When the mass of cookbooks hanging out in those upper cabinet shelves seems to hold nothing new, remember this weekly notion: pick a cookbook from a different part of the world to cook at least A recipe from every week.
Here is an idea for some of late summer’s bountiful veggies: eggplant and peppers done up by old faithful, The Moosewood Cookbook.
You’ll need a medium eggplant, unpeeled, and cut into inch-thick strips, then into 2-inch pieces; salt; one large bell pepper of any color, cut into 1-inch pieces; 1 recipe Chinese Peanut Sauce – see just below, it’s easy!
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking tray. Spread the eggplant pieces on the tray and salt lightly. Let stand 10 minutes. Bake the eggplant until tender (about 15 minutes). Prepare the peanut sauce during this time. Then, during the last 5 minutes of baking, add the pepper pieces to the tray. Cool and transfer to a bowl, add the sauce and mix gently. Serve room temp or cold.
Sauce: you’ll need – 1/2 cup good peanut butter (I love crunchy); 1/2 cup water; 2 Tbs. soy sauce; 2 Tbs sugar (I use honey); 3 medium cloves garlic, minced; 1 tsp. cider vinegar; 1 to 2 Tbs minced fresh cilantro (or not); cayenne to taste; salt to taste if peanut butter is unsalted. Also consider adding ginger*
Place the peanut butter in a small bowl. Add the hot water, stir patiently with a spoon or a small whisk until uniformly mixed. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Then cover and refrigerate until using. This goes well on left over rice too.
Related Posts:
Recent Comments