Vegetables + Salads – Page 13 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Baked Egg Appetizer with Vegetables

I loved this Mark Bittman recipe from The New York Times. I liked the idea of serving egg as an appetizer, but I loved that each guest was getting his own ramekin on the table even better. But for my first try, sans ramekins in our rental house in Austin, I buttered up a small baking pan to pull this off. I used some random vegetables we had in the fridge. When I served them, I just cut out each cooked egg with a spatula and served them on plates. It was a new take on eggs for our New Year’s Eve dinner.

Ingredients:
5 eggs
2 tomatoes, sliced
3 asparagus stalks, blanched, chopped
1 cup of white mushrooms, chopped
a handful of fresh basil
knob of butter
salt, pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375Âº. Coat the inside of five ramekins with butter. Put one tomato slice at the bottom, then top with the vegetables. Two basil leaves per ramekin will do. Break one egg into each ramekin and season with some salt and pepper.
2. Put the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until egg is set. Because the ramekins retains heat, the eggs will continue to cook after you remove them from the oven, so it’s best to undercook them slightly.

Eggplant with Minced Pork Sauté

I was craving Chinese take-out for some reason–the bad, oily and saucy kind–and so my mouth watered when I read this recipe in the Sunday Times. I bought a large eggplant on my way home because our neighborhood supermarket doesn’t carry the small and thinner Asian kind. The large ones have darker and tougher purple skin, so I took more time simmering them here. As usual, I followed Harold McGee and salted the eggplant pieces after I sliced them. This draws out the moisture and collapses their spongy texture, so they don’t absorb all the oil when sauteing.

I realized I ran out of soy sauce when I was ready to make the sauce. I ended up using the kecap sambal in our pantry instead. It’s made of soy beans but also includes relish. I also used the last dollop of kochujang sauce I had in the fridge. Looks like I need to make a trip to Chinatown soon and restock my Asian pantry.

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, cut into smaller chunks
some ground pork
1 tbsp kecap sambal
1 1/2 tsps sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp kochujang sauce
2 stalks of scallions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
peanut oil
salt

1. Place the eggplant chunks in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and toss. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the kecap sambal, sugar, kochujang sauce and cornstarch until the cornstarch dissolves. Set aside.
3. In a large wok, heat some of the peanut oil over high heat. SautÃ© garlic until golden brown. Add scallions and cook until soft. Add the pork and cook, stirring, until no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a plate.
4. Dab eggplant dry with paper towels. In the wok, heat some more oil over medium high until it just starts to smoke. Add the eggplant, and sautÃ© until lightly browned and tender, about 10 minutes. Add the sauce mixture. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Once the sauce thickens, add the pork back and 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer until the sauce thickens and the eggplant is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt.

Grilled Nectarines with Honey-Balsamic Glaze

This recipe came from Bon AppÃ©tit Magazine. The original one uses creme fraiche, but I decided to skip it to make the nectarines stand out. Nectarines are bountiful in the summer and they don’t really need any accompaniment–they’re bright and juicy on their own–but the glaze makes for a prettier presentation. A dollop of good vanilla ice cream doesn’t hurt, though.

Ingredients:
3 firm but ripe nectarines, halved, pitted
1/4 cup honey
a few jigs of balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat stove-top grill while making the glaze. Whisk 1/2 cup honey, vinegar and vanilla in small bowl. Brush glaze on nectarines.
2. Grill nectarines until heated through, about 3 minutes. Gently turn over and grill the other side. Drizzle remaining glaze before serving.

Golden Beet and Fennel Salad

The heat is on! There were some beautiful golden beets in Whole Foods the other day but I was too lazy to cook. This recipe doesn’t require much work, but it does take an hour or two of your time to cook the beets. The good thing is you can just put them in the oven and leave the kitchen to avoid the heat. Cameron served this at her apartment when the Dr. and I came over with a dozen and a half of blue crabs. We covered her table with the Sunday Times and had a very nice summer night dinner. I made my own salad later and matched it with a pan-fried branzino.

Ingredients:
1 bunch golden beets, tops trimmed, thoroughly washed
1 fennel bulb
1 tbsp cumin seeds
lemon juice
olive oil, salt, pepper

1. Wrap beets in foil and put on a baking sheet. Broil on high for about an hour and a half. When done, let completely cool. Gently peel off the skin using your hands. The skin should come off easily. Chop in small chunks.
2. While beets are cooking, slice fennel thinly and set aside in a bowl sprinkled with fresh lemon juice. The lemon juice will keep the fennel from turning dark. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until ready to assemble the salad.
3. Using a small pan, toast the cumin seeds. Ground using a mortar pestle. In a small bowl, whisk oil and some lemon juice with the grounded toasted cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with the rest of the ingredients.

Skirt Steak with Grilled Endives

I love endives in the spring. It may feel like summer in New York City, but the spring vegetables are still available in the market. When I’m in the mood for beef, I can’t help but serve a medium-rare steak with grilled vegetables. It’s too hot to be using the oven for longer than ten minutes so adding them to the same pan your steak is grilling is just perfect. If you are without an outdoor garden like me, use a dependable Le Creuset frying pan to get the handsome grill marks.

Ingredients:
1 pound skirt steak, excess fat trimmed
4 Belgian endives, quartered lengthwise
3 sprigs of rosemary
3 sprigs of thyme
half a bunch of parsley, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil, salt, pepper

1. In a large baking dish, combine all the ingredients except for the steak and the endives. Place the steak in the dish and turn to coat both sides with the herb mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. When ready to cook, heat an oven-proof frying pan. When the pan is hot enough but not smoking, sear one side of the steak for about 8 minutes. Slowly lift with a pair of tongs and turn over to cook the other side for another 8 minutes. Save the marinade.
3. While the other side cooks, brush the endives with the remaining marinade and place on the same pan. Turn when one side is charred enough. 4. Remove the steak to a chopping board and let rest for about 5 minutes. Slice the steak on the bias about 1/2-inch thick and divide slices among serving plates. Serve with the endives.