As far as vegetables are concerned, we have been dining like kings lately. It’s all thanks to local organic farmers! Beautiful baskets of fresh, vibrant produce are delivered right to my doorstep. I don’t even have to leave the house! They come over, we have a nice chit-chat about what’s growing, observe the difference between the veggies from last batch (oh my! Look how the mustasa has grown!)...all without having to start my car (plus points for that!) :)
Of course, I still meander through the market...what’s a girl to do without her market-therapy right (no, shoe-therapy does not replace it...though they do complement each other I believe)? Plus I have to continually restock our garlic and onions, which we go through like there’s no tomorrow (please someone tell me that onions are blazingly healthy)! I hardly buy any vegetables at the market anymore though, onions and garlic aside. You see, those baskets we get keep us two nicely covered in veggies for a while. In fact, I have to race to use them all before they start to, um, complain ;)
I get my veg from two sources. One from the organic farmer I mentioned here (coincidentally delivering his first basket on my birthday!). The other is the same one who delivers to Christine. Here is where some of them went...
Roasted and Grilled Veggie Salad
- 2 Asian eggplants (the long thin ones), sliced on the diagonal
- 1 white onion, sliced relatively thick
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly cracked pepper
- Herbs de Provence
- Roast the peppers. I cut them in quarters, remove all the seeds, and then lay them skin side up on a baking tray lined with parchment. Place in a 200C oven and roast until the pepper’s skin is black and blistered in places. Take the peppers out, place in a bowl, and cover with cling wrap. Leave to cool slightly. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, gently peel off skin (it will come off easily at this point), slice into strips and set aside.
- While your peppers are roasting, heat a grill pan. Brush the eggplant and onions slices with oil and grill until they are soft and have respectable grill-marks.
- Place grilled eggplants and onions (the onion rings may fall apart...that’s fine) in a bowl with the roasted and peeled peppers. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with herbs de Provence and season with salt and pepper.
- Serves two.
This is one of my favourite ways to have peppers and eggplant (aside from tortang talong) -- roasted and grilled, or just grilled or just roasted, then tossed with some good olive oil and salt. The herbs de Provence adds a lovely aroma, but if you don’t have any, feel free to use what you’ve got. Or stick to the olive oil and salt. With great veggies you really won’t need much else. This is good at room temp, so it can sit patiently while you go about making the rest of your meal. You can also add a splash of red wine vinegar and finely chopped garlic (or roast some garlic alongside the peppers and smoosh that in) and you’ll have something approaching escalivada (a Spanish salad I am extremely fond of). If you have leftovers, just park them in the fridge and toss them with some pasta the next day.
Aaah...Lovely simple vegetables! Something tells me this won’t be the last “veggie basket” post...please indulge me :) I’ll try not to be too dull and swoony!