CSA ingredients

Tomato Tart

Someone mentioned to me while we were standing in line that he had tried a tomato pie with the last batch of heirloom tomatoes.  He said he was surprised how good it was.  It got me thinking of a tomato pie that I used to make back years ago when I was in Weight Watchers.  I am still looking for that recipe. 

Since I haven't been able to find that recipe, I opted for this recipe which I adapted from a Prevention recipe:

Tomato Tart
http://www.prevention.com/health/cook/everyday-recipes/healthy-tomato-recipes-use-tomatoes-in-salads-pasta-and-more/article/802332b345181310VgnVCM10000030281eac

Makes 6 servings (6 slices)

• 1 refrigerated pie crust
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 3/4 lb roma tomatoes
• 1 large egg

1 HEAT oven to 425°F with rack in center position.

2 UNFOLD dough and roll into a 13" circle. Transfer to baking sheet. Mix cheeses together and spread over crust, leaving a 1 1/2" border. Distribute pesto and tomatoes evenly on top. Fold edges of dough over tomatoes, leaving center exposed. Brush top of dough with egg.

3 BAKE until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.

*CSA ingredients

Notes: I used a store-bought pie crust for this recipe, but you could easily make your own pie crust.  Also, I would imagine this tart would be even better with heirloom tomatoes, but I only had Romas remaining.  The original recipe also called for pesto.  I did not have any, but I would imagine you could also chiffonade fresh basil and sprinkle if over the tart before baking and it would give the same flavor.  However, the feta give a nice flavor by itself, so I didn't miss it much.

Directions

Fresh Basil!

When I picked up my share this week, I happily found a bag of fresh basil!  Since it is still hot out, I have been trying to decide what to do with it all day.  Obviously, avoiding heating my oven is preferable.  I do not have enough basil to make pesto by itself, so I am considering making a basil Swiss chard pesto.  But in the meantime, I took one of the beautiful Roma tomatoes I recieved as well as a few basil leaves to create a beautiful pizza:

Margherita Pizza

• 1 whole wheat flatbread
• 2 Tbsp fresh tomato sauce
• 1 med roma tomato*
• 5 small fresh basil leaves*
• 5 Tbsp marcarpone cheese
• salt & pepper

Heat toaster oven to 350F.  Line toaster oven sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Place flatbread on oven sheet.  Spread with fresh tomato sauce.  Slice tomato thin and place on flatbread.  Spoon mascarpone cheese between tomato slices and place basil leaves evenly over flatbread.  Bake in toaster oven 6-8 minutes until cheese melts.  Season with salt and pepper as desired.

*CSA ingredients