Melt in your mouth eggplant with tofu

Need to use your EGGPLANT and GARLIC ? Try this recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

This is absolutely my favorite way to eat eggplant - it ends up with the best texture, and it's so easy to do.

Ingredients:

• 14-ounce package extra-firm tofu

• Neutral oil for roasting (I use safflower)

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 3/4 to 1 pound eggplant

• osher salt

• 3 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (the higher amount is slightly more rich)

• 1 heaped cup thinly sliced shallots or 1 medium white or red onion, thinly sliced

• 5 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger

• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce1

• tablespoon granulated or brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon crushed or very coarsely ground black pepper, and more to taste

• Rice, for serving

• Chile-garlic sauce, crispy chili oil, or sriracha for serving

Directions

• Heat oven to 425 degrees F.

• Drain tofu and place on a few layers of paper towel with more over it; set aside for 5 minutes, or until needed.

• Drizzle 3 tablespoons oil over your largest baking sheet and place it on the oven to get very hot while you get everything else ready.

• Trim eggplant and cut eggplant into 1-inch pieces.

• In a large bowl toss with 1 tablespoon oil and a few pinches of salt.

• Remove hot pan from oven and spread eggplant over half to 2/3 the pan.

• Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes.

• Toss gently in empty bowl with cornstarch and a couple pinches of salt until coated. Spread on empty part of baking sheet.

• Roast tofu and eggplant in oven for 20 minutes to start. After 20 minutes, use your thinnest spatula to gently separate the tofu from the pan and flip to crisp and brown on the other side, about another 10 minutes. Do the same with the eggplant. At 30 minutes, the tofu should be crisp and browned and the eggplant should be roasted and tender. If needed, cook it for 5 more minutes.

• While tofu and eggplant roasts, prepare the sauce. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add butter. Once butter melts, add shallots, garlic, and ginger. Reduce heat slightly and cook, stirring here and there, until everything is tender, about 11 to 14 minutes. Add the soy sauce, sugar, and black pepper and cook, simmering, for 3 minutes more. Add roasted tofu and eggplant to pan and stir to coat with sauce; cook for one to two minutes minute together. Serve over or with rice; add extra heat as needed.
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Briam

Thanks Tiffany for sharing this recipe!

Makes an 11-in skillet or larger au gratin dish, depending on how tightly layers are arranged.
Original recipe here (doesn't include eggplant):

Ingredients

• 2 zucchini, sliced into rounds about ¼-inch thick

• 2 eggplant (ideally close to the same diameter of the zucchini), sliced into rounds about ¼-inch thick

• 3 or 4 smallish medium-sized potatoes (ideally, close to the diameter of the zucchini), peeled and sliced into rounds about ⅛-inch thick

• 2 smaller red onions, thinly sliced into rounds (if too large, cut in half)

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tsp dried oregano

• scant 1 tsp dried rosemary

• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• Extra virgin olive oil

• 1 2 8-oz canned unsalted diced tomatoes with juice

  Directions

• 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a rack in the middle.
  2. Place sliced potatoes and zucchini in a large mixing bowl. Season with kosher salt, pepper, oregano, and rosemary. Add fresh parsley, garlic, and a generous drizzle extra virgin olive oil. Toss to make sure the vegetables are well coated with the EVOO and spices.
  3. Grab a large round pan on skillet (An 11-inch oven safe pan, a skillet, or an au gratin dish) Pour ½ of the canned diced tomatoes in and spread to cover the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper
  4. Arrange the seasoned eggplant, potatoes, zucchini, and sliced onions in the pan in rows (simply going around the shape of the pan and alternating.)
  5. If you have any of the extra virgin olive oil and garlic mixture left in the mixing bowl, pour that all over the veggies, then top with the remaining diced tomatoes from your can.
  6. Cover the pan with foil (tent foil a bit so it is not touching the veggies). Bake in 400 degrees F heated-oven for 45 minutes. Take pan out briefly to carefully remove foil, then place back in oven, uncovered, and roast for another 30-40 minutes or until the veggies are soft and charred and most of the liquid has evaporated. (ovens do vary, so pay attention and check as needed.)
  7. Remove from oven. Serve warm or at room temperature with an added generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. This dish goes great with feta, olives, pita, and/or rice.

Spicy Sichuan Eggplant & Ginger-Garlic Tatsoi Stir-fry

Members Erica and Faisal bring us this delicious stir fry combination, full of CSA goodness! These two recipes can be prepared together or separately for a great vegetarian meal.

Spicy Sichuan Eggplant

What to do with too many eggplants? What if you have more than one kind on hand—Chinese, Japanese, or Italian globe? How do you cut the bitterness without smothering them with cheese? This Sichuan-inspired dish solves it all! Adapted to be friendly for all - vegan, paleo, gluten free, etc. 

Based on an authentic dish developed by Chinese cooking expert, Fuchsia Dunlop, this recipe’s savory, spicy-sweet garlic sauce brings out the best in eggplant. Chinese or Japanese eggplants are preferable since they’re less bitter and thick-skinned than Italian (making them easier to stir fry and more palatable with a light Asian sauce), but absolutely any eggplant or combination of eggplant varieties will work for this recipe. If you aren’t into spicy, just omit the chili pepper and/or pepper flakes and you’re good to go! 

INGREDIENTS 

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil divided

• 2-3 eggplants, cut into wedges 

• 2 cloves garlic finely minced

• 1 red chile pepper finely minced

• 1/2 inch fresh ginger peeled and finely minced

• 1 green onion/scallion chopped

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce or coconut aminos

• 1-2 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar 

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)

SUBSTITUTIONS 

• Use coconut aminos if you need this dish to be soy and wheat free.

• If you don’t have access to Chinese black vinegar, substitute ume plum vinegar or a blend of ume plum vinegar and a touch of young, tart balsamic to mimic the malty flavor of Chinese black vinegar.

• Sugar offsets the vinegar’s acidity if using traditional soy sauce or tamari but is optional. You’ll probably want to omit it if using coconut aminos, which are naturally sweeter than soy sauce and tamari. 

HOW TO MAKE IT 

1. PREP. Wash and slice eggplant into roughly 3-inch wedges. Slice the scallions. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. Peel and mince the ginger. Combine soy sauce/coconut aminos, vinegar and sugar (if using) in a small bowl and set aside.  

2. COOK. In a wok or frying pan, over med-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and swirl to coat pan. When pan is hot, add eggplant in a single layer. Cook 2 minutes and flip over each piece so they cook evenly. Cook another 2-3 minutes, flipping occasionally. The eggplant should have changed in color, the skin wrinkled and the flesh soft.

3. Push eggplant to the side in the pan or wok, then add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add garlic, red chile peppers, ginger and green onion. Stir these aromatics until they become fragrant. Combine aromatics with eggplant and stir fry for one minute.

4. Add soy sauce/amionos and vinegar mixture and stir to combine all. 

5. Serve immediately or keep warm while finishing a side dish like the Asian-inspired tatsoi recipe  we’ll be posting next. Recommended over rice or noodles. Garnish with chopped scallions, fresh basil and/or cilantro and enjoy! 

Ginger-Garlic Tatsoi Stir-fry

How do you get tatsoi to taste good? If the strong flavor of these Asian greens isn’t your favorite or you just don’t know what the heck to do with it, this simple stir-fry will make tatsoi palatable for just about anyone. Pairs perfectly with our previously posted Spicy Chinese Eggplant and can be served over rice or noodles. Adapted to be friendly for all - vegan, paleo, gluten free, etc.

While many might use Hoisin sauce for a recipe like this, we’re using coconut aminos to keep common allergens like soy and wheat out of the mix for those with sensitivities. That said, if you love Hoisin sauce and don’t have any issues with soy, feel free to use a dab of that instead of coconut aminos. 

If you plan to pair this with the Spicy Eggplant recipe we posted previously, make the eggplant first, do the prep work for the greens while the eggplant is cooking, and have the rice or noodles ready in advance so you can plate your meal as soon as the greens are done. If you’ve washed and chopped the tatsoi ahead of time and have the other ingredients handy, this super-easy side dish will come together in a flash. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bunch Tatsoi

• 3 scallions

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 bunch basil 

• 1 small piece of ginger

• 2 tablespoons of coconut aminos  

HOW TO MAKE IT

PREP

If you’re serving over rice, wash and dry the tatsoi while the rice cooks. Cut the tatsoi into bite-sized pieces. Slice the scallions. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. Peel and mince the ginger. Pick the basil leaves off the stems and roughly chop.

COOK

1. In a large pan or wok, heat some oil on med-high until hot. Add the garlic and ginger; cook for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant.

2. Stir in the tatsoi and half the scallions. Cook 2 to 4 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened, then drizzle with the coconut aminos. Stir until greens are evenly coated with the sauce and aromatics. Remove from heat.

3. Serve over rice or noodles and garnish with the basil and remaining scallions. Spoon some sauce from the pan over each serving for an elegant finish. Enjoy!

Recipe Round-Up

Member Juliana Guimarães shared a round-up of her favorite recipes from all of last season’s CSA. As you can tell, she got creative with all those delicious veggies and experimented a lot. We’re so happy to share some of the recipes she recommends. If you make them, let us know and send photos!

Breaded Eggplant Cutlets - So delicious and easy to do it!

Butternut-Sausage Lasagna - As a granddaughter of Italians, lasagna is one of my favorite dishes of all time! When I came across this recipe was pure delight.

Brazilian Carrot Cake - As a Brazilian I was so surprised when I tried the carrot cake here in the USA, it’s completely different from the cake I grew up eating. So when I saw all the amazing carrots I got from the share, my first thought was: Carrot Cake!


Cabbage Rolls - For a period last season we got cabbages every week, and I need to be creative to make sure we are eating all before the next week come. So it pops on my mind the dish my grandmother used to do and I never cooked. My husband loved so much that he keeps asking me “When will you do Cabbage Rolls?”

Tabbouleh - I can eat an entire bowl of Tabbouleh on my own. I love it so much!