Eggplant Ricotta Bake

Chunks of roasted eggplant are baked in tomato sauce with ricotta and a topping of ground walnuts. Mix the basil in before baking or sprinkle it fresh over the top before serving.

2 medium Italian style eggplants, peeled and cubed
2 large shallots or a small onion, finely chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 1/2 cups good quality tomato sauce
16 ounces good quality ricotta
1 cup walnut pieces, ground or minced
1 cup chopped fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the eggplant cubes with the shallot and garlic in a 10x13-inch baking dish. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. (Note that the eggplant will easily absorb all the oil; do not add more.) Bake for 20 minutes then remove from oven. Turn the temperature down to 350 degrees.

Pour the tomato sauce over the eggplant mixture and mix well. It should be well sauced but not too soupy. Dot spoonfuls of ricotta over the surface. Top with basil and walnuts if desired, or just walnuts with the basil reserved for fresh topping after baking.

Bake again for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot, optionally topping with fresh basil.

Serves 4-6.

Greek Squash Fritters

You can make these with either summer squash or zucchini or a combination. The addition of feta and ground walnuts gives them enough protein to make a main dish. A bit of yogurt or sour cream on top is nice. I served these for dinner, but they could do for brunch as well.

2 lbs summer squash or zucchini, shredded
Salt
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup walnuts, ground or finely chopped
5-6 ounces crumbled feta
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
2 eggs, beaten
Olive oil
Plain yogurt or sour cream for topping

Place the shredded squash in a colander and sprinkle liberally with salt. Stir to mix the salt in, then let sit in the sink or over a bowl for 10-15 minutes to release excess liquid. Press out as much extra liquid as possible using your hands or a dish towel.

Place the drained squash in a large mixing bowl. Add the onion, walnuts, feta, oregano, parsley, and pepper and mix well. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture, then stir again to coat. Add the eggs and stir to coat again.

Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet or two. Drop spoonfuls of the squash mixture into the hot pan, flattening to no more than 1/2-inch thick. Cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side, then carefully flip and cook the other side. Keep cooked fritters warm on a covered plate or low oven.

Serve hot. Pass yogurt or sour cream at the table for topping.

Serves 4-6.

Mint-Pea Pesto with Feta and Walnuts

We accidentally planted shell peas this year after my husband bought a packet of seeds he thought were sugar snaps. But shell peas are delicious, too, and this is a nice way to enjoy them fresh.

1 cup fresh shelled peas
1 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted and cooled
1 cup fresh mint
2-3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup crumbled feta, or to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 tsp lemon juice, or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

If your peas are small and sweet, you can use them raw. If they have developed a little bitter aftertaste, give them a quick steam until they are just barely tender.

Combine 1 cup of the peas with the walnuts, mint, garlic, and feta in a food processor. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and process until fairly smooth. Thin with a little water (pasta cooking water is perfect for this).

Serve this with pasta, tossing in another cup or two of fresh peas.

Makes enough to sauce 1 lb of cooked pasta.

Bulgur Salad with Chickpeas, Feta, and Dill

Another good main dish salad for hot weather. This one is especially good, as there is nothing in it that requires cooking. Just soak the bulgur until tender, then combine with other ingredients and serve. If it's not scape season, throw in some chives or a couple finely sliced scallions.

1 1/2 cups dry bulgur wheat
Water
1 garlic scape, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup dried tomatoes, soaked and finely chopped
1 cup walnut pieces, toasted and cooled
3-4 ounces crumbled feta
1-2 cups chopped snap or snow peas (optional)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Soak the bulgur in cold water for an hour or so, or until tender, then drain. You can do this in advance and refrigerate the bulgur in a sealed container for a day or two if you like.

Combine the soaked bulgur with the scape, dill, chickpeas, dried tomatoes, walnuts, and feta. Drizzle with the lemon juice and a bit of olive oil. Stir well, adding more oil if desired. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6.

Kale Pesto

As long as you don't expect this to be basil, it's delicious.  Not only a good winter substitute for fresh basil pesto, but tasty in its own right.  Also: made of kale yet happily consumed by my leafy-green-eschewing five-year-old (who loves pesto).  Serve it with pasta like you would any pesto, or on pizza, perhaps with some roasted winter squash and pesto.  Lacinato (dinosaur) kale is best here, but use whatever you have.  Red Russian would be a good second choice.

8-12 oz kale (1 large bunch)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup toasted walnuts
1 Tbsp lemon juice, or more to taste
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Steam or boil the kale until nicely wilted but not mushy, then let it cool until you can handle it.

Place the cooked kale, garlic, walnuts, and lemon juice in a food processor.  Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and puree.  Add additional olive oil until it reaches a consistency you like.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Use immediately, refrigerate, or freeze.

Makes 1 1/2 -2 cups.

Balsamic Turnips and Greens with Barley

At the farmers market on Saturday, I noticed several vendors with small Japanese turnips. We used to get these in our CSA box in California, where they were labeled Tokyo turnips. These tender little vegetables are quite different from the purple top turnips you see in fall and winter. They are mild enough to eat raw, a little like the enormous Gilfeather turnips, but with a smoother texture. Try them with their very nutritious greens in this dish.

1 cup pearl barley
3 cups water
3 medium turnips and greens
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
¾ cup raisins
¾ tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup walnut pieces, toasted
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Place the barley and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the water is absorbed and the barley is tender, about 30 minutes.

While the barley is cooking, peel the turnips and cut into matchsticks. Wash, stem, and coarsely chop the turnip greens.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the turnips (not the greens) and sauté until just tender, about 2-4 minutes.

Add the balsamic vinegar and the raisins and stir for a minute or so. Add the greens (you may have to do this in batches) and cook until they are wilted and most of the vinegar has evaporated. Stir in the salt, pepper, and toasted walnuts.

Combine the turnips mixture with the barley and feta. Serve hot.

Serves about 4.

Parsley-Mint Pesto with Scapes

Scape season is short, short, short, so enjoy them while you can get them.

Some folks like to let their herbs grow huge and then make giant batches of pesto at the end of the season to go in the freezer. I find it easier to make it as I go along, with a little extra from each batch to get stored away. I freeze pesto in quart-size freezer bags, spread out flat for fast thawing. I store in amounts that I will want at a single shot--1 cup for 1 lb of pasta, or 1/2 cup for a pizza.

3 oz scapes (about 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped)
2 cups parsley
1 - 1 1/2 cups mint leaves
2-3 oz feta
1/2 cup toasted walnuts (optional)
1 tsp lemon juice
olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine scapes, parsley, mint, feta, nuts (if using) and lemon juice in a food process and process until fairly smooth. Add olive oil to reach desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Spinach Salad with Raisins and Feta

This is a riff on a main dish recipe I posted recently. The same flavors and ingredients also combine nicely in a salad.

Combine in proportions that please you:

Spinach, stemmed and washed
Raisins
Crumbled feta
Walnuts, lightly toasted and cooled
Mushrooms, sliced (optional)

Dress with a balsamic vinaigrette (at its simplest, equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar; add some minced fresh garlic or dried basil if you like).

Balsamic Greens with Barley, Raisins, Feta, and Walnuts

You can use pretty much any kind of greens you can find for this dish--spinach, arugula, whatever. Put them together with your local onions, garlic, and feta and serve this as either a main dish or a side dish.

1 cup pearl barley
3 cups water
6 cups coarsely chopped greens
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
¾ cup raisins
¾ tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup walnut pieces, toasted
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Place the barley and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the water is absorbed and the barley is tender, about 30 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and the raisins and stir for a minute or so. Add the greens (you may have to do this in batches) and cook until they are wilted and most of the vinegar has evaporated. Stir in the salt, pepper, and toasted walnuts.

Combine the greens mixture with the barley and feta. Serve hot.

Serves 3-4 as a main dish.

Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash with Pasta

Winter squash and roasted garlic are a sweet and savory match made in heaven. Here they are combined in a full main dish. If you are using small heads of garlic from your garden or the farmers market (the type with only 4 or 5 cloves), you may want to use more than the amount called for.

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1-2 heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 tsp lemon juice
1-1 ½ tsp salt
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tsp dried sage, or 1-2 Tbsp minced fresh sage
1 lb dried pasta (rotini, shells, or the like)
1 cup walnut pieces (optional)
1-1/2 cups minced Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400˚.

Place the squash, onion, and garlic in a roasting pan. Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice over them and mix well. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and sage and toss to insure that everything is well coated.

Roast the squash mixture for about 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Stir once or twice while it cooks.

While the squash mixture is cooking, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. At the same time, if using the walnuts, toast them in a toaster oven (on a tray) or in a dry skillet until they start to brown and become aromatic.

When everything is cooked, toss the squash mixture together with the pasta in a large bowl. Sir in the Parmesan and, if using, the toasted walnut pieces. Serve hot.

Serves 4-6.

Variation: Substitute 3 cups cooked barley for the pasta.

Green Salad with Apples, Walnuts, and Blue Cheese

Farmers in the Valley will be growing lettuce and other greens in cold frames and hoop houses into at least December. The apple harvest is coming to an end, but local apples will be available for a good while yet. Combine them in this salad with some blue cheese from a local producer and add some nuts for a delicious fall salad.

6 cups torn lettuce or mixed salad greens
1 medium apple, preferably on the tart side
1 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted (or try pecans)
2 ounces crumbled blue cheese of your choice

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl. Top with salad dressing of your choice (a vinaigrette is good).

Serves 4-6.

Parsley-Mint Pesto

If you have parsley producing wildly in your garden, this is a delicious way to use it. I made a couple batches of this over the weekend to go in the freezer.

You can also freeze parsley by itself--just chop and stick it in a freezer bag. Or put it in an ice cube tray with a small amount of water, then move the cubes to a bag when frozen. Frozen parsley is nearly as good as fresh.

3 cups chopped parsley
3/4 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup lightly toasted walnuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 oz. feta
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until fairly smooth.

Autumn Pear Salad

Continuing on the pear theme... Combine sliced ripe pears with crumbled Gorgonzola and a sprinkling of toasted walnuts or pine nuts over a bed of arugula for an easy yet impressive fall salad made with ingredients in season locally. Dress with the vinaigrette of your choice. For more of a tossed salad, add lettuce to the mix. If you're not going to serve it immediately, toss the sliced pears with a little lemon juice to prevent browning. If you don't like or don't have Gorgonzola, try goat cheese--the effect is different but still lovely.