So far there have been a few items in our boxes that have mystified me as to how to use them. Fortunately I have some foodie friends I reach out to for advice, and then there's also Google. Kale and kohlrabi were both foreign entities to me prior to this program--I may have been able to identify them on sight, but that's about it.
The kale ended up torn into potato-chip-sized pieces, tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper, and spread on a sheet pan to bake in the oven until crispy. These kale chips were initially recommended to me by my food friend Iris, who is, incidentally, a bit of a free spirit who lives in the Bahamas and cooks on private charter boats in the Caribbean. Iris also helped me with several suggestions for kohlrabi, including braising the greens and using the root cooked and mashed with potatoes, turnips, or whatever. Iris rocks. But I digress.
The biggest challenge with the box of produce each week is preparing, storing and using it before it goes bad. Such was the situation last night when, the night before I had to leave for a 4-day business trip, I found myself with a fridge overflowing with produce, with much of it likely to go bad before I returned. Oy. My biggest concerns were the Roma tomatoes that we're still waiting to be roasted, the Asian eggplant we'd gotten the week before, and a bag full of small Brussels sprouts. In addition, we'd just received zucchini and basil in our box for the week.
The solution: a vegetarian hodge podge of ratatouille with a side of caramelized Brussels sprouts.
If you've seen the Pixar movie, you may know that ratatouille is a French peasant dish. I can't see or hear the name without thinking 'rat patootie.' I had made it once before, attempting to follow the style of the dish as it was in the movie--the rat turned this rustic mixture of diced and stewed vegetables into an elegant dish of thinly sliced and stacked vegetables that wowed the skeptical critic who had come to experience the restaurant. That movie version, by the way, was designed by the famous chef Thomas Keller of the French Laundry in the Napa Valley. My attempt was mediocre and did not win over my family.
This time I was using the recipe from my French Cuisine Boot Camp at the Culinary Institute of America. While I hadn't made the dish myself, I had seen some of the preparation and tasted the final product and thought it was wonderful.
The danger: the recipe is chock full of zucchini and eggplant, which I needed to use up but which are not high on the list of food favorites in my family. In fact, it was highly likely that I would be the only one eating it.
The ratatouille was remarkably simple to prepare: dice the ingredients, sauté them in order, then let them simmer. It smelled delicious. While the ratatouille simmered, I trimmed the Brussels sprouts, cut the larger ones in half, then steamed them until they were mostly cooked. Meanwhile, I melted some bacon fat in a pan (when I don't have any leftover bacon fat on hand, I just cook 2-3 strips of bacon) and tossed in a diced onion to sauté. Once the onions are translucent, toss in the Brussels sprouts and allow them to stay put and brown well on one side. Then toss them so the other side can cook. Once they're well browned, put salt and pepper on them and you're good to go.
The verdict? Everyone devoured the Brussels sprouts in short order. Yes, I am blessed to have two kids who actually like Brussels sprouts, and this is their favorite preparation. The ratatouille was a hit with me and my husband, my older son picked out the zucchini and enjoyed the rest, and my youngest ... Well, let's just say he liked the movie better.
Ratatouille
1 tsp olive oil
2/3 cup red onion, diced
1-1/2 tbs garlic, minced
1 tbs shallots, minced
1 tbs tomato paste
5 plum tomatoes, seeded, sliced 1/4" thick
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1-1/2 cups eggplant, diced
1 cup yellow squash, diced
1 cup vegetable stock
Basil, chiffonade, to taste
Dried oregano, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Heat oil in a medium saucepot over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, and shallots and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and sauté until it becomes brown, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper, eggplant, yellow squash and stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and stew, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
Season with the basil, oregano, salt & pepper.
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