Caramelized Onion + Eggplant Pizza

More CSA dinner bounty! I made this galette-looking pizza from all from stuff I had at home plus the vegetables from my box. I used a big Galine eggplant, small purple "candy apple" onion and a yellow ringo pepper. The onion, pepper, garlic, salty goodness totally made the pizza and perfectly complimented the soft, creamy eggplant. I was grateful for Epicurious' inclusion of peppers; as a result, I was inspired to throw one of the peppers in the skillet and am so glad I did!


{Caramelized Onion + Eggplant Pizza}
adapted from Epicurious
INGREDIENTS
1/2 of this pizza dough
1 chinese eggplant or 1/2 of a large globe eggplant (to make 8-10 thin slices)
1 T. olive oil
2 t. coarse sea salt
1 small onion, cut in thin strips
1 small mild pepper, cut in thin strips
1 t. minced garlic
1/4 c. pesto
1/3 c. shredded mozzarella
1/4 c. shredded parmesean
cracked pepper
DIRECTIONS
Broil eggplant: Cut eggplant into 1/4 inch-thick rounds and arrange in 1 layer on a foil-lined large baking sheet. Lightly brush both sides with oil and season with salt. Broil 2 to 3 inches from heat until golden brown and tender, about 4 minutes. Heat oil in a small cast iron skillet over medium heat, gently sautee onion and pepper along with coarse salt, until soft and then browned and fragrant. Add minced garlic once onions begin to brown. Once completed, remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 500°F. Shape and stretch dough into 12- to 13-inch round. Spread pesto and half of mozzarella chese. Cover with eggplant, overlapping it, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Spoon evenly over eggplant. Fold crust over about 2 inches all the way around, like a galette, if you're feeling creative. Bake pizza until dough is crisp and browned about 9 - 10 minutes. Top with cracked pepper.


This morning I used the rest of the squash including the cute sunburst squash to make zucchini bread. Whew! Veggie overload! Fortunately my next box isn't coming until the 22nd.

{Dal with vegetables} from Bittman's Food Matters Cookbook

We ventured into Indian territory today thanks to my new Food Matters cookbook from Mark Bittman and my first CSA bounty from Johnson's Backyard! I had lentils I'd been trying to come up with something to do with as well as TONS of cauliflower. My CSA box had two kinds of squash, two kinds of eggplant and some darling onions. So when I saw this recipe, it seemed a perfect fit! I used long eggplant (what may be Chinese) and yellow squash for this. I'm saving my big, globe eggplant, my pattypan squash as well as some of the peppers for roasted ratatouille. 


Dal with lots of Veggies

{INGREDIENTS}

1 T. butter

1 T. olive oil

1 c. chopped onion

1 T. minced garlic

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 c. cubed eggplant, bite sized

1 c. cubed squash, bite sized

1 c. bite sized cauliflower florets
1 c. lentils
2 T. garam masala
2 cloves
pepper
salt
cilantro
{DIRECTIONS}
Heat oil and butter in large, heavy bottomed pot on medium. When butter is melted add ginger, onions and garlic. Sautee until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove garlic and onion mixture from pot and increase heat to medium high. Add cauliflower and satuee until browned 5-10 minutes. Remove cauliflower and reduce heat to medium. Add eggplant and squash and brown, about 5 minutes. {do all this browning at once if your pan is big enough} Return cauliflower and onion, garlic mixture to pot. Add garam masala, some generous shakes of pepper and cloves, along with lentils, stir about a minute. Add enough water to cover ingredients by an inch. Bring to boil then reduce heat so contents are gently bubbling, cover and cook 25-30 minutes until lentils are tender. Add more water if necessary. Should be saucy but not too watery. A thick soup or something that could also be served on rice or pita bread.


Yum!